Interesting Premise, Poor Execution

The sun set a long time ago, but it's still twilight outside and there's this huge cumulus cloud--it's unreal how large it is--in the horizon with a whole system of lightning storms occurring inside it as it rains into the evening redness in the west. It's very panoramic, and it sort of makes me wish I was living in Africa--Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight has been growing on me--or Montana. The sort of places with larger-than-life vistas. The desire to live in, or rather briefly visit, Montana was the best thing that came out of seeing My Sister's Keeper.

I was conflicted about whether or not I wanted to see this film, but eventually I decided I did, so last night I went with a couple of my girlfriends . . . and it was disappointing. It's maybe worth a rental, but not a theater screening. The actors were all pretty decent; Abigail Breslin is all grown-up and just a little slutty, and it appears that Cameron Diaz just might be able to act--she's believable as a mother anyway, and has a scene where she breaks down very nicely. But I think it's Sofia Vassilieva who gives the best performance as the girl with leukemia. I've never seen or heard of her, apparently she's on Medium, but perhaps one day she may become a long and difficult-to-spell household name. She's quite pretty and reminds me a little bit of Amber Tamblyn.

I was expecting a tear-jerker and even looking forward to a good cry, and while I suppose it deserves points for not being too melodramatic, it wasn't a weeper either. I only teared up once towards the end, but that was it. What was truly terrible was the narrative employed. All the main characters took turns narrating and there were so many flash-backs, it was difficult to keep track of time. It was very messy, and I think would have benefited from a different narratological style. And the brother supposedly had a semi-sordid side-story that was never made clear. Furthermore, I was expecting more from the movie than I got from the preview--more surprises, action, gut-wrenching drama, breakdowns--but there wasn't a whole lot more to it. I won't spoil the ending, but I've heard it's vastly different from the novel. I'm not sure which one I like more--not having read the book--but the film's denouement seems more realistic than the novel's. Finally the legal battle ended in a very unrealistic way--the sort of thing I would expect from a B-list comedy. I like my portrayals of law to at least be as realistic as Law & Order--man, I love that show! Nevertheless, Joan Cusack made a pretty good judge. In the end, I just wasn't sure what I was supposed to feel or take away from the film, which happened to be nothing in my case. So, I do not recommend this film. I do hope to catch Whatever Works or Cheri sometime soon. Oh, and we saw a preview for Nine which comes out in the fall and looks amazing. Anyway... Toodles!