My Sister's Keeper (film)

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My Sister's Keeper
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNick Cassavetes
Screenplay byJeremy Leven
Nick Cassavetes
Based on My Sister’s Keeper
by Jodi Picoult
Produced byStephen Furst
Scott Goldman
Mark Johnson
Chuck Pacheco
Mendel Tropper
Starring
CinematographyCaleb Deschanel
Edited byJim Flynn
Alan Heim
Music byAaron Zigman
Production
companies
New Line Cinema
Curmudgeon Films
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • June 26, 2009 (2009-06-26)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million
Box office$92.7 million

My Sister's Keeper is a 2009 American drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes and starring Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Sofia Vassilieva and Alec Baldwin. Based on Jodi Picoult's 2004 novel of the same name,[1] on June 26, 2009, the film was released to cinemas in the United States,[2] Canada, Ireland, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

Plot[edit]

A young girl, Kate Fitzgerald, is diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia devastating her parents, firefighter Brian and lawyer Sara. As neither parent nor Kate's older brother Jesse are a genetic match, Brian and Sara conceive a savior sister, Anna, through in vitro fertilization. Beginning with the harvest of her umbilical cord at birth, Anna has donated compatible blood and stem cells to Kate, and her life has been full of hospitalizations, growth hormone injections, opioid painkillers, sleeping pills, bleeding, and infections. Sara has no qualms over using Anna's body to treat Kate's, and fully believes Anna is a willing donor. Brian, who is closer to Anna, has his own misgivings. Kate also shares a close relationship with Anna, and secretly feels guilty for the ways in which her illness has affected her siblings – for example, Jesse's dyslexia went unnoticed for years as she received all of her parents' attention, leading his grades to suffer.

When Kate is fifteen, she goes into kidney failure. The 11-year-old Anna is required to donate one of her own, which will severely restrict her quality of life. With Jesse's help, Anna approaches attorney Alexander Campbell with intentions to sue her parents for medical emancipation. Campbell, whose covert epilepsy lends him sympathy to her predicament, decides to take her case pro bono. Representing Anna as her guardian ad litem, he files a suit for partial termination of parental rights. This immediately causes a rift between Anna and Sara, and Brian moves Anna into his fire station to separate them.

Meanwhile, Kate begins dating fellow cancer patient Taylor. After attending their hospital's prom for teen patients, they have sex for the first (and only) time, only for Taylor to pass away a few days later. A distraught Kate attempts suicide by overdosing on painkillers before Anna stops her.

After Sara is unable to get the suit thrown out, Anna's case proceeds to trial. Shortly before the hearing, Kate requests to go to the beach one last time. Brian obtains permission and discharges her from the hospital for the day. Sara demands that Kate be returned to the hospital, but Brian refuses and threatens to divorce Sara if she does not join them. They all enjoy one final family outing.

At the hearing, Jesse witnesses Sara's aggressive cross-examination of Anna on the stand and forces Anna to confess that she is acting under Kate's wishes, not her own. While Anna had genuinely wanted to donate her kidney, Kate, knowing she would not survive another operation and having endured enough of both her own and her family's suffering, had asked her to refuse. Sara finally acknowledges that Kate is ready to die, and Kate dies in her sleep later that day with her mother by her side.

After Kate's death, Campbell reports that Anna has won the case. Now reconciled, the family moves on with their lives. Sara, who gave up practicing law to look after Kate, returns to work, Brian retires from firefighting and counsels troubled youths, and Jesse enters college. Anna reveals that every year on Kate's birthday, they go to Montana, which was her "most favorite place in the world". She concludes that she was not born merely to save her sister, she was born because she had a sister, and that their relationship continues even in death.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

Upon the original creation of the film adaptation, sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning were cast to play Kate and Anna respectively. However, when Dakota heard that she would be required to shave her head for the role, she dropped out of the film as then did Elle. The two sisters were replaced, with Abigail Breslin taking on the lead role as Anna Fitzgerald and Sofia Vassilieva in the role of Kate Fitzgerald.[3] Jodi Picoult said in interview she regretted letting Cassavetes direct the film, as he changed its ending from her novel.[4]

Reception[edit]

Critical response[edit]

My Sister's Keeper received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 47% of reviews for the film were positive, based on 139 reviews, with an average rating of 5.50/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "My Sister's Keeper gets fine performances from its adult and child actors, but the director's heavy-handed approach turns a worthy emotional subject into an overly melodramatic tearjerker."[5] Another aggregator, Metacritic, reported a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 28 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[7]

Box office[edit]

In its opening weekend, it placed fifth with a total of $12,442,212, behind Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, The Proposal (second weekend), The Hangover (fourth weekend), and Up (fifth weekend).[8] The film left theatres on October 8, 2009, with a domestic total of $49,200,230 with a further $46,459,927 from foreign markets. It has grossed $95,660,157 worldwide.[2]

Awards[edit]

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2009 Teen Choice Award Choice Summer Movie Drama My Sister's Keeper Won[9]
2009 ALMA Awards Outstanding Actress in Motion Picture Cameron Diaz Won
2010 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress Abigail Breslin Won
Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Actor Brennan Bailey Nominated
Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Actress Sofia Vassilieva Won

Soundtrack[edit]

Trailer:

TV spot:

Movie:

References[edit]

  1. ^ Fleming, Michael (February 12, 2008). "Breslin, Vassilieva to star in 'Keeper'. Duo replaces Fanning sisters in New Line film". Variety. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  2. ^ a b "My Sister's Keeper (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  3. ^ "Dakota Fanning Steps Down From 'My Sister's Keeper' Role". Starpulse.com. February 13, 2008. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  4. ^ "Jodi Picoult: 'My most treasured possessions are my grandmother's handwritten recipes. They are terrible'". The Guardian. November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  5. ^ "My Sister's Keeper". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  6. ^ "My Sister's Keeper Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  7. ^ "Home". CinemaScore. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  8. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for June 26–28, 2009". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  9. ^ "Teen Choice Awards winners - USATODAY.com". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved January 15, 2019.

External links[edit]

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