Sister My Sister (1995)

Thanks for the memories!

Just perfect...

Highly Overrated But Still Good

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

This is not nearly as good as "In Cold Blood," or "Psycho," but it is a riveting crime movie. While not as graphic as other movies, it is graphic enough to be somewhat disturbing. I am not sure if I can recommend it to anyone who isn't a deep film noir cineaste.I was surprised in reading the reviews about the lack of mention of Joely Richardson's outstanding performance. Yes, the entire cast was fine, but she really gave the memorable performance. To me, she matches Gene Tierney in "Leave Her to Heaven, Sharon Stone in "Basic Instinct," Jennifer Jason Leigh in "Single White Female" and Simone Signoret in "Diabolique." She's manages to act both convincingly erotic in one scene and psychotic in the next. This movie manages to be both exploitative and not exploitative at the same time. It does play up the more sensational elements of the crime, but it also has some simple and thoughtful images and scenes that make you sympathetic towards the people involved. The scene of the maids picking up hundreds of tiny pearls that have fallen on a carpet is an example. It suggest the animal-like treatment they faced on a daily basis.It is not a very pleasant or fun film, but it will alternatively warm and chill you.

There is a major player in this extremely fine film who goes all but unmentioned: the work of cinematographer Ashley Rowe is some of the finest on film, creating an atmosphere solely within the confines of a home made dark by lack of light and by brooding madness and murder. The effect achieved is nothing short of miraculous and further adds to the importance of this under-rated movie.Based on the infamous Papin sisters' murder of their employer and daughter in 1932 in France, SISTER MY SISTER is based on a play by Wendy Kesselman (who also wrote the mesmerizing screenplay) and is directed by the imaginatively fine Nancy Meckler. Two sisters - Christine the eldest (Joely Richardson) and Lea (Jodhi May) are shown during the titles in black and white as poor orphans separated to different ends. As the film begins Christine has introduced her estranged beloved Lea to her employer, the rigid and strange Madame Danzard (Julie Walters) and her wallflower daughter Isabelle (Sophie Thursfield). Lea is hired by the penny pinching Madame Danzard and the two sisters co-serve as maids to the household. Christine and Lea view each other as not only sisters but as lovers and it is this latter role that leads Madame Danzard (spying contemptibly on the girls) that is the final straw in Madame's mistreatment of the girls that leads to the rather shocking murder of both Madame Danzard and Isabelle. We know from the start - both from the infamous case and from the opening sequences where the blood of the deed is seen along the stairwell - what the ending will be: it is the progress to that end that concerns the film.Each of the actresses is brilliant in their roles, roles that are far cries from the usual types that each actress has played. Julie Walters manages to ooze vitriol while moments later being oddly comedic in her la-la land of dancing to her Victrola. Joely Richardson is terrifyingly strange and Jodhi May says more with her facial expressions than legions of actors do with complex scripts. But again the physical ominous presence of the house of bad things is so magnificently created by Rowe's creative photography that is becomes of equal importance as a character. The musical score by Stephen Warbeck works solidly to convey the descent into madness of the two sisters. A brilliant tour de force for all concerned and highly recommended for those who love fine acting and dark thrillers. Grady Harp

I got this movie from a porn mag believe it or not. I was expecting some porn. What i got was a dark, gloomy drama with no nudity. However after i got over the disappointment of no porn, i found it to be a well made movie, though it does drag in some parts. It might be the most depressing movie I have ever seen. Some of the scenes gave me goosebumps like when the maid has to pick up all the pins from the floor one by one.If you are looking for hot lesbo porn look elsewhere.The ending does have the sisters in bed topless and covered in blood, but you don't see boobs. If you are looking for a slow dark and very depressing drama i cant recommend this enough!

Of the films that I have seen over the past 2 years, I have been displeased with how homogenized they've been. But when I rented this movie, I was totally shocked by the power of it. I was completely enthralled the entire time. The darkness of it was both scary and intriguing. The surprise element for me was the sisters' escalating relationship from loving to obsessive. I absolutely loved this movie as it explored the depths of lonely souls and the drowning effect that never ending servitude and isolation can bring.