My Sister's Keeper (2009) FULL MOVIE DIVX

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Review

Part of “My Sister’s Keeper” takes place in a courtroom, and the convoluted plot can be a trial in itself. Yet the essence of the story, a fictional projection of medical possibility, is anything but legalistic. For all its awkward structure, the film is heartfelt and deeply affecting.

The plaintiff, 11-year-old Anna, is played endearingly by Abigail Breslin. Anna grabs our attention in the prologue when she announces, “I’m a designer baby. I was made in a dish to be spare parts for Kate.” Her older sister Kate, that is, who suffers from leukemia; she’s played, beautifully, by Sofia Vassilieva. Almost from birth Anna has been an involuntary donor of blood, bone marrow and other substances that Kate needs to survive. Now, faced with a kidney transplant, Anna wants to put a stop to her painful servitude, so she sues for medical emancipation from her parents, Sara and Brian (two more fine performances by Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric.) The excellent cast includes Alec Baldwin as Anna’s lawyer, Heather Wahlquist as her aunt, Thomas Dekker as Kate’s boyfriend and Joan Cusack as a sternly compassionate judge.

Nick Cassavetes directed from his and Jeremy Leven’s adaptation of the Jodi Picoult novel. The book had its own structural problems, plus an ending that was problematic to say the least. If the back-and-forth time line remains tangled, the ending is now more honest, though anguishingly so. Honesty and intelligence suffuse the production, which is equally eloquent about the toll that grave illness can take on a family and the role that love can play in healing it. The superb cinematographer Caleb Deschanel has contributed images of great warmth, though also unsparing ones when they’re appropriate. “My Sister’s Keeper” may seem unusually serious for summer entertainment, but any season is the right one for a good film.