The Sisters

THE SISTERS is adapted by Richard Alfieri from his play 'The Sisters' which in turn was adapted from Anton Chekov's 'The Three Sisters': the theatrical aspects of the play remain intact in this film version - and that is most definitely a plus! All of the action takes place on an obvious set (an enormously beautiful Faculty Lounge for a university where nearly everyone in the play is employed, and in a hospital waiting room) and the lines are richly imbued with dialogue that mirrors Chekov's form despite the fact that Chekov's play has been updated to the present time with all the changes (and similarities!) of modern day family life.

The story is well known: a family of three sisters and a baby brother are both united and bonded by the past and show the scars of maturing on their journeys from a childhood to adulthood with a father that was both a hero to some and an incestuous attacker to another. One by one each of the sisters and the brother peel away the trappings that hide each other's realities and make public the pain endured in their dysfunctional family. Maria Bello as Marcia carries the bulk of the story as the abused, spiteful, vitriolic, unhappy head of the family unit: she is astonishingly fine. Mary Stuart Masterson is Olga, the closeted lesbian chancellor who has never had the luxury of sharing her private feelings with her sisters for fear of the consequences of her sexuality. Erika Christensen is the youngest sister Irene whose painful life as being treated as a child leads to her life of drug abuse. Allesandro Nivola is Andrew, the baby brother left in charge of the family estate in the South and has married a trashy, mouthy floozy Nancy (Elizabeth Banks) who is the sole challenge to the family's unity. The stalwart Greek chorus is the old professor Dr. Chebrin (Rip Torn) who watches as the various characters tangential to this crumbling family vie for inclusion: Gary Sokol (Eric McCormack) whose asides keep the theatrical flavor moving; David Turzin (Chris O'Donnell) who loves and wants to possess Irene and is in bitter competition with Gary for her affections; psychologist husband of Marcia Dr. Harry Glass (Steven Culp); and the visitor from the past Vincent Antonelli (Tony Goldwyn) who changes Marcia's existence transiently. Each actor is superb, playing the marvelous dialogue for all its worth and giving us fully realized characterizations. Arthur Allan Seidelman is the fine director and the elegant musical score is by Thomas Morse.

There is action in this story and movement inside and outside the ways films should be shot when making a play into a movie. But for those who love the theater seeing this film little film will create a desire to have this exact company of actors set up shop in a nearby legitimate theater to allow for the grand impact of a fine play sifted through a fine adaptation to be absorbed repeatedly. Highly recommended. Grady Harp

When I think about it, there have been quite a few cinematic variations on Anton Chekhov's classic "The Three Sisters" from Woody Allen's austere "Interiors" to Diane Keaton's execrable "Hanging Up". Playwright-turned-screenwriter Richard Alfieri provides a more literal adaptation by updating the original play to the present and resetting it primarily in a Manhattan faculty lounge on the Upper West Side. Longtime TV director Arthur Allan Seidelman guides an impressive ensemble of actors in the proceedings, but the result unfortunately feels like a stagy TV-movie brimming with overripe theatrics. The abundance of characters and multi-layered set-up seem to make the actors chew the scenery excessively, though a few still make indelible impressions.

The structure and themes of the Chekhov play remain the same. The plot focuses on the four Prior siblings - Marcia, Olga, Irene and Andrew - and their clashing destinies and unraveling secrets furnish the drama as they get together for Irene's 22nd birthday party. Maria is the beautiful, vitriolic older sister unhappily married to a passive psychology professor while embarking on a torrid affair with Vincent, their father's former teaching assistant who has come unexpectedly for a visit. Irene is the buttoned-up middle sister, an English literature professor and by default the family conciliator. Irene is the protected baby sister whose sunny disposition masks deeper insecurities that lead to a crystal-meth overdose. Andrew is the weak, emasculated brother who has brought home Nancy, his slatternly fiancée, whom his sisters, especially Marcia, despise. There are others who encircle the family like a vise with their own histrionics - kindly department head Dr. Chebrin and dueling professors Gary Sokol and David Turzin, both in love with Irene and seething with rage against each other.

There are plenty of fireworks, but with so many characters to track, Seidelman produces a truncated flow to the story while making the movie itself feel overlong. The performances are all over the map, though each seems to have at least one bravura set piece. As she proves in David Cronenberg's "A History of Violence", Maria Bello is one of the strongest actresses on screen today and makes Marcia a memorably fiery character, especially as she lays into the vulgar Nancy or succumbs to Vincent's ardent attention. As Irene, the underused Mary Stuart Masterson brings a coiled sense of repression that makes the contrast between her and Marcia biting and poignant. Less interesting is Erika Christensen, who makes Irene sweetly vulnerable but cannot transcend the trite arc of her character. Chris O'Donnell barely registers as the romantically obsessive David, but Eric McCormack - who will have a challenge overcoming his pervasive Will Truman persona - is all sarcastic blather as Gary until he manages to convey the character's pathetic jealousy.

Elizabeth Banks - memorable as the lusty bookstore clerk in "The 40-Year Old Virgin" - makes the vulgarity of Nancy palpable if rather obvious with a wavering Bronx accent, while Alessandro Nivola - equally memorable as the pampered rock star in "Laurel Canyon" - is effectively passive as Andrew. Tony Goldwyn seems oddly stilted as Vincent, making him a dispassionate match for Marcia's voracious self-destruction. At times, the dialogue is insightful with clever zingers. At other times, it sounds laughably mannered, and the general dysfunctional situation gets wearing over time. A few cathartic moments shine through, especially toward the end when Marcia and Olga come to terms with each other. The DVD is short on extras - just the original trailer and an overly earnest commentary from Seidelman and Alfieri.

If I wanted to just watch a bunch of generally unpleasant people fight with each other, I'd watch "Divorce Court." Although I suppose this movie is designed to show emotional complexity with its quibbling protagonists, it just doesn't work for me. None of these gals is particularly likable, so it is hard to care about them or the "family" they form.

Against this fairly negative backdrop, we have a plot where none of the real underlying problems, conflicts, or broken relationships is fixed. No one seems to gain insight over the course of the movie, no one seems to heal. A real disappointment.

The Sisters has an interesting scenario and will keep you guessing. Although it's good entertainment for a slow night, it's slightly over "dialoged" where you loose the rhythm, it has a tendency to feel like a play more than a movie, and the editing could be easily improved, especially for the cut scenes. The character of the "beautiful" sister can easily get on somebody's nerve, but it is well played as all the sister the sisters are, and even the brother to some extent. The other characters are much weaker.

Not bad, worth being seen if you feel like seeing a family going through theatrical drama.

An outstanding film from Arthur Allan Seidelman, based upon a play by Richard Alfieri (Puerto Vallarta Squeeze).

Maria Bello just dripped sensuality in every word and movement throughout, except when she was spitting venom like "This party isn't for you anyway. It's for our little unborn nephew... God save him from your genes." Or, "Harry... Harry, if you want to withhold approval, intimidate and give rewards or punishments... buy a dog." She was the child of incest by her father and that rape caused her immense pain that permeated every relationship. It is a fact of life, and I have never seen it more brilliantly displayed. Alfieri captured the lifelong torture in his word, and Bello displayed it with emotion that made this film.

That is not to say that Bello was it entirely. Eric McCormack ("Will and Grace") had a pain of his own and he was absolutely dripping with venom in his snide remarks and eventual explosion of the bottles up anger. A man afraid to revel his feeling for fear of rejection, he got to the point where he could no longer contain.

Elizabeth Banks was the perfect "white trash" that felt out of place in this family - and she was, marrying the out of place brother Alessandro Nivola. Mary Stuart Masterson was also extremely good as the sister who could not reveal her pains either due to her position at the school. Rip Torn added perspective as the professor who read headlines out loud.

Great performances from all and a film worth your time.