The Sisters (2005) Reviews

• A Reminder of How Powerful Theater Can Be

  gradyharp2006-06-23

  THE SISTERS is adapted by Richard Alfieri from his play 'The Sisters' which in turn was adapted from Anton Chekov's 'The Three Sisters': the theatrical aspects of the play remain intact in this film version - and that is most definitely a plus! All of the action takes place on an obvious set (an enormously beautiful Faculty Lounge for a university where nearly everyone in the play is employed, and in a hospital waiting room) and the lines are richly imbued with dialogue that mirrors Chekov's form despite the fact that Chekov's play has been updated to the present time with all the changes (and similarities!) of modern day family life. The story is well known: a family of three sisters and a baby brother are both united and bonded by the past and show the scars of maturing on their journeys from a childhood to adulthood with a father that was both a hero to some and an incestuous attacker to another. One by one each of the sisters and the brother peel away the trappings that hide each other's realities and make public the pain endured in their dysfunctional family. Maria Bello as Marcia carries the bulk of the story as the abused, spiteful, vitriolic, unhappy head of the family unit: she is astonishingly fine. Mary Stuart Masterson is Olga, the closeted lesbian chancellor who has never had the luxury of sharing her private feelings with her sisters for fear of the consequences of her sexuality. Erika Christensen is the youngest sister Irene whose painful life as being treated as a child leads to her life of drug abuse. Allesandro Nivola is Andrew, the baby brother left in charge of the family estate in the South and has married a trashy, mouthy floozy Nancy (Elizabeth Banks) who is the sole challenge to the family's unity. The stalwart Greek chorus is the old professor Dr. Chebrin (Rip Torn) who watches as the various characters tangential to this crumbling family vie for inclusion: Gary Sokol (Eric McCormack) whose asides keep the theatrical flavor moving; David Turzin (Chris O'Donnell) who loves and wants to possess Irene and is in bitter competition with Gary for her affections; psychologist husband of Marcia Dr. Harry Glass (Steven Culp); and the visitor from the past Vincent Antonelli (Tony Goldwyn) who changes Marcia's existence transiently. Each actor is superb, playing the marvelous dialogue for all its worth and giving us fully realized characterizations. Arthur Allan Seidelman is the fine director and the elegant musical score is by Thomas Morse. There is action in this story and movement inside and outside the ways films should be shot when making a play into a movie. But for those who love the theater seeing this film little film will create a desire to have this exact company of actors set up shop in a nearby legitimate theater to allow for the grand impact of a fine play sifted through a fine adaptation to be absorbed repeatedly. Highly recommended. Grady Harp

• Best film I rented this year!

  jap31772007-11-20

  I went to the video store last weekend not really knowing which horrible studio film I wanted to fall asleep to - the weekend prior I watched Hillary Swank's awful film THE REAPING... good premise, poorly executed. And why an Oscar winner starred, I have no idea?? Which brought me to THE SISTERS, and also probably answers my last question - Swank never could of wrapped her head around the dialogue with the same wit and sarcasm Maria Bello is able to execute. Why Bello hasn't won an Oscar, I have no idea -- she most definitely should of won a few awards for her star turn in THE SISTERS -- if not an Oscar, at least an Independent Spirit. This film gives it's viewers something magical to hold onto - rich dialogue that speaks to the soul and the mind (words with more than 1 or 2 syllables, oh my!!); actors who act with passion for a project and a screenplay they must of really believed in - because you know they didn't get paid for this film and you can't pull the wool over this many stars eyes!! Director Arthur Allan Seidelman has been around for a while and brings his A-game to adapting Chekov's masterpiece. The writer is a wizard of vocabulary who obviously understood the essence of what old Anton was trying to teach us all. Kudos to the writer, director, actors and crew - your efforts to bring quality American cinema to the screen is much appreciated!

• Excellent Cast, Direction and Script

  bivasb-12005-09-13

  I had the privilege of meeting the Director, Arthur Allan Siedelman at the screening of this film. This is probably the first "dialogue-heavy" movie that I really liked. This film is based on Chekov's "The Three Sisters" which is a great story to begin with. The acting is in one word stunning. Script is like I said very rich in dialogue. Allan Siedelman's direction is very enticing and inviting. I'll root for Maria Bello for an Oscar nomination for her brilliant performance. Scoring is beautiful but subtle. When released, this movie should draw rave reviews and can only be more successful as more people get to watch it.

• sophomoric attempt at insight

  mitchabramson2006-09-05

  It's not enough for the director to parade overeducated ill-tempered females into the imagined space of the faculty lounge, he seeks to imbue them with imagined glamor or "righteousness" in that they interrupt one another (even when making birthday speeches) with criticisms on grammar. His knowledge of drug-use is even more distressingly inadequate than his shocking misunderstanding of the intellectualism his characters demonstrate. The young sister, her face full of baby fat and a demeanor more akin to someone tranquilized is portrayed as a meth addict, and the educated elite can do nothing but tell her "it'll be alright." Maria Bello's character seems to enjoy cuckolding her husband for months at a time, but that part of the movie is simply skipped, and we never learn a thing why she enjoys (loves) the man she is having an affair with. The most tragic part of the movie is the director's mis-use of "Nancy," the somewhat trashy salesgirl marrying the weak brother. It was as if Seidelman was afraid this character might come-alive and eat his lunch, so she also was muzzled and made somewhat impotent. We learn nothing from Mr. Seidelman other than he needs an education (in life) before he starts another pretentious effort at biting off more than he can chew.

• I have a headache THIS BIG!!!!!

  saberlee442006-06-20

  As so many of the other comments have beautifully synopsized this film, I won't spend much time repeating the plot. Yes, this film is about three sisters and a brother in a college town, coming to grips with themselves and each other after their father's death. What bothered me throughout the entire film was the writing. I was too keenly aware of the writer himself, as opposed to watching a really good film and saying to myself afterward, "That was beautifully written." Rather, with this film, I could picture the writer saying, "Wow, that was a really good line!" "Here's some big words I can string together!" "Yes! Great line!" Full disclosure: as a writer myself, I fully understand the joy in this, but the characters should take center stage, NOT the writer. I could not get the image of this writer patting himself on the back until it was beet red. I liked Eric McCormack and Erica Christensen, though I would have liked to have learned more about Erica's character, Irene. Chris O'Donnell is never very interesting to me. Too vanilla. Okay, those are actors. Back to the film. The character of Marcia (Maria Bello) was completely unsympathetic to me. She was far more interested in forming complex, multi-syllabic words, showing off her pedigree, and spewing "clever" insults rather than dealing with her demons. Her hatred for her brother's wife, Nancy, was over-the-top and she asked for everything she got in return. Stephen Culp, as her Desperate husband, seemed to just languish. I never really did feel the spark or notice much develop between Marcia and Victor (Tony Goldwyn), so I was completed unimpressed during the scene where they had to part ways, because Victor, as much as he loved her (hello??) could not leave his daughters to be raised by his wife. Noble, but trust me fella, you got out while the getting was good. The drama queen wiped away her mascara and found something else to torture herself with! Supposedly, this wild passion and love ignited between Marcia and Victor almost immediately. Excuse me, I think I blinked during the film. I must have missed it. My apologies. Mary Stuart Masterson as Olga was far more believable as a character. Unfortunately, the viewer was treated to such an overdose of Marcia that the other characters were overshadowed. I would have liked to understood Olga more. Eric McCormack (Gary Sokol), managed to take his angst-filled, bitterly sarcastic character and make him believable. I hated the character through most of the film, but in a way one is supposed to hate a character -- because the actor is doing his job -- not hating a character because he's a tangle of stereotypes, throwing it all out there (or out the window) and hoping something will stick! Marcia! Marcia! Marcia! I imagine this is one of those films that one will either love or hate. I cannot say that it was a terrible film just because I didn't like it; I can only explain my reasons for wanting to muzzle Marcia. I can say that I tend to prefer plays in the theater. Taking them out of their natural habitat often ruffles the beast. Despite the abuse perpetrated on her by her father, Marcia just didn't make me care about her in any way at all. Any moment, I expected her to say, "Okay, enough about me. Let's talk about me." My recommendation is to see this film and decide for yourself. I watched it expecting to really like it. I WANTED to like it. Just didn't happen.