Anna Fitzgerald (Abigail Breslin) was brought into this world specifically to save her sister Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) who is dying from leukemia. For her entire life, she has been subjected to numerous medical procedures all in efforts to save her sister’s life. When it comes time to donate a kidney, Anna turns to lawyer Campbell Alexander, (Alec Baldwin) to sue her parents for medical emancipation, letting her decide what she wants and doesn’t want to do with her body.
This film was not at all what I expected. Sure, I had the Kleenex standing by ready for the obvious tear-jerkers, but it was in the less than obvious parts that touched me greatly. What could have been a Lifetime sappy movie of the week was instead a beautiful and touching portrait of a family dealing with a sick child which has turned them into a sick family. Mindfully, any parent would do whatever they had to do in order to prolong their child’s life, but this disease effects the family as a whole which doesn’t always mean bringing it together. This movie was real and not melodramatic, which is one of its best assets. There are disagreements and hurt feelings and many desperate actions. There is also joy and life and love. The best I can describe is like the actors were on mute. Cameron Diaz as the mother doesn’t act too much and at the appropriate time, she brings forth her big guns in a heart wrenching moan that speaks volumes more than words in a script. Vassilieva is a gem. She had a roller coaster ride of emotions and a delicate wire to walk through them and does so with great passion and force. There are no bad actors in this film, but rather a band of tightly woven people bringing life to a story.
Big bite: Definitely a film worth watching; heartbreakingly good.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Make my day, make a comment!