Little Sister

Set in 2008, this indie is more of a relationship drama than a comedy, and is filled with lots of imperfect characters. It's a quiet movie where for the most part the characters come off as real persons. However, in my opinion, not everything works here and, at times, the movie seems to veer off into places it didn't need to go to be effective.

Addison Timlin is terrific in the lead role of Colleen, who's a nun novitiate in a Brooklyn convent. She's temporarily traveling home to Asheville, N.C., after a 3 year absence, at the request of her mother Joani (Ally Sheedy). Sheedy plays up to the hilt her role of the disturbed and drug taking mom.

The principal reason for Colleen's return home is to emotionally support her brother Jacob, most ably portrayed by Keith Poulson, who has been severely disfigured by a bomb blast while serving as a Marine in the war. Now, Jacob is extremely isolative and depressed and is suffering both physically and mentally. Thus, the remainder of the film will center on Colleen's attempts to help her brother, remembrances of her goth past, as well as trying to interact and cope with the remainder of her dysfunctional family,

All in all, this indie, written and directed, by Zach Clark, certainly has its moments, but I felt, as mentioned, it was too overloaded with on screen drug use and at times veered "off the tracks". Therefore, I would say despite its uplifting ending this was a mixed bag for me.

I saw 'White Rabbit' years ago and loved it, though frankly forgot about it because life / pandemic / etc. So when I stumbled across 'Little Sister' and connected the dots la la-la-la, I dug in. And like an inviting warm bath where this cozy tale takes you eases you into you. And by you, I mean yourself. Our self. Our selves. The underlying premise of the narrative is we are all that we are, the lovely, the tragic, the awards, the accidents, and the glue in it - if we are lucky - is the DNA of our upbringing in our homes and home towns. You know, some movies you're watching the clock, wondering when it's going to end. For me and this ensemble I was sold and smitten. The double down meaning and wink / nod of 'little sister' only make this little sojourn that much more pleasant. The moral of the story is some times you get a semi urgent email from a parent, and some times that is the impetus to drop what you're doing. All the while that journey of self-discovery is still afoot too.

This film is a rare gem, watch it.

---Mild Spoilers----

This is one of those films which makes you think about it after watching it. It's a sweet film filled with sadness. The lead actress is struggling to find a structure, her veteran brother is struggling with ptsd and injuries, her brother's fiance is struggling whether with her fiance's new appearance and is secretly a adult cam actress, her mother is struggling with mental illness and committed a failed suicide attempt.

It's 2008. Novice nun Colleen Lunsford (Addison Timlin) is a former goth teen turned religious. She goes home to her estranged family to be with her brother. He is reclusive for unseen reason and hiding from the media. She has a contentious relationship with her mother Joani Lunsford (Ally Sheedy).

This is a quirky family indie with a side of political commentary. The political commentary confuses me. I'm not sure what the movie is trying to say other than the Obama Karen. Maybe it's just simple coloring for the mother-daughter dysfunction. That's the heart of the movie anyways. Other than the drugs, I don't know much about the mother's life or their conflict. This seems to lay out a fine dysfunctional family, but I would like to dig deeper.

Great movie! A young nun (Addison Timlin) comes home after years of avoiding contact and tries to reconnect with her family. The simple plot is justified by the most relatable thing for any human which is how to spend your life.

I am an atheist, but grew up a Christian and will always love the great morals an values that come with the religion. I often wish I could believe in god and feel part of a powerful community that's out there to do good, but I've spend too much time hating on the dark cynical stuff of organized religions. I have come to see most of them as great money scheme's.

This movie called Little Sister made me totally forget about the cynical stuff for a while. It's just simply being part of something good that makes you motivated to do good and ultimately make you feel good about yourself. This movie tackles this feeling in different ways than just religion. I had a sense that the movie put the same feeling on a lot of things in life like going in the army, being a parent or even joining a terrorist group that fights for a cause you believe in. I am just speculating but that's how it translated to me.

There you go, a simple movie about a young nun coming home for the first time in years and it still gave me all the good and bad feelings where it needed to and even gave me some stuff to think about. All the actors are very entertaining and believable, but the lead actress Addison Timlin who plays the nun totally steals the show. A beautiful actress that can tell a story with her face. I loved it.

I definitely recommend this movie. Even if this is normally not your cup of tea, I would still give it a try. It's just 90 minutes and flows by even faster by great editing. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Final Rating: (8/10)