find my way back home

"You dont love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not"
— Jodi Picoult (My Sister's Keeper)

went to see "my sister's keeper" last evening. emotionally it was like a luxury weekend getaway-maybe a stay at a ritz carlton. it was rich with on-pointe performances from the main characters to the peripheral.

in case you haven't heard, this film (from the book by jody picoult) is the story of an american family with a daughter who has leukemia. in order to keep her healthy, they decide to genetically sire a sibling who will become a genetic match for blood donations, bone marrow and kidney transplants, and any other miscellaneous procedures requiring a donor match.

sounds like a perfect solution to an agonizing situation doesn't it? especially for the mother who won't take "no" for an answer when it comes to saving her daughter. but as this american family tale unfolds, it is revealed that the devil is definitely in the details when you are up against mother nature. this younger test tube sister does more than act like a deep freeze for her older sister's failing ecosystem.

the scenario certainly sounds like science fiction, and perhaps at one time it definitely was, however this is a modern reality. but the very tug of whether bioengineering a sibling/child is moral or humane or not is compelling, particularly when it is woven into a tapestry with the jewel tones of this film.

i'll stop with the description of the storyline here, because i think most will want to see the unfolding themselves. but my recurring thoughts were just how much water had already flowed under the bridge before i got there. and a good portion of the storytelling involves reliving some of those past moments herringboned into the present.

the performances are quietly surprising. cameron diaz and jason patric breathe life into the spirit of the parents that created the genetikid and provide the foundation for this house of stories. sofia vasilieva and abigail breslin play the two sisters and their relationship creates the actual bridge under which this family's story flows. not to be missed is alec baldwin as the attorney that the younger sibling hires to free her from the organ factory role she has inhabited most of her life. and joan cusack is the judge who brings a touch of personal baggage to the courtroom she presides over.

truthfully, i teared through most of the film. the frustration and tenacity of almost all the characters is something i encounter every single day in my work. usually, though, i will tear up once or twice in the entirity of a movie. nick cassavetes (director of "the notebook") has created an ambiance that lends itself to emotion. stellar job... stellar.

speaking of stellar, the youthful soundtrack left me wanting for more. today's sound choice is from that collection. here is priscilla ahn with "find my way back home"