Buzzworthy Moviefilm: Indie Drama ‘Your Sister’s Sister’

your-sister-s-sister01One wouldn’t think that an Indie Drama with only three primary characters ensconced in a small getaway home would elicit such dynamic performances from its cast, but Your Sister’s Sister delivers this and more.

After the untimely death of his brother, Jack (Mark Duplass) has an emotionally challenging year, and takes up his friend Iris’s offer (who is also his dead brother’s ex-girlfriend, played by Emily Blunt) to spend some time at her father’s island-isolated cabin. Unbeknownst to both of them, Isis’s sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt) is also seeking refuge there after ending a seven-year-old relationship with her girlfriend. Things get hairy after a night of drunken shenanigans between Jack and Hannah, followed by Iris’s arrival the next morning, who comes carrying a secret of her own.

Writer-director Lynn Shelton has constructed a sweet, yet sometimes heartbreaking story of three friends, sisters and lovers, and masterfully massages the dynamics of each two-some, accordingly. Duplass juggles the contradiction of mournful flippancy with ease, while never sacrificing character. DeWitt, a pro at handling hyper-dysfunction (United States of Tara, Rachel Getting Married) is at her best here, while not to discredit Blunt, who definitely holds her own in great company. The three combined have an on-screen chemistry that carries the film beautifully, which perhaps, might not had been as effective in the hands of other actors.

Your Sister’s Sister is a simple story, yet it’s packed with realistic situations and tangible, relatable emotions. How these characters move forward and adapt to their unraveling surroundings and relationships is inherently what life is all about.

Grade: B+