My Sister's Keeper

This is not a happy movie.  Don't say I didn't warn you.  My Sister's Keeper is based on Jodi Picoult's book by the same name and stars Abigail Breslin, and Sofia Vassilieva as sisters Anna and Kate, respectively.  Kate has spent her life ravaged by cancer and Anna was conceived specifically so that Kate would have a compatible donor for stem cells, bone marrow and, eventually, a kidney.  After a bit of introduction, the story opens up with Anna going to slightly sleazy, but caring, lawyer Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin) to sue her parents (Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric) for medical emancipation so that she can have control over what happens to her own body.

Through a series of memoiristic flashbacks we see how Kate's illness has had a profound effect on all those around her.  Eventually the present time story ends up in court as Sara (Diaz) makes her case to Judge De Salvo (Joan Cusack) that one daughter's needs outweigh the personal desires of another.

This movie offers a fascinating concept that is ripe for moral, ethical, political, and ecumenical examination.  Where is one to draw the line when it comes to one person's rights versus another's needs?  My Sister's Keeper sadly doesn't delve quite as deeply into these mysteries as I would have liked as it takes something of a left plot turn near the end, but it is interesting nonetheless.

This is a tearjerker to be sure, and a pretty good one at that.  The only complaint I have is that the ending was a little weak compared to much of the rest of the film.  The ending I thought I saw coming would have been more powerful, though a bit more disturbing.  Non-perfect ending aside, this was a thoughtful, emotional, realistic, and very well done film that demands being watched in close company.

**** (4/5 stars)