Directed by: Lynn Shelton
Starring: Emily Blunt, Mark Duplass, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mike Birbiglia
Lynn Shelton’s Your Sister’s Sister is one of the pleasanter surprises I’ve had this year. It was not a film I had expected to like, nor is it a type of film I am normally drawn to. Actually, it’s fairer to say that it really didn’t turn out to be the type of film I expected. What I expected was something in the nature of the work of Mark and Jay Duplass — with a lot of shaky camerawork, seemingly arbitrary zooms and even more meandering mullygrubbing. What I got was a thoughtful, complex story with a mix of intelligently used hand-held (not shaky) camerawork and beautifully composed tripod shots emphasizing the splendid — and glorious — isolation of the setting that had something of the sense of Ingmar Bergman. That last may seem heady praise, but the visuals deserve it.
The film opens with Jack (Mark Duplass in a revelatory performance) having a kind of meltdown at memorial party given on the one-year anniversary of his brother’s death. While everyone else enthuses over what a wonderful guy the brother was, Jack goes into a near tirade about his brother’s less lovely qualities. It is this outburst that causes Jack’s best friend, Iris (Emily Blunt), to suggest that Jack needs some time to himself to sort his life out. To this end, she packs him off to her family’s cottage on an island off Washington state, refusing (supposedly due to a workload) to visit him there.
What Iris doesn’t know (and what Jack doesn’t expect) is that her half-sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt) has already taken over the cabin following a breakup with her longtime girlfriend. In itself, this turns into what normally would qualify as “meeting cute” — only, of course, there’s the immediate difference that Hannah is a lesbian. But the two hit it off and — over copious amounts of tequila — trade a good many confidences. With their immediate rapport, shared loneliness and the alcohol, the pair end up in bed together for some rather perfunctory sex. The problem arrives the next morning when Iris unexpectedly shows up, sending Jack into a panic that she might find out what happened. Hannah is somewhat amused and perplexed by this — much more perplexed than the audience, but maybe Hannah doesn’t go to the movies much. All this has the makings of farce, but Shelton and her cast (who improvised much of the dialogue) take it somewhere much richer — and that’s a somewhere I’ll leave to the film.
As I noted earlier, Duplass is truly a revelation here. It’s not just that he’s refreshingly against the usual male lead type. It’s that he so completely inhabits his character that you feel less like you’re watching a performance and more like you’re actually getting to know him. Nearly everything he does — including a scene where he pitches a tantrum that could have been embarrassing — feels incredibly real. Nowhere is this more evident than in what might best be described as his big scene near the film’s end. It is little short of sublime.
Some have found the film’s ending abrupt and too inconclusive, but I thought it was quite perfect. You really should see it and find out for yourself. For more on Your Sister’s Sister check out my interview with writer-director Lynn Shelton in the online edition of the Xpress. Rated R for language and some sexual content.
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The MAD MEN cast is really getting around latley. Don Draper in FRIENDS WITH KIDS, Trudy Campbell in THE FIVE YEAR ENGAGEMENT, Lane Pryce in SHERLOCK HOLMES 2, Peggy Olson in DARLING COMPANION… |
 Jul 10, 2012 at 3:42 PM |
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You drag in this TV stuff just to annoy me, don’t you? |
Jul 10, 2012 |
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Get over yourself Ken. Everyone knows TV was around long before your precious “movies”. |
 Jul 10, 2012 at 5:26 PM |
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Bumblepuppy. |
Jul 10, 2012 |
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Centrifugal Bumblepuppy? |
Jul 10, 2012 at 6:57 PM |
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Inevitably. |
Jul 10, 2012 |
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Bumblepuppy enough with the swear words. geez… |
Jul 11, 2012 at 4:01 AM |
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Fiddle faddle. |
Jul 11, 2012 |
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Ken Tv is the new cinema according to these articles and David Edelstein. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2010/08/mad-men-emmys-glee-avatar-television-film.html http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/01/the-big-story-is-television-the-new-cinema.html
A lot of actors and directors are now turning to tv services like HBO, which is really not that far of a stretch just more of the tradition that people like Bergman, Lynch, and Fassbinder laid out. I personally love to read Jim Emersons scanners blog and his assessments of shows like Mad Men. http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/2010/08/mad_men_how_to_direct_an_actio.html |
Me Jul 13, 2012 |
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That’s all very well if you want to follow this route. It’s not my line of country. TV—and by TV I mean serial form TV, not stand-alone offerings—has an inherent problem for me in that it’s too sprawling and too much about the writing and not the filmmaking. I leave it to those who like this sort of thing and want to follow stories or characters for weeks, months, and even years. |
Jul 14, 2012 |
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Film making has entered the realm of TV making for a little over ten years now probably since The Sopranos i think it was Jim Emerson that pointed out some of the Fassbinder influences on a couple of episodes of Mad Men. More directors are starting to direct tv series now. |
Me Jul 14, 2012 |
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Jim Emerson that pointed out some of the Fassbinder influences on a couple of episodes of Mad Men. So? More directors are starting to direct tv series now. Economic considerations do not constitute a choice. This is not new. Directors in search of work have turned their hands to TV for 30-plus years. If TV is the end-all be-all medium, then why do people from TV always jump at the chance to cross over into movies? |
Jul 14, 2012 |
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If TV is the end-all be-all medium, then why do people from TV always jump at the chance to cross over into movies? More time and money to shoot a project is one. People go the other way too. Greg Mottola and Aaron Sorkin are running The Newsroom at the moment - neither of them are hurting for gigs in features. Jonathon Nolan created Person Of Interest after co-writing one of the highest grossing films of all time. Richard Curtis has continued to write television after establishing a successful feature career. Same with JJ Abrams. Martin Scorsese co-created Boardwalk Empire and has directed episodes of that. |
Jul 14, 2012 at 3:19 PM |
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Most of the people you cite are writers. And that’s a different thing altogether. TV has a great appeal to writers because it is clearly much more of a writer’s medium. Martin Scorsese co-created Boardwalk Empire and has directed episodes of that. And you’ll note that he co-created it. I’d be very surprised to see him go direct the odd episode of someone else’s show—where everything is pretty much set-in-stone after it’s been established. I did follow that American Horror Story show from Ryan Murphy last year. It had several problems—all of them inherent in the serial format. The further it got away from the original Murphy directed show, the less interesting it becamme. The more Murphy got away from the writing, the less interesting it became. And, for that matter, it outlived its value. Put it another way—given the choice between directing an episode of an established show or making your own theatrical feature, what would you choose?
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Jul 14, 2012 |
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Does anyone notice that there’s not one damned post on here that has anything to do with the movie supposedly under discussion? |
Jul 14, 2012 |
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Well, in my case that’s because it doesn’t open here until September. |
Jul 14, 2012 at 3:56 PM |
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Oh, you’re using that for an excuse, are you? |
Jul 14, 2012 |
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Does anyone notice that there’s not one damned post on here that has anything to do with the movie supposedly under discussion? Hey Ken, you seen that movie Margaret? You know, the one about the angsty teenage girl that never got released to theaters, or barely got released, or something because of some sort of legal dispute. I’m looking at an add for it right here on this page next to where you wrote a movie review for some other movie. Anyway, just wondering which version I should watch.
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 Jul 14, 2012 at 4:20 PM |
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Never having seen either one, I have no idea. Watch Your Sister’s Sister instead. |
Jul 14, 2012 |
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“Does anyone notice that there’s not one damned post on here that has anything to do with the movie supposedly under discussion?” I’m currently having a disagreement with my sister’s sister. Does that count? |
Jul 14, 2012 at 6:06 PM |
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you seen that movie Margaret? Anyway, just wondering which version I should watch. Folks who saw the theatrical version say the 3-hour director’s cut (for which Scorsese apparently gave guidance or funded or something) is best. $28 on Amazon is the best I’ve seen for it. Maybe Orbit has a copy? |
Jul 14, 2012 |
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I’m currently having a disagreement with my sister’s sister. Does that count? Depends on the disagreement. |
Jul 15, 2012 |
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$28 on Amazon is the best I’ve seen for it. That’s a hefty tariff to satisfy my idle curiosity. |
Jul 15, 2012 |
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I’m afraid that none of that particular wax belongs to your own personal bees. |
Jul 15, 2012 at 8:46 AM |
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I’m afraid that none of that particular wax belongs to your own personal bees. But does it pertain to their knees? |
Jul 15, 2012 |
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Sounds porngraphic |
 Jul 15, 2012 at 11:23 AM |
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Most things do if presented properly. |
Jul 15, 2012 |
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or presented improperly.
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Jul 16, 2012 at 8:02 PM |
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Ken these days it seems to be the opposite more movie stars are jumping to do a tv series.
Edwin wait until Margaret is released on Netflix on August 8. |
Me Jul 16, 2012 |
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Lena Dunham went from getting a Criterion approved first film straight to directing the HBO series Girls. Good. Perhaps I’ll never have to sit through another of her “Criterion approved” movies again. |
Jul 16, 2012 |
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They must of seen something in Lena because the show is way better than her film. Also there is the just plain unexplainable James Franco doing Soup Operas and Zooey Deschanel doing broadcast tv. There is also a Charlie Kaufman series in the works with Catherine Keener. Lena Dunhams show was one of the funniest things on tv this year. http://youtu.be/Q_L52eExAHU |
Me Jul 16, 2012 |
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They must of seen something in Lena because the show is way better than her film. Episodes of My Mother the Car are better than Tiny Furniture. The point, however, is that her big theatrical success grossed about $391,000 and had no international release. I seriously doubt that movie producers were beating a path to her door. Lena Dunhams show was one of the funniest things on tv this year. Your sense of humor bears little relation to mine. |
Jul 16, 2012 |
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Edwin wait until Margaret is released on Netflix on August 8. Thanks. That’s probably just the theatrical release, though. That’s a hefty tariff to satisfy my idle curiosity. If we all chip in $2… |
Jul 17, 2012 |
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If we all chip in $2… That’d probably get us to six bucks. |
Jul 17, 2012 |
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In a desperate bid to direct the conversation toward the film at hand…anybody besides me have one of those green Pyrex bowls that’s in the top photo? |
Jul 17, 2012 |
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I’m glad you liked this film as well as you did and gave Duplass his due praise for his work in it. 5 years ago I was browsing the shelves at TV Eye and stumbled into The Puffy Chair. I rolled the dice and was really pleasantly surprised (The Duplass Brothers haven’t yet directed a film as good as their first). I immediately took to something about Mark Duplass’ screen persona so it’s nice to see him turn in such a great performance here. Why anyone has trouble with the ending I’ll never understand. |
Jul 17, 2012 at 11:09 AM |
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Wait till you see him in Safety Not Guaranteed. One of the things that got me here is he does things—the meltdown tantrum, for example—that could have easily been cringe-worthy and they work. Now, about that Pyrex bowl. Yes, you know, I have the whole set of four—yellow, green, red, and blue… |
Jul 17, 2012 |
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I wouldn’t go that far since people have compared her comedy stcomedyylings to Woody Allen. |
Me Jul 17, 2012 |
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Yes, well… |
Jul 18, 2012 |
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Well, thats a part of our taste in comedy we have in common. |
Me Jul 18, 2012 |
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“...There is also a Charlie Kaufman series in the works with Catherine Keener.” YaY! She is my dream woman.
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Big Al Jul 18, 2012 |
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Well, thats a part of our taste in comedy we have in common. Oh, I grant that, but this is case where the people who make the claim are filled with the juice of the prune so far as I can see. |
Jul 19, 2012 |
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YaY! She is my dream woman Don’t get too excited. I think the project in question was Frank or Francis, and it seems to have collapsed. |
Jul 19, 2012 |
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I had a gander at the trailer for this. Mark Duplass strikes me as a kind of American Chris O’Dowd, which is by no means a bad thing. |
Jul 19, 2012 at 4:38 AM |
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In a desperate bid to direct the conversation toward the film at hand…anybody besides me have one of those green Pyrex bowls that’s in the top photo? I used to, it was my mother’s. It now resides with my brother, along with the other four bowls in the set. As far as the movie, well, as I live in Green Bay, who knows if it will make it here. I hope so. |
 Jul 19, 2012 at 7:18 AM |
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I used to, it was my mother’s. It now resides with my brother, along with the other four bowls in the set. Mine was my mother’s, too. If I had a brother, he woulda had to fight me to get ‘em. You say other four bowls. Are you including the super big flamingo-colored bowl? I’ve never considered it a part of the basic set. |
Jul 19, 2012 |
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Yes. She had them all stacked together, so I figured they were a set. And I already had two sets of bowls at the time, so I figured he could use it more. Sometimes I’m too damn nice! |
Jul 20, 2012 at 2:51 AM |
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What an excellent film! </b>Nearly everything [Duplass] does — including a scene where he pitches a tantrum that could have been embarrassing — feels incredibly real.</b> It’s the year’s best fight scene. </b>Why anyone has trouble with the ending I’ll never understand.</b> Ditto. All I can think is that Emily Blunt may attract more of a mainstream audience who can only handle endings with no loose threads. |
Jul 20, 2012 |
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Well, I thought I’d bolded the prior comments… |
Jul 20, 2012 |
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To hell with that! Tell us about your mixing bowls! |
Jul 20, 2012 |
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To bring it full circle Lynn Shelton has directed episodes of Mad Men. |
Me Jul 21, 2012 |
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Which actually proves what? How does that one episode between Humpday and this movie relate to her films or filmmaking style? Or does it at all? |
Jul 21, 2012 |
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I didn’t say it proved anything i was just mentioning the coincidence. She talked about the experience and how she loved it in her interview with Elivs Mitchell. She said her next film is going to be an ensemble piece and it will contain no drunk people having sex. |
Me Jul 23, 2012 |
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The sad thing is that episode probably paid her better than any of her movies. By the way, she has a cameo (as the mother who gets Jake Johnson thrown out of the football stadium) in Safety Not Guaranteed, which is opening this Friday. |
Jul 23, 2012 |
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who gets Jake Johnson thrown out of the football stadium You mean TV’s Jake Johnson, co-star of Fox’s NEW GIRL? |
Jul 23, 2012 at 5:22 AM |
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it will contain no drunk people having sex. |
Jul 23, 2012 at 5:31 AM |
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You mean TV’s Jake Johnson, co-star of Fox’s NEW GIRL? It’s a damn good thing you’re on the other side of the world. And, no, I mean Jake Johnson from 21 Jump Street—so there. Booooooooooo! It does seem a step down. |
Jul 23, 2012 |
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Ken how come they haven’t added Safety Not Guaranteed to the roster on the website? |
Me Jul 23, 2012 |
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Beats me, but I don’t have anything to do with The Carolina’s website. This is what I got from them yesterday: Safety Not Guaranteed (R) That’s starting Friday. |
Jul 24, 2012 |
