MY SISTER MY SISTER
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.8
United Kingdom, 1994 Running Length: 1:29 MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (Sex, violence, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Julie Walters, Joely Richardson, Jodhi May, Sophie Thursfield Director: Nancy Meckler Producer: Norma Heyman Screenplay: Wendy Kesselman based on her play Cinematography: Ashley Rowe Music: Stephen Warbeck No U.S. Distributor
Because of the universally negative reaction to incest, it's a subject rarely tackled by motion pictures -- especially when that incest is lesbian in nature. Therefore, in its depiction of the twisted relationship between co-dependent sisters, SISTER MY SISTER is unique. Like HEAVENLY CREATURES, this tale of frantic love and brutal murder is based on a true story. While Nancy Meckler's film lacks the completeness of Peter Jackson's, the two movies together represent a fascinating study of parallels in obsession-based murder.
SISTER MY SISTER opens with a brief prologue showing sisters Christine (Joely Richardson) and Lea (Jodhi May) as little girls. It's clear that the younger Lea is Mother's favorite; the parental reaction to Christine borders on contempt. The scene then shifts ahead some two decades, to a small provincial town in 1932 France. Christine, working as a maid for Madame Danzard (Julie Walters) and her plain daughter Isabelle (Sophie Thursfield), has managed to persuade Lea to join her in service. Reunited at last, and out from under their mother's control, the two sisters rejoice. Meanwhile, Madame Danzard finds the arrangement quite suitable, since she gets two maids for the price of one.
But Christine and Lea's relationship has already been poisoned by their mother's favoritism. Lea, painfully shy and uncertain of herself, needs Christine's approval for everything. The older sister, on the other hand, harbors a barely-concealed rage that occasionally finds form in tempestuous explosions. She protects her sister with a fierce jealousy that goes beyond the rational. As time passes, the sisters spend almost all their free hours cloistered in their upstairs room, hiding from a world that they no longer feel a part of. In the process, their relationship crosses the line from platonic to sexual.
One of the most unusual elements of SISTER MY SISTER is that it's peppered with comic moments. However, rather than lightening the mood, the humor deepens the story's uneasy tone. Put simply, we get the feeling that we're laughing when we shouldn't be, and that sensation is exactly what the director is aiming for. Intense performances by Joely Richardson (I'LL DO ANYTHING) and Jodhi May (THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS) possess an unsettling quality, and the entire movie leaves a lingering impression. Character motivation is not as detailed as in HEAVENLY CREATURES, and certain elements of the protagonists' pasts remain ambiguous, but there's enough to lend resonance to the climax.
The greatest failing of this film is its flat presentation of Madame Danzard and her daughter. Julie Walters gives a hilarious, over- the-top performance as a prototypical high society snob, but there's nothing real about Madame Danzard -- she's a pure stereotype with barely a trace of any human sensibility. This kind of simpleminded portrayal belongs in a different motion picture. Meckler is somewhat ambivalent about Isabelle, occasionally lumping her with her mother in the caricature mold, but at other times allowing the audience to glimpse a more evenhanded personality.
SISTER MY SISTER is daring, and would have received more attention had the superior HEAVENLY CREATURES not reached the screen first (both movies went before cameras at about the same time). The story raises a lot of questions about where the division lies between healthy and diseased love, and the sorts of tragic results that can come when humans are subjected to unreasonable repression. Although those easily offended will find SISTER MY SISTER unbearable, even the most liberal viewer will leave the theater affected by the naked passions laid bare during the course of the film.
- James Berardinelli (jberardinell@delphi.com)
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