By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.9
Director: Lynn Shelton
Starring: Emily Blunt | Mark Duplass | Mike Birbiglia | Rosemarie DeWitt
Country: united_states
Year: 2012
Running time: 90
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1742336/
Thom says: “On the anniversary of his brother’s death Jack (Duplass, ½ of the Duplass brothers, who had a film at TIFF as well) is present at a remembrance party, also attended by the fiancé (Iris, played by Blunt) of the dead man, who additionally is Jack’s best friend. After hearing one overbearing testimony too many Jack blows up to say that his brother wasn’t quite the saint as supposed. After the party Iris hears Jack out and feeling sorry for him, sends him off to a cabin retreat in a forest so he can have time alone to contemplate his life. But when Jack arrives at the wooded cottage Iris’ lesbian sister Hannah (DeWitt) is already holed up there, having just broken up with her girlfriend. Hannah & Jack commiserate with each other and get rip-roaring drunk. In the passion of the moment they end up fornicating. The next day Iris shows up unannounced because she’s worried about Jack. Need I say that unbeknownst to them both they are in love with each other. So when Iris & Hannah retreat for a tete-a-tete hilarity reigns until the end of this pleasing film. Much better than her earlier HUMPDAY which didn’t have the courage of its
convictions. All likable characters in a funny romp. 3.5 cats
“Seen at TIFF 2011”
Jason says: “YOUR SISTER’S SISTER is Lynn Shelton’s new movie, and if you’ve been following her career, the shape of it likely won’t surprise you much: It’s three people in an increasingly tangled set of relationships fueled by improvised dialogue. Her previous successes have bought her a higher-profile cast for a somewhat bigger production. She’s improving with practice, and was pretty good to begin with.
“She starts us off with Jack (Mark Duplass), still reeling from his brother Tom’s death a year earlier. His best friend Iris (Emily Blunt) – who was also Tom’s ex-girlfriend – suggests he go to her family’s island cabin to get his head straight. When he gets there, though, he finds Iris’s sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt), who has just left her girlfriend of seven years and has much the same idea. Drinking happens, and when Iris shows up the next morning, things suddenly become very complicated.
“It sounds like damning with faint praise to say, but Shelton has a real knack for taking a situation comedy premise and wringing an intriguing story out of it. Her previous film, HUMPDAY (also starring Duplass), worked along those lines, and this one has a wry take on the structure at least twice: Early on, when Hannah recognizes that there’s no really strong reason to keep something secret, forcing Shelton and her cast to put a little effort into a contrivance that many films would take for granted; and later, when a pivotal moment of dramatic upheaval is staged as farce. It’s not so much subversive as it is playing to the genre’s strengths – a good sitcom works via empathy – and this lets the movie be funny and serious without every tipping too far toward screwball or melodrama.
“The basic structure of the movie is good, most of the way – toward the end Shelton seems to have a little trouble figuring out how to get the characters to start digging out of the whole she’s put them in, really not seeming to know what to do with one of the three. Maybe that’s partially a result of the improvisation – Duplass, Blunt, DeWitt, and Mike Birbiglia (who has a small part in the film’s opening minutes) are all credited as ‘creative consultants’ as well as performers – but by the same token, the partially-improvised dialogue is smooth, natural-sounding, and funny.
“Of course, one can’t tell how much of the dialogue is Shelton’s and how much is improvised just from watching the movie, but their performances are certainly first-rate. All three members of the main cast are excellent, with chemistry between them that seems just right. DeWitt is especially good, not quite snatching the movie away from a very affable-but-wounded Duplass (whose Jack had been the viewpoint character until Hannah appeared) but establishing a parallel but very different character very quickly. Emily Blunt does some of her best work, slowly but surely building her character as the movie goes on.
“The scale of YOUR SISTER’S SISTER is small, and that suits it. Shelton does a nice job of telling a story that’s funny and charming without being jokey. It doesn’t overextend itself, and still earns an ending that’s not just a punchline. 4 1/4 cats
“Seen 24 June 2012 in Landmark Kendall Square #6 (first-run, 35mm)”
Diane says: “I’m giving it 4 cats.
“As Jay says, Shelton uses a sitcom premise, but the developments, dialogue, and emotions are complex. I always like Mark Duplass. I have a couple complaints about how the passing of time was handled, and a couple of plot points that didn’t ring true. See what you think.”