Your Sister's Sister

Starring: Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mark Duplass, Mike Birbiglia
Directed by: Lynn Shelton
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: To help her best friend (Mark Duplass) get some perspective on his life, a woman (Emily Blunt) invites him to a solitary stay at her family's cabin. Unexpectedly, he finds her sister (Rosemarie DeWitt) there, and a drunken encounter spins all of their lives upside down.

Review:

Tim: I have to say that I couldn't get myself very excited about this film. I've seen a lot of these little independent romantic dramedies, and they are absolutely hit or miss. Some I have enjoyed, others have certainly bored me. Fortunately, Your Sister's Sister is one of the especially strong ones. This movie surprised me in many ways, and I found myself captivated by its different, entertaining story.

From the trailers, I knew the basic gist of the story- a woman sends her best friend off to the family cabin to think about his life. There, he meets her older sister, the two get drunk, and sleep together. The girl shows up, and awkwardness ensues. It seemed humorous, but not especially original. And yet, that story is just the tip of the iceberg. Writer/Director Lynn Shelton gives us an unexpectedly complex movie. I loved how this basic idea evolved into this completely different movie, full of surprises and twists and turns. Not all of these unexpected moments are brilliant, but they do keep the viewers engaged.

The film is really helped by the cast. I like Emily Blunt, and I think she did a good job here. I have seen a few of her films where it feels like she's mailing in her performances just a bit. Here, though, I felt like she actually cared about her character and tried to put in a good performance. There's several truly powerful moments throughout the film that feature Blunt prominently. I think she's a very good (but not yet great) actress, but I love her decision to do this film.

Coming into this movie, I wouldn't say I particularly liked Mark Duplass. I don't think this movie completely changed my mind, as there's just something annoyingly goofy about the guy. There's things he does that I like, and things that just feel off-putting. For the most part, though, he works in this role. He does not give a great performance, but it isn't poor, either.

And that brings me to Rosemarie DeWitt. I was incredibly impressed with DeWitt here. I'd seen two of her films before, so I knew the name, but I remembered nothing about her. Imagine my surprise when she delivers this gorgeous, emotional, real performance. Her character was fascinating, and DeWitt pours so much of herself into the role. She just felt honest and real and very much alive in this character's skin. From her early scenes with Duplass, to the great sister bonding scenes with Blunt, DeWitt just delivers a remarkable performance. It's one of the best, most memorable supporting performances I've seen in 2012. It's too bad that she will certainly be overlooked come "Awards season". I very much loved her performance here.

The movie features some great, great scenes. The cinematography was quite good throughout the film. One of my favorite scenes in the film is when Blunt creeps into her sister's bed. She is laying on the right side, at the top of the screen, and the drowsy DeWitt is on the left side, at the bottom. This shot is just framed beautifully, and they have this powerful, touching conversation. I felt like I was watching real sisters, who were incredibly comfortable with each other. It was a great moment. Duplass has a few great scenes with both Blunt and DeWitt as well. Plus, as an added bonus, the film features comedian Mike Birbiglia, of whom I'm a huge fan.

This is not to say the film is without flaws. The story does occasionally become too melodramatic. There are some big twists and turns, and the film's biggest shock is a bit much to take. It makes you rethink a lot about these characters, and not necessarily in a good way. It does feel a little unrealistic, and the resolution of the film's biggest issues feels forced and too convenient. The film also ends in unnecessarily ambiguous fashion, although I do argue that correctly, the film identifies that we don't really need to know the answer to the final question posed in the movie.

In spite of those flaws, I found this to be an honest, refreshingly different film. There's only so many ways you can tell a dramatic story, but this movie manages to make the story feel contemporary and interesting. I really enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would, and I believe this is an easily-overlooked gem of 2012.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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