Sister My Sister (1995)
Film:
DVD:

Features:

• Cast bios
  
• Trailer
  

Written by Wendy Kesselman, based on her play
Directed by Nancy Meckler
Starring Joely Richardson, Jodhi May, Julie Walters, Sophie Thursfield, Kate Garside

Released by: Koch Lorber
Rating: R.
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Yes.

My Advice: Wait for cable.

1932, France. A slightly disturbed young woman, Christine (Richardson), works in the repressive household of Madame Danzard (Walters). Danzard doesn't have much to do except complain about the help, boast about how little she's paying for it, obsess to make sure said help isn't stealing the silverware, and smack around (figuratively) her daughter, Isabelle (Thursfield). When Christine's sister Lea (May) is seeking employment, Christine talks Danzard into hiring her on for a pittance more, ostensibly so Christine can have some company. The two sisters, squeezed together in a room, spiral into an incestuous relationship, and finally murder (again, based on a true story, no spoilers here).

This has been made into a film three times now. The other version of this I've seen, Murderous Maids, seems to want to present a fully realized version of this true story--it has more background and less of an attempt at eroticism. Here, the main problem is that the film can't seem to make up its mind what it is: discussion of the separation and isolation brought on by class society or sister bodice-ripping Cinemax-safe thriller.

It's certainly not the fault of the actors. Julie Walters (a far cry here from Mrs. Weaseley) is having a wonderful time as the Megabitch who ultimately kicks all of this mayhem off. You just want to smile while you strangle her. Richardson and May do a decent job, though the material doesn't give them enough of a range of things to do. They hit three marks on their way to the end: being repressed, getting hot and heavy, and then going berserk.

Nothing seems to go far enough or feel like it ties together, so that when the inevitable blow-up occurs at the end, it feels like it happened because it was just supposed to--because it was written that way--not because we've spent this entire time building up to it organically. When the incest starts to happen, it just sort of happens--I never felt like it was setup well enough to warrant any of it. And when it does happen, there's not enough of it--which sounds weird, I know. It just feels like another one of those supposedly erotic rentals that never delivers on the promise of its steamy looking cover. If you're going to get steamy, then bring it. Otherwise, you should be starring Shannon Tweed.

The disc doesn't have much to defend itself with. It's not even in widescreen, and I haven't seen the film in its original aspect ratio, so I can't speak to what is lost in the translation. The only extras are cast bios and a trailer, which is a bit of a shame. I'd like to get some more information in this release on the actual crime that inspired it, and perhaps a quick overview of how it's played out on the stage and in cinema over the years. Since everywhere I've looked I see this as one of the most shocked and sensational crimes in French history, some historical context would have been nice--even as text on screen. But alas, nothing.

If you're looking for a dramatization of this story, I'd have to point you to Murderous Maids instead. This film lacks the purpose of the other, and doesn't seem to deliver on any of its half-baked promises. The DVD doesn't lend itself to anything, either, so if you catch the movie on cable, you're doing just as well.