The Week in Film by Robert Mann – Week Starting 26/6/09

30th June 2009

My Sister’s Keeper ****½

At a time when cinemas are packed with films aiming to give audiences an adrenaline rush or tickle their funny bones it is quite refreshing to see a film that aims to give the tear ducts a work out instead. My Sister’s Keeper is such a film. Based on the novel of the same name by Jodi Picoult, which itself was inspired by real life cases, My Sister’s Keeper is brought to the big screen under the very capable direction of Nick Cassavetes, who previously helmed such human orientated dramas as The Notebook and John Q. With a track record that shows he knows how to make films that really pack an emotional punch, Cassavetes seems a very good choice for the directorship of this film and his involvement is a good indicator that the film will have the intended impact upon moviegoers, an indication that, at least in this critic’s opinion, is proven correct.

Sara (Cameron Diaz) and Brian Fitzgerald (Jason Patric) have just been informed that their young daughter Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) has leukemia, and that she only has a few years to live. The doctor suggests to the parents that they try an unorthodox medical procedure of producing another child in a test-tube that would be a perfect match as a donor for Kate. Sara will try anything to save Kate, and they have a new baby Anna (Abigail Breslin) to be used as a donor for Kate. The first thing they use is blood from the umbilical cord for Kate. As years go on, the doctors must take bone marrow from Anna to give to Kate. At age 11, the next thing Anna must give to her sister is a kidney. Anna has had enough of all of these medical procedures, and she approaches lawyer Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin), deciding to sue her parents for medical emancipation and the right to decide how her body will be used. The whole family is being torn apart by Anna’s decision because everyone knows what will happen to Kate if she doesn’t get a new kidney. However, the moral and ethical implications could be far greater.

In a human orientated drama such as My Sister’s Keeper one of the key measures of success is always going to be the quality of its central performances, and in this regard the film certainly does not disappoint, with both of its two key characters being excellent. Abigail Breslin is on top form as usual, delivering a very mature performance that sees her character convincingly attempting to balance her own apparent desire to not have her kidney taken away from her with her love for her sister who will die without her help. Breslin here further demonstrates that she is a serious actress who will have a long lasting career and not just the fifteen minutes of fame experience by many young stars. As good as Breslin is, however, she is completely outshone by a powerhouse performance from Sofia Vassilieva who is heartbreakingly honest and sincere in her role, making for a truly believable and moving portrayal of a young girl whose inner strength and bravery motivates her to keep fighting her cancer but at the same time knows that she cannot go on much longer and openly accepts it. She expresses a whole range of emotions, demonstrating everything from anger with the predicament she is in to tolerance, particularly when her character forms a relationship with another cancer patient, ably played by Thomas Dekker. The two share a sweet romance with a sincere on-screen chemistry that makes us feel all the more for their predicament. As far as the older actors are concerned, cast members like Alec Baldwin and Joan Cusack (playing the Judge in Anna’s case) are as reliable as ever, while Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric are decent as the parents, although they don’t really stand out that much. Cameron Diaz, typically seen more in popcorn fare than more serious roles, is perfect as the obsessive mother, convincingly portraying the character’s obsession with saving her sick daughter, even at the expense of her well one, but at the same time she is too unsympathetic in the role. Maybe this is the point of the character but it is hard not to feel that a more capable actress could have still captured the perspective of the character whilst also creating a persona who we as viewers can actually empathize with. On the director’s part the film is consistently of a high standard with only a few small exceptions. At times the multiple elements of the storyline get in the way of each other and the jumping back in forth between present and past events does get slightly confusing. However, for the most part these little flaws don’t get in the way of what is a very well made drama. The almost documentary style at times in which we see the perspectives of different characters regarding the situation is effective us in giving an insight into how everyone is being affected by what is going on. We see the inner turmoil of each of the family members from their perspective, enabling us to see the big picture of the implications of Anna’s decision on everyone, not just her. We also get to see the effects her decision has on certain other characters. Considering the serious nature of this film’s themes it would be easy for it to have turned out very depressing and hard-going for viewers but Nick Cassavetes and Jeremy Leven (who wrote the screenplay together) successfully deal with the issues at hand, notably the ethical and moral implications of what is expected of Anna, whilst also managing to factor in joy and hopefulness in some of the film’s lighter moments, with some instances of humour as well. Cassavetes has crafted a film that manages to be thought provoking but more importantly is extremely moving, and thanks to some quite beautiful cinematography it also quite pleasing visually as well. Overall, like any other film My Sister’s Keeper has its flaws but it has such charm and warmth that makes it a truly delightful viewing experience. I dare you not to cry as this film is guaranteed to make even the most hard hearted of individuals draw a tear.

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Blood: The Last Vampire **

Blood: The Last Vampire is a multimedia Japanese manga series that began with a 2001 anime film and has since spawned a number of follow-ups including a manga comic book, a trilogy of novels, a video game and a 50 episode spin-off anime series which itself has led to the creation of numerous multimedia tie-ins. Now, comes the latest addition to the series in form of a live action English language movie brought to the big screen by the producer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero and the director of 2001 Jet Li martial arts flick Kiss of the Dragon. Coming in pretty much under the radar at a time when cinemas are dominated by big budget Hollywood blockbusters it is a safe bet that Blood: The Last Vampire will be overlooked on its theatrical release but does this mean that it will be underrated or is it worthy of being ignored by moviegoers?

On the surface, Saya (Gianna Jun) is a stunning 16-year-old, but that youthful exterior hides the tormented soul of a 400-year-old ‘halfling’. Born to a human father and a vampire mother, she has for centuries been a loner obsessed with using her samurai skills to rid the world of vampires, all the while knowing that she herself can survive only on blood like those she hunts. When she is sent onto an American military base in Tokyo by the clandestine organization she works for, Saya immediately senses that this may be her opportunity to finally destroy Onigen, the evil patriarch of all vampires. Using her superhuman strength and her sword, she begins to rid the base of its evil infestation in a series of spectacular and elaborate showdowns. However, it is not until she forms her first human friendship in centuries with Alice (Allison Miller), the young daughter of the base’s general, that Saya learns of her greatest power over Onigen may well be her ability for human connection.

It transpires that there is good reason why Blood: The Last Vampire has been released in cinemas with little fanfare. While the series clearly has a pretty big following based on the success of everything that has come before, this film is highly unlikely to win over any new fans and frankly I wouldn’t be surprised if it costs the franchise a few. While there is clear potential on display here very little effort seems to have been made to capitalise on it with the film turning out to be little more than a by-the-numbers martial arts flick that is heavy on the CGI. This wouldn’t be so bad if the CGI at least looked good but sadly the visual effects are extremely poor, the quality being something that might have impressed twenty years ago but now just looks cheap. And the fact that much of the stuff could have been done much more effectively using practical effects only makes it all seem extremely unnecessary. With the poor effects the film wears its low budget on its sleeve but even with visual effects costing more than ever many low budget films still come up with footage that far surpasses anything this film has to offer. The fight choreography is actually quite good but it is so heavily buried beneath the shoddy CGI, not to mention some rather slapdash cinematography that it is hard to really appreciate it. Consequently, the action sequences fail to deliver the level of thrills that they really should do. This is a fatal flaw as the action has clearly been done at the expense of scares, with virtually no attempt having been made to make this film work as a horror movie also, aside from a few (admittedly quite effective) jump scares. The film doesn’t deliver much better in other areas either with the acting getting the job done and nothing more, the plot being rather incoherent thanks to a weak script that delivers mediocre dialogue and fails to provide sufficient plot or character development, and the generally shaky camera work that seems quite amateurish in its execution. All these things add up to a film that, even with its short running time, fails to really capture the attention, meaning that Blood: The Last Vampire manages to be a fairly watchable but instantly forgettable viewing experience.

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Reviews by Robert Mann BA (Hons)

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