The Sisters (2005)

Sick Product of a Sick System

Nice effects though.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Brilliant performances, Maria Bello is stand out. Her portrayal of Marcia shows how good of an actress she really is. Bello has the ability to play strong and viscous along side damaged and vulnerable without breaking a sweat. Her performance alone is worth the watch. The film brilliantly intense and is like watching a play on screen. The script and acting are strong enough to allow this to happen. You can fully relate and believe in the character's and the back story. Overall this is a great film about a dysfunctional family trying to get to grips with change and its a great version of Chekhov's play. It is refreshing to watch a clever and complex film with real dialog and real actors.

If I wanted to just watch a bunch of generally unpleasant people fight with each other, I'd watch "Divorce Court." Although I suppose this movie is designed to show emotional complexity with its quibbling protagonists, it just doesn't work for me. None of these gals is particularly likable, so it is hard to care about them or the "family" they form.Against this fairly negative backdrop, we have a plot where none of the real underlying problems, conflicts, or broken relationships is fixed. No one seems to gain insight over the course of the movie, no one seems to heal. A real disappointment.

When I think about it, there have been quite a few cinematic variations on Anton Chekhov's classic "The Three Sisters" from Woody Allen's austere "Interiors" to Diane Keaton's execrable "Hanging Up". Playwright-turned-screenwriter Richard Alfieri provides a more literal adaptation by updating the original play to the present and resetting it primarily in a Manhattan faculty lounge on the Upper West Side. Longtime TV director Arthur Allan Seidelman guides an impressive ensemble of actors in the proceedings, but the result unfortunately feels like a stagy TV-movie brimming with overripe theatrics. The abundance of characters and multi-layered set-up seem to make the actors chew the scenery excessively, though a few still make indelible impressions.The structure and themes of the Chekhov play remain the same. The plot focuses on the four Prior siblings - Marcia, Olga, Irene and Andrew - and their clashing destinies and unraveling secrets furnish the drama as they get together for Irene's 22nd birthday party. Maria is the beautiful, vitriolic older sister unhappily married to a passive psychology professor while embarking on a torrid affair with Vincent, their father's former teaching assistant who has come unexpectedly for a visit. Irene is the buttoned-up middle sister, an English literature professor and by default the family conciliator. Irene is the protected baby sister whose sunny disposition masks deeper insecurities that lead to a crystal-meth overdose. Andrew is the weak, emasculated brother who has brought home Nancy, his slatternly fiancée, whom his sisters, especially Marcia, despise. There are others who encircle the family like a vise with their own histrionics - kindly department head Dr. Chebrin and dueling professors Gary Sokol and David Turzin, both in love with Irene and seething with rage against each other.There are plenty of fireworks, but with so many characters to track, Seidelman produces a truncated flow to the story while making the movie itself feel overlong. The performances are all over the map, though each seems to have at least one bravura set piece. As she proves in David Cronenberg's "A History of Violence", Maria Bello is one of the strongest actresses on screen today and makes Marcia a memorably fiery character, especially as she lays into the vulgar Nancy or succumbs to Vincent's ardent attention. As Irene, the underused Mary Stuart Masterson brings a coiled sense of repression that makes the contrast between her and Marcia biting and poignant. Less interesting is Erika Christensen, who makes Irene sweetly vulnerable but cannot transcend the trite arc of her character. Chris O'Donnell barely registers as the romantically obsessive David, but Eric McCormack - who will have a challenge overcoming his pervasive Will Truman persona - is all sarcastic blather as Gary until he manages to convey the character's pathetic jealousy.Elizabeth Banks - memorable as the lusty bookstore clerk in "The 40-Year Old Virgin" - makes the vulgarity of Nancy palpable if rather obvious with a wavering Bronx accent, while Alessandro Nivola - equally memorable as the pampered rock star in "Laurel Canyon" - is effectively passive as Andrew. Tony Goldwyn seems oddly stilted as Vincent, making him a dispassionate match for Marcia's voracious self-destruction. At times, the dialogue is insightful with clever zingers. At other times, it sounds laughably mannered, and the general dysfunctional situation gets wearing over time. A few cathartic moments shine through, especially toward the end when Marcia and Olga come to terms with each other. The DVD is short on extras - just the original trailer and an overly earnest commentary from Seidelman and Alfieri.

As so many of the other comments have beautifully synopsized this film, I won't spend much time repeating the plot. Yes, this film is about three sisters and a brother in a college town, coming to grips with themselves and each other after their father's death.What bothered me throughout the entire film was the writing. I was too keenly aware of the writer himself, as opposed to watching a really good film and saying to myself afterward, "That was beautifully written." Rather, with this film, I could picture the writer saying, "Wow, that was a really good line!" "Here's some big words I can string together!" "Yes! Great line!" Full disclosure: as a writer myself, I fully understand the joy in this, but the characters should take center stage, NOT the writer. I could not get the image of this writer patting himself on the back until it was beet red.I liked Eric McCormack and Erica Christensen, though I would have liked to have learned more about Erica's character, Irene. Chris O'Donnell is never very interesting to me. Too vanilla. Okay, those are actors. Back to the film.The character of Marcia (Maria Bello) was completely unsympathetic to me. She was far more interested in forming complex, multi-syllabic words, showing off her pedigree, and spewing "clever" insults rather than dealing with her demons. Her hatred for her brother's wife, Nancy, was over-the-top and she asked for everything she got in return. Stephen Culp, as her Desperate husband, seemed to just languish. I never really did feel the spark or notice much develop between Marcia and Victor (Tony Goldwyn), so I was completed unimpressed during the scene where they had to part ways, because Victor, as much as he loved her (hello??) could not leave his daughters to be raised by his wife. Noble, but trust me fella, you got out while the getting was good. The drama queen wiped away her mascara and found something else to torture herself with!Supposedly, this wild passion and love ignited between Marcia and Victor almost immediately. Excuse me, I think I blinked during the film. I must have missed it. My apologies.Mary Stuart Masterson as Olga was far more believable as a character. Unfortunately, the viewer was treated to such an overdose of Marcia that the other characters were overshadowed. I would have liked to understood Olga more.Eric McCormack (Gary Sokol), managed to take his angst-filled, bitterly sarcastic character and make him believable. I hated the character through most of the film, but in a way one is supposed to hate a character -- because the actor is doing his job -- not hating a character because he's a tangle of stereotypes, throwing it all out there (or out the window) and hoping something will stick! Marcia! Marcia! Marcia! I imagine this is one of those films that one will either love or hate. I cannot say that it was a terrible film just because I didn't like it; I can only explain my reasons for wanting to muzzle Marcia. I can say that I tend to prefer plays in the theater. Taking them out of their natural habitat often ruffles the beast.Despite the abuse perpetrated on her by her father, Marcia just didn't make me care about her in any way at all. Any moment, I expected her to say, "Okay, enough about me. Let's talk about me." My recommendation is to see this film and decide for yourself. I watched it expecting to really like it. I WANTED to like it. Just didn't happen.