Sofia Vassilieva Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Review: My Sister's Keeper
Filed under: Drama », New Releases », New Line », Warner Brothers », Theatrical Reviews », Summer Movies »
I'm not ashamed to say that I cry at the movies. Not frequently, but occasionally a story and its characters will grab hold of me to the extent that I'm completely caught up in the emotions and feelings being expressed. Films as disparate as John Ford's The Searchers and Wong Kar-Wai's Chungking Express have caused me to weep with joy, relief, and sorrow.
Despite a relentless barrage of scenes evidently designed with the sole goal of jerking tears, Nick Cassavetes' My Sister's Keeper did not make me cry. It is, however, one of the most glorious-looking terminal cancer pictures I've ever seen. Cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (The Black Stallion, The Natural) paints the oft-mundane proceedings in an otherworldly glow, as though the transition to the next life had already begun. That's the guiding principle of the movie as a whole; even though an inflammatory and emotionally wrenching issue serves as the linchpin for the plot, great pains are taken to soften the blows so as not to inflict lasting damage upon the viewer.
Frankly, that latter point, much more than whether I personally shed tears, is what prevents My Sister's Keeper from escaping middlebrow territory. Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric are splendidly noble as Brian and Sara Fitzgerald, whose daughter Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) is diagnosed at a young age with leukemia. Brian and Sara conceive another child with genetic modifications so she can serve as a donor to her sister. Anna (Abigail Breslin) (*) seems fine with all the body part donations until Kate's condition worsens to the point that she needs a kidney transplant. Then 11-year-old Anna marches into the office of well-known lawyer Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin) and demands medical emancipation from her parents.
The Fannings Dump 'My Sister's Keeper'
Filed under: Drama », Casting »
Back in October, the two tow-headed cuties Elle and Dakota Fanning signed up to play siblings in My Sister's Keeper. In the first two-Fanning punch since I Am Sam, it's the story of a young girl (who would have been played by Elle) who sues her parents for divorce because she's being raised as a handy genetic match for her older, cancer-ridden sister (Dakota). Not anymore. Variety reports that the two sisters pulled out of the feature abruptly.Why? Their sources say that Dakota refused to shave her head for the part. I guess she thought they'd fit one of those bald caps on her head, or she'd be the lucky cancer victim who miraculously doesn't lose her hair. If this source is right, at least we know where she draws the line now. She shocked many before for her involvement in Hounddog, but I guess smooth noggin is crossing the line. It might seem surprising for Fanning, who has taken on a lot of grown-up fare, but she is only 13. (She turns 14 on the 23rd.)
At least their replacements have already been picked. Although I would've tapped her to play the elder role, Abigail Breslin will take over the ticked off role that Elle vacated, while Sofia Vassilieva, from Medium, is finalizing her deal to replace Dakota. Will this be another Oscar nod for Abigail, perhaps? Or a breakout performance from Sofia?
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