Go For Sisters

2013

Go For Sisters

Critics Consensus

Meandering and diffuse, Go for Sisters proves a letdown for all but the most ardent John Sayles enthusiasts.

74%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 54

53%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 352
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Go For Sisters Photos

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Movie Info

Two time Academy Award nominee John Sayles ("Lone Star") returns to the border in this new thriller starring Edward James Olmos. Bernice (LisaGay Hamilton) and Fontayne (Yolonda Ross) grew up the closest of friends, but took very different paths in life. Twenty years later, those paths cross: Fontayne is a recovering addict fresh out of jail, and Bernice is her new parole officer. But when Bernice's son Rodney goes missing on the Mexican border, his shady partners in hiding or brutally murdered, she needs someone who can navigate Rodney's world without involving the police... and turns to Fontayne. The pair enlist the services of Freddy Suárez (Edward James Olmos), a disgraced ex-LAPD detective, and plunge into the underbelly of Tijuana, quickly finding themselves in a potentially deadly cat-and-mouse game with a ruthless gang of human traffickers. (c) Variance
  • Rating:
    NR
  • Genre:
    Drama
  • Directed By:
    John Sayles
  • Written By:
    John Sayles
  • In Theaters:
     limited
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Box Office:
    $55,963
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    Variance Films

Cast

LisaGay Hamilton
as Bernice
Edward James Olmos
as Freddy Suárez
Yolonda Ross
as Fontayne
Hector Elizondo
as Jorge Menocal
Isaiah Washington
as Vernell
Mahershala Ali
as Dez
Michael Laskin
as AA Leader
Harold Perrineau
as Wiley
Jacob Vargas
as Navajas
Tessa Ferrer
as Katrina
Hilary Barraford
as Cindy
Michael Piznarski
as Vic
Mary Portser
as Margie
Don Harvey
as Detective Mueller
Brent Jennings
as Dixon
Rita Taggart
as Rhonda
Jonathan Castellanos
as Kid
Thai Phuong
as Pong
Vanessa Martinez
as Chula
Evelina Fernandez
as Ynez
Sal Lopez
as Morales
Manny Montana
as Tenoch
Jesse Borrego
as Juan Calles
Andy Zuno
as Immigration Officer
Elizabeth Sung
as Mother Han
Martha Higareda
as Zeidy
Alejandro Cardenas
as Mota
Richard Coca
as Rufo
Omar Leyva
as Camarillo
Dominic Colón
as Ochoa
Javier Calderon
as Ramiro Chow
Jessica Pimentel
as La Mojada
Cesar Alejandro
as Nestor
McKinley Belcher III
as Rodney
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News & Interviews for Go For Sisters

Critics Consensus: Thor: The Dark World is Pretty Strong
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Critic Reviews for Go For Sisters

All Critics (54) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (14)

  • John Sayles is too talented, too authentic and too original to make a flat-out bad movie, but he flirts with it in "Go for Sisters."

    Dec 19, 2013 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

    Mick LaSalle

    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic

  • This buddy/road film builds tension with its missing person quest in a border-crossing underworld.

    Dec 13, 2013 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Bill Stamets

    Chicago Sun-Times
    Top Critic

  • Once Olmos joins the proceedings, "Go For Sisters" begins to resemble a banal prime-time cop show.

    Dec 12, 2013 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

    Ann Hornaday

    Washington Post
    Top Critic

  • Few male writer-directors have explored female characters more ardently than John Sayles (Passion Fish, Sunshine State, Casa de los Babys), and this leisurely mystery features some of his best.

    Dec 12, 2013 | Full Review…

    J. R. Jones

    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic

  • For a good while, writer-director John Sayles tricks you into thinking Go for Sisters is a crime thriller. But the movie turns out to be something different.

    Dec 12, 2013 | Rating: 3/4

    Rene Rodriguez

    Miami Herald
    Top Critic

  • What could have been a south-of-the-border thriller becomes a riskier, more daring emotional drama.

    Dec 10, 2013 | Full Review…

    Wesley Morris

    Grantland
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (54)

Audience Reviews for Go For Sisters

  • Nov 10, 2013
    In her work as a parole officer, Bernice(LisaGay Hamilton) is reunited with her childhood friend Fontayne(Yolonda Ross) who has been trying to stay sober on the right side of the law as a short order cook. Ironically, Bernice soon has bigger problems to worry about when her estranged son is connected to the murder of Fuzzy Niles. With Fontayne's help, she makes a disturbing discovery and touches base with Freddy Suarez(Edward James Olmos), a former DEA agent. Tragically, John Sayles has fallen from favor as a director amongst the cognoscenti due to his lack of flashy style in the increasingly unhip universe of American independent movies. But that same lack of style is the best style for his latest film, "Go for Sisters," as he takes his time in telling a multifaceted and well-executed story about friends and family involving characters who are usually marginalized in not only society but also movies and also ones I would definitely like to see more of. That same pace also allows for all sorts of issues to be brought up and discussed intelligently like illegal immigration and the struggles of former convicts.
    Walter M Super Reviewer
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