
Your Sister's Sister Review
Your brother's dead. Your brother's girlfriend, who is also your best friend, tells you to go to her cabin for a weekend to get away from things. You sleep with her lesbian sister. You find out your best friend is in love with you. Best weekend or worst weekend ever? Lynn Shelton's Your Sister's Sister tackles just such a scenario and offers audiences one of the most engaging movies of the year.
Mark Duplass stars as the devastated Jack who, after a few drinks, sleeps with Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt). When her sister and his best friend Iris (Emily Blunt) shows up the next day, they initially hide their fling, but things quickly boil over, bringing long simmering emotions and secrets to the surface.
From writer and director Lynn Shelton (Humpday), Your Sister's Sister is a mesmerizing little drama that thrives on the fact that it's... little. Set primarily in a cabin with only the three leads on display, the physical scope of the movie is so small that it would be easy to dismiss the film as inconsequential in scope.
What it lacks in scope, however, Your Sister's Sister makes up with powerful performances, an emotional story and a sense of believability that few movies achieve. Duplass, DeWitt and Blunt have great chemistry together and deliver incredibly nuanced and realistic performances. Shelton's screenplay allows the drama to unfold naturally. The movie avoids melodrama and fluctuates between serious altercations and lighter, even funny moments with ease.
Your Sister's Sister is a touching, mesmerizing movie. It may have the look and feel of an indie movie, but it's more engrossing and enjoyable than any mainstream romance you'll see all year.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.