Certain aspects of this thriller were tailor made for me: convoluted backstory with an element of supreme weirdness, blood splatter during a murder sequence, and camera angles and cinematography vacant from 70's cinema. DePalma is undoubtedly a genius when it comes to building suspense, but the bitter truth is that
Sisters just doesn't contain a juicy enough payoff. Sure, Siamese twins are a goldmine of psychological drama, but in the off kilter way it was used, nothing comes out of this hour and a half ride through the apparent ravaged mind of none other than Margot Kidder. (Just try watching this without thinking about Lois Lane.) The fact that reporter Grace Collier (Salt) is trying to unearth the tragic circumstances of a surgery gone awry would have worked if not for her involvement in a strange hypnosis performed by Kidder's ex-husband, supposedly to exorcise her demons after she murders her date (not a spoiler). Between Kidder's raging French Canadian accent, Salt's flimsy acting, and a strange turn for legend Charles Durning, it could have had its moments. It was the last twenty minutes, where everything is mysteriously explained in a flashback that is actually a dream that is actually just stupid. Good to see another DePalma, but not his best work.
June 16, 2011
Top Critic
