Your Sister's Sister

Lynn Shelton makes tiny movies on shoestring budgets, and this, her fourth feature, perfects her style. Shot in twelve days with a mostly improvised script, her approach to filmmaking is one I tend to dislike. The spontaneous merits of working without a polished screenplay or the technical trappings of traditional filmmaking most often fail to outweigh the unfocused narratives and visual dullness that usually result. Your Sister’s Sister is a welcome exception. While the film's look is nothing to write home about, and its modest story arc offers nothing unpredictable or startling, the three spot-on lead performances are authentic and moving.

I knew nothing of this film when I saw the poster and decided to walk in and take a seat. I was a casual admirer of the three leads, especially Emily Blunt, and while I knew of Shelton’s movies, I hadn’t seen any of them at that point.  As always, I’m really glad I hadn’t seen the trailer for this simple story that explores love between siblings, friends, and romantic partners, and I was charmed by the way each character was introduced. Almost all of the film’s “action” consists of heart-felt conversations between the three leads, in various combinations. Audiences and critics who demand realism from their movies will be evenly split on how successful these scenes are. People like me, however, who think the term “realism” has no place in American cinema, will find every one of these conversations, whether scripted or improvised, both natural and truthful. These terms are far more descriptive and accurate than "realistic" and I think they are highly applicable here. 

Emily Blunt's performance solidifies her position as my favorite young actress working today. I’ve always admired her, but I had never seen her play a warm or unguarded character before. This movie proves she has an expansive range. It's as easy to fall for her Iris as it is to understand Iris' attraction to Mark Duplass’s insecure Jack. We spend so much time getting to know each of these people that we gain a clear understanding of their hopes, needs, limitations, and psychological damage, which makes it easy for us to follow their emotional states at each twist and turn of the tightly-contained storyline.

I identified thoroughly with each of these characters. While I personally would have looked on the big revelation at the climax of this story as merely an opportunity for another long, heartfelt conversation, I accept that this is a movie and requires a dramatic arc in order to fully satisfy. The mechanics of the film’s narrative may feel a bit contrived but the three characters' actions and reactions are anything but. Your Sister's Sister is a great example of what I call The Chasing Amy Effect: no matter how predisposed I may be to disliking a movie, or to finding fault with the filmmaker’s approach, I can't judge it on my terms because it works so perfectly on its own.