Desejos & Traições

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

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.

When the former assistant to a deceased eminent academic comes to pay his respects to the great man's family, the visit stirs old, half hidden conflicts and triggers an avalanche of emotions in this overheated, theatrical drawing room drama based on Anton Chekhov's play, "The Three Sisters." (Richard Alfieri wrote the screenplay, which he adapted from his own updating of Chekhov's play.) Maria Bello, Mary Stuart Masterson and Erika Christensen play, respectively, Marcia, Olga and Irene, the three Prior daughters.

Ms. Bello holds center stage most of the time, hurling one angry speech after another at just about anyone in shouting distance (though they're all in one room). She is angry primarily because her father systematically abused her sexually as a child, second because Harry Glass (Steven Culp), the psychologist she married, has not been able to heal her deeply wounded personality, and, finally and most recently, because Vincent Antonelli (Tony Goldwyn), the visitor, a man she become instantly infatuated with, turns down her overtures and leaves.

Baby sister Irene turns her hostility inward, and galvanizes everyone's attention by taking a large drug overdose. Andrew Prior (Alessandro Nivola), their brother, is angry too, but in sneakier fashion. He's mad because his sisters bully him and dislike his fiancée/bride Nancy (Elizabath Banks), who's also a nasty sort, someone deserving of the sisters' contempt. Then there's the incendiary social science professor, Gary Sokol (Eric McCormack), whose explosive behavior never ceases. Sokol's mad because Irene prefers another suitor, Sokol's erstwhile buddy, philosophy professor David Turzin (Chris O'Donnell), who doesn't seem to be mad at anyone. Olga, a bleak, unfulfilled Lesbian, at least keeps her unhappiness contained. She is the most dignified member of the family.

Somehow the veteran actor Rip Torn got himself inserted into this literal madhouse as old Professor Chebrin. And while Mr. Torn has been memorably hostile in some of his films (he's played gangsters, tough soldiers, tougher cops, Richard Nixon and even Judas Iscariot among 165 roles spanning a 50 year career), he's quite the good humored, sanguine fellow here, almost alone as a source of equanimity in these proceedings.

The screenplay is freighted with long, formalized verbal oratorios: these people don't talk like people talk. Such verbiage works on stage but is nearly always poison on the screen. The director, Mr. Seidelman, has made nearly 70 films, but almost all for television. This may explain the overacted, soap operatic tone of this movie. You've got to shout it out to be heard above the din of family life on the boob-tube. But the clamor of this film is ratcheted up way too much for pleasurable viewing on the big screen. (The IMDb says this film is 113 minutes long, so somewhere along the line 28 minutes got cut to create the version I viewed. Probably a good thing.) My Grade: 5/10 C

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.

I heard for years about THE SISTERS because it's based on Anton Checkov's play and my mother saw it on the stage years ago. And since it's a forgotten star studded movie I knew that I had to see it, but when I saw it last July it went a bit below my expectations. Now I am not saying it's bad but still not exceptional at least for me.

Marcia, Irene, Olga and Andrew Prior (Maria Bello, Erika Christensen, Mary Stuart Masterson and Alessandro Nivola) are four sibilings that live in modern New York all with their personal issues and with a seemingly perfect family life but on the inside full of contrasts. Especially after the death of their father (Rip Torn) there will be the occasion that will reunite the three sisters because every family has their own dark secrets (as the Italian title for this says).

The first part wasn't bad I admit it. All the cast members (Bello, Christensen, Masterson, Nivola, Torn, Tony Goldwyn, Chris O'Donnell and Elizabeth Banks) did their best with the material given, and I bet they liked to starring in something based on Chekhov. But as the movie progressed, and especially in the second half, there were too many conflicts and the characters behaved so nastily between them that it made me lose my interest, and if it wasn't for this I would have given it a 8.

Overall, if you are familiar with the source material it's a must see but for others... only of interest if you love scenes of characters bickering to each other or movies about conflicted families.