Monday, July 6, 2009


hello all! last week, i went to the movies to see "My Sister's Keeper." it was based on a book that i read years ago and really enjoyed. this is one of many Jodi Piccault best sellers. the story revolves around this average family that is dealing with an abnormal situation. the oldest daughter has leukemia and the second daughter was created to help her sister survive. the designer baby at the age of eleven decides to sue her family for the rights to her own body. back to the movie...Cameron Diaz portrays the mother who is determined to do whatever she has to do to keep her daughter alive. Abigail Breslin plays the spare parts daughter determined to take control of her life. all of the actors did a phenomenal job. it was believable and heart wrenching. i was specifically impressed by cameron diaz's performance. very convincing and forced you to put yourself in her shoes (the title of another diaz film). the problem is the script. im not a screenwriter so i don't know if anyone could do a much better job. but, in the book, the point of view changed from one family member to another in a seamless fashion. it gave you a deeper perspective on all the characters. the movie attempted to do this but was not nearly as successful. this was especially so for the son and the lawyer. the son has a lot of issues and odd behavior in the novel that are never discussed in the film version. in addition to the character depth issue, the main action that demonstrates the most important theme of the book was left out. **spoiler alert** in the novel, after the court case, abigail's character ends up getting into a fatal car accident and her kidney goes to her dying sister in the hospital of course, the sick sister survives. it teaches us that we can't control life...or death, for that matter. however, in the movie, no car accident takes place. the cancerous sister dies of leukemia and the family heals. what a let down...if i had not read the book, i would have been unimpressed by this sad, predictable movie. i'm happy that i have the knowledge that goes beyond the scenes to get to the heart of the matter.