If you love film, you likely have been to a repertory screening at some point in your life. The chance to watch an older movie, on the big screen, with a crowd as in love with the opportunity to watch a movie in theatres, maybe for the first time, or maybe to recapture that sense of wonder of when you first saw it. The idea of repertory showings of movies still exists, but it’s also become corporatized through Fathom Events and their annual TCM series. That’s not inherently a bad thing (it’s how I finally watched “Vertigo” and “Jaws” on the big screen), but it also takes away some of the pleasure of going to an art house theatre like Atlanta’s The Plaza, which constantly has older films on tap, as well as special showings; my experiences with “The Crow” and “The Shining” there are unmatched.
It took me a while to figure out who my bookend director for 2024 was going to be for this series. As I listened to his memoir while on the road for work, I knew the answer had to be the one and only Mel Brooks, and starting our year had to happen with his 1967 directorial debut, “The Producers.”
This week, I watched Lynn Shelton’s 2011 film, “Your Sister’s Sister”, for the first time. I hope you enjoy!
Viva La Resistance!
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
“Your Sister’s Sister” (2011)- A
“Your Sister’s Sister” is a movie that would have absolutely connected with me if I had seen it in 2011-2012. In 2024, it’s also a movie that connects with me. One of my favorite stories in films and TV is following a character through a trial of self-discovery, and they are a better person on the other side of things, ready to change their lives. In 2011, I was very much in that mindset, so Lynn Shelton’s film would have been a wonderful discovery for me. Now, I’m late to the party on this film, but better late than never, in this case.
There are some tropes in fiction that only serve people in fiction, if we’re being honest with one another. One of those is the brutally honest eulogy. Most people would never consider speaking ill of the living or the dead at a funeral or memorial service- it would only isolate and alienate the speaker from others. That is how “Your Sister’s Sister” opens, when Jack (Mark Duplass) opens up about the flawed, messy human that his brother, Tom, was on the occasion of a get-together to honor his passing a year later. He’s struggling with the loss still, and while some people can’t believe he’s saying the things he is, I definitely recognize why it’s important for him to do so. While it may make people uncomfortable, sometimes the best thing we can do is celebrate the person, warts and all, in a way that resonates for us. Jack’s best friend, Iris (Emily Blunt), feels like he needs time away, and offers her family’s getaway cabin for him to relax in. When her sister, Hannah (Rosemary DeWitt), is there at the same time, however- and Iris later makes her way up there, things get really complicated, really fast.
Shelton’s script is built on several “only in the movies” contrivances and reveals, especially when Jack, Iris and Hannah are at the cabin, and yet, the characters are so real that it becomes a minor criticism. As performed by Duplass, Blunt and DeWitt, and as written by Shelton, every moment has truth. Why Hannah would make the choice she does with Jack when they are talking at the cabin that first night. We believe Iris when she talks about her feelings for Jack with Hannah. And we believe Jack. On the surface, he looks like a sad sack whose fortunes with these sisters feels improbable, but there’s a lot of charm and charisma to him; he’s also not someone looking for an easy connection. He cares about listening to Hannah that first night, and is concerned about how Iris would feel if she learned what they did that night. We do get the inevitable second act conflict, leading to everyone feeling isolated, only to come back together at the end, but as with the best films of this type, it only happens because of introspection and being honest with each other.
I mentioned at the beginning of this review how this type of story resonates with me. It would have been a welcome discovery at the time of its original release, because I had a lot of the same emotional struggles as Jack in the beginning of the film. I was very much adrift, and a piece of me had died a few years earlier when I was hospitalized, and had to really own up to my emotional struggles. I was still figuring things out in 2011, most especially how to really function without feeling the need to be in a relationship. I eventually got there, and I was ready to move to the next chapter of my life, which is ultimately where Jack arrives at by the end of this film, even if it feels a bit too neat for a film that embraced the messiness of its characters before then. I’m still grateful I finally arrived at the moment of finally watching this film.
Previous “Repertory Revue” Films
“The Producers” (1967)
“Shadow of a Doubt” (1943)
“My Brother’s Wedding” (1983)
“Your Sister’s Sister” (2011)
See Brian’s list of 2009 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2010 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2011 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2012 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2013 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2014 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2015 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2016 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2017 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2018 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2019 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2020 “Repertory Revues” here.
See Brian’s list of 2021 “Repertory Revues” here.
See Brian’s list of 2022 “Repertory Revues” here.
See Brian’s list of 2023 “Repertory Revues” here.
