My Sister's Keeper

I’m sure I lost at least 5 pounds from crying. I knew it was a tear jerker but was determined to have a stiff upper lip. I really tried. Who needs all that weeping and to think I had to pay for it.

The acting is an unqualified success. The story is powerful. It is just too much emotion to have to handle in a film.

Cameron Diaz plays the part of Mom in the Fitzgerald Family. Dad is a fireman and very devoted to his family. There are three children. At an early age it was discovered that Kate, the eldest daughter, has leukemia. Mom quits her job as a lawyer to be constantly available to meet the demanding needs of Kate. The brother has his own problems but the parents don’t seem to have enough time or strength to sufficiently help him.

The youngest daughter, Anna, is brilliantly played by Abigail Breslin. I think she is the finest young actress to come along in many years. She is only 13 years old but plays the part of an 11 year old in this film. Anna was actually conceived with the plan and hope that she could be of genetic benefit in helping her ailing sister. Since she was a baby she was forced into medical tests and operations to help her sister.

Anna decides that she has had enough of all this medical treatment. She wants her own life and seeks out a lawyer to help her.

The lawyer is well played by Alec Baldwin. The case comes before the court. The judge is played by one of my favorite actors, Joan Cusack. Just to add to the turmoil we are told of the emotional problem faced by the judge. It just doesn’t stop pulling on the heart strings.

This is a high powered cast and all perform well. The emotional pull just becomes too much.

The mother becomes so focused on Kate and doesn’t see anything else. The family begins to disintegrate. We watch Kate getting more ill. If that isn’t bad enough Kate meets an attractive young man also suffering from cancer. They become quite an item. This aspect of the story was a little unbelievable as we see the young couple all dressed to go to a prom. The boyfriend dies soon after leaving Kate distraught.

I won’t tell the ending in case you decide to invest in the Kleenex Company and go to see the film.