[GO
FOR SISTERS opens in Cleveland
on Friday December 13th exclusively at the Cedar Lee Theatre.]
Review
by Bob Ignizio
In
high school Bernice (LisaGay Hamilton) and Fontayne (Yolonda Ross)
were so close people said they could, “go for sisters”. Years
later, it would seem they couldn't be father apart. Bernice is a
hard-nosed parole officer who doesn't have time to listen to her
clients' excuses. She
hasn't seen Fontayne in years, the two women having long since gone
their separate ways. And then one day, Fontayne walks into Bernice's
office as a client. She's a recovering addict who got caught at the
wrong place with the wrong people, but as she explains to Bernice,
where she lives, just about everyone in the neighborhood and every
place she might go is a potential parole violation. Bernice lets her
old friend off the hook, but also lets Fontayne know that she will
ask to have her reassigned to another officer. Things don't quite go
that way, though.
When
Bernice fears her son might be in serious trouble with some shady
characters, she turns to Fontayne for help. Fontayne, who is actually
serious about trying to get her life back on track, wants to help but
worries about violating her parole to do so. And so Bernice crosses
the line, promising to cover for her old friend if she can help get
her son back. Eventually it becomes clear that further help needs to
be enlisted, and the two women hire legally blind former police
officer Freddy Suarez (Edward James Olmos) to help when it becomes
apparent they'll have to cross the border into Mexico to have any
chance of getting Rodney back alive.
It
certainly sounds like the plot for a thriller or noirish crime film,
and to some degree GO
FOR SISTERS
fits in those boxes. Really, though, it's more about the characters
and the ways the experiences they go through transform their world
views than any sort of generic tropes. There are no high speed car
chases or drawn out gun battles; what violence there is, is sudden
and brief. And there are no contrived twists or even much of a
mystery, just a straight forward story of a mother who would do
anything to save her son, and how the act of doing so makes her
realize some of her own faults, in turn making her more forgiving of
the faults of others, while also commenting on the American prison
system, illegal immigration, 12-step programs, and other topics, all
without being clunky or strident about any of it.
GO
FOR SISTERS
is written and directed by John Sayles, one of the godfathers of
independent film as we know it. He got his start back when
independent film was essentially a synonym for exploitation pictures,
writing screenplays for Roger Corman's New World Pictures. He then
used the money he earned on those jobs to make his debut feature as
director, 1979's RETURN
OF THE SECAUCUS 7.
Since then, Sayles has tackled a wide variety of stories, but always
with the same focus on character as seen here.
SISTERS
couldn't be further from the sort
of formulaic middlebrow crap that thrills the crowds at Sundance
these days, nor is it some impenetrable art film aimed only at the hipster crowd. This is an authentic, thought provoking, and genuinely entertaining film that should have no problem playing for wide audiences, and probably would if Sayles had just sold his script to Hollywood and let them make it with another director and bigger stars. But then, it almost certainly wouldn't have been as good. 3 1/2 out of 4 stars.
I really admire Sayles also but haven't even heard of this or that it was playing in town. Thanks for the heads up.
ReplyDelete