Decoding Annie Parker

"Decoding Annie Parker" is a low-budget movie based on the stories of two remarkable women: Annie Parker, a woman that fought her three cancers with courage; and the geneticist Mary Claire King, who believed breast cancer would have a hereditary basis and researched cancer for decades with her team. The intentions are great; Samantha Morton has top-notch performance, but the screenplay is tiresome and vague. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Unidas pela Vida" ("United by Life")

Review: This movie really did touch me, because a couple of my family members have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. The emotional strain that this terrible disease puts on a family, was shown in this movie and I must admit, it did bring a tear to my eye. The fact that they haven't found a cure for this disease, is extremely worrying for everybody in day to day life, so when Mary-Claire King found a connection through the family gene it was truly an amazing thing. More and more people are testing for the disease, especially if it's in there family, so this movie brought to light how certain cancers are passed through our siblings, genetically. The performance from Samantha Morton is excellent, especially when she was going through chemo the second time and the technical side of Mary-Claire's work is easy to understand and interesting to follow. It did seem like the film was made for TV, mainly because I have seen a lot of movies that cover this subject matter on TV but it's still an emotional drama which I thoroughly enjoyed. I will warn you to have a box of tissues next to you when you watch this film because it's an touching roller-coaster that a lot of people can relate to. Enjoyable!

Round-Up: This is the first movie written and directed by Steven Bernstein, who done a great job by bringing a medical milestone to light. It didn't get the big distribution treatment like a lot of uninteresting movies that I have seen lately, which is a shame because the subject matter is becoming more popular to households across the world. I must admit, you do have to be in the right frame of mind before you watch this film because it does touch many issues which can be a bit too  emotional for people who are suffering with cancer. With that aside, it's still worth a watch, just to see what Marie-Claire had to go through to bring her findings to light.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their dramatic movies starring Rashida Jones, Aaron Paul, Helen Hunt, Samantha Morten, Alice Eve, Maggie Grace, Corey Stoll and Ben McKenzie. 6/10

I recently had the opportunity of seeing Decoding Annie Parker at a charity benefit screening. It's a heart felt, inspirational movie about the journey of a cancer survivor and the scientist who discovered the gene mutation responsible for hereditary breast cancer. (The same gene mutation Angelina Jolie has). A tough subject handled deftly by the film maker. The story is an accurate and truthful depiction of a cancer patient's journey and had the audience both laughing and crying and eventually left them feeling uplifted and hopeful. No melodrama here. The acting performances were superb especially those of Samantha Morton who plays the cancer survivor and Aaron Paul who plays her husband. Helen Hunt was as always terrific. Rashida Jones was great too. Kudos to the film makers for making a movie on this subject which has unfortunately effected too many families.

The subject matter is quite heavy but is told with sincerity and real-person humor. The title may seem a trifle misleading since the contact between Annie and the researcher is tangential at best -- they meet only once. The the "decoding" goes beyond finding and sequencing the BRCA1 gene. We witness the unwrapping of emotions and the development of a life-fulfilling spirit in Annie and many of the people to whom she is connected. Some relationships work, other don't, but at its core the film remains true to its belief in Annie's undying spirit. The only negative that keeps my review from being a 10 is that a few of the scenes in which the finding the BRCA1 gene proceeds are stiff and almost formulaic, in stark contrast to the reality of the rest of the film. Go see it and you will be talking about it to many of your friends.

The film was inspired by the real life stories of the two women from the same timeline who had no connections, except theirs involvement with something. That means there are two sets of stories that's told one after another in parts which covered the events from nearly the three decades. So it all begins in the 1960, where two little sisters promise to each other about something, but 10 years later one of their's life changed forever when another one dies of cancer. So this is the story where the other sister begins her fight against the disease that took her family away.

This is a small budget film that shot entirely within a month of time. There are lots of actresses in this, even for the small roles. I thought Helen Hunt would lead the narration, but then there were Maggie Grace, Alice Eve, Aaron Paul and others. Great dedications by all, but this was Samantha Morton's film.

I did not know what this story is about when I decided to watch, but I'm pretty happy for the film. Except the material was more a documentary suitable kind, especially the story of Helen Hunt's character. Moreover feels like it is a short film with a decent story. I think it is worth a watch because of unfolding an important scientific discovery of our time. So a big yes on that perspective, but entertainment wise it is just an average. Now you can decide this on what you're seeking.

7/10