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Overall Rating : 7/10
Directed By : Kent Faulcon
Kent Faulcon (Infection: The Invasion Begins)
Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight)
Denise Boutté (Why Did I Get Married?)
Esther Scott (Transformers)
Supplied By : MTI Home Video
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : June. 16, 2010
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| PLOT Military-trained hitman, Jacob Tate, has been sent by his handler to a small Southern town with orders to eliminate a beautiful English teacher, Diane Shaw. When Diane mistakes Jacob for her long-lost brother, he uses the guise to find the perfect moment to kill her, but soon finds himself drawn into her frank and colorful family. Now this professional assassin is left to choose between executing what should be an easy murder-for-hire and trying to solve the mystery of who would want the innocent Diane dead. |
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| THE REVIEW In the film SISTER'S KEEPER, Jacob Tate is a former military vet, who is a hitman for hire. Fed up with killing Jacob wants out, but that is easier said than done as a man with pull named Malikai watches over his every task. But in a surprising show of mercy, Malikai agrees to let Jacob out, but there is a catch. A new job as just arose and Malikai wants him to take it on his last assignment, an assignment, Malikai promises to be an easy one. As it turns out, someone has hired him to kill a young woman named Diane. Jacob also believe the task to be easy, but before he knows it, Diane has welcomed him into the family, as she believe he to be her long lost brother from Los Angles, J.B.. With the assignment steadily in the back of his mind, he goes along with it pretending to be J.B., but before long he cannot help but to grow close to the family, especially Diane, for whom he begins to develop feelings for. Seeing as Jacob is stalling in completing the assignment, Malakai eventually sends someone else, it is then that Jacob most become the protector of Diane's family, instead of the killer of Diane alone. When I first read up on this film, I honestly knew nothing about it, spare the fact that one of the film's stars is Denise Boute', who happened to star in DEATH VALLEY : THE RETURN OF BLOODY BILL, a Horror movie that I reviewed some time ago. Also while looking this film up, I noticed that someone compared this to SOUL FOOD - well, knowing the plot of the film, and of course knowing SOUL FOOD, it seemed like an odd comparison, just how did SOUL FOOD come to be mentioned when speaking about an action drama? Well, after seeing the film, I have to say that, although doubtful at first, I really have to agree with the comparison, because Actor/Director/Writer Kent Faulcon's debut feature is a unique blend of big family comedy, drama and a fair share of action. Obviously shot on a meager budget, SISTER'S KEEPER began with really lackluster credit graphics, followed by a scene introducing us to lead character, Jacob as he makes his next kill, an opening that instantly had me already prejudging the film, which I would find out later, that I was jumping the gun a bit, no pun intended. Despite the tight budget, Kent Faulcon crafts a story that is well built from top to bottom. While most films like this have a beginning and end, most of the time they are broken up and implausible as it tries to get from one to the other. SISTER'S KEEPER does a good enough job as any film with twice it's budget, it introduces us to it's characters, builds them up, and makes them likable through an authentic feeling, family atmosphere and scripting witty dialogue that is funny, and at times, it also manages to really garner our attention. Of course, through out the length of the film, this has us heavily invested by the time it really needs us to be into what the story is telling us, and that time would be near the film's end in which a twist is finally revealed, and all ends are tied together. Again unlike a lot of these types, SISTER'S KEEPER manages to make sense of it's story, it's one that has you actually wanting to watch on, just to see what will happen next, or more importantly how it's going to end. After seeing so many films as of late whom go out of their way to be clever, it's almost as if it's a relief to see a film, that really need not try, it's clever in the most simplest form. Yes the film may not have a big budget, but Faulcon's script is tight and well paced, which rarely has a boring moment, something that could be considered an accomplishment in itself. Not only does the film tell it's story well, it's also directed pretty straight forward, as it doesn't rely on the camera trickery that most action films rely their success on - things such as jump cuts and the speeding up of frames have become a common practice, and it truly is good to see a film go for it without using such approach. And of course, pulling all of this together is a small ensemble cast of dedicated Actors. No no one here is what you'd call a "big star"(whatever that would mean), but everyone involved seemed to be committed to their roles, and the end result, as I had mentioned, is a genuine family atmosphere. Everyone here does great, with only a few missteps here and there. The key relationship in the film is Jacob Tate and Diane, who at first believes Jacob to be J.B., her long lost brother. It's well played as the two have multiple transitions they must undertake in such little time. Eric Roberts also has what i'd call a cameo role here as Malakai. This type of role isn't anything new for Roberts, as he's portrayed this type of character numerous times, but none the less, he's good at it, so he keeps getting the similar roles. Overall, I can say that SISTER'S KEEPER is a film that kept my interest from it's beginning to it's end. It has a straightforward plot, but gives us characters that are fun and interesting, and most all before it's all, over, these are people who we care enough for to stick around for, and to see how the story will end. |
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| GORE
METER 1/10 Not really gory, some gun shot wounds here and there. |
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MUSICAL
SCORE 3.5/10 At times, SISTER'S KEEPER features a score comprised of various suspense tracks, there is also a little bit of RNB and Hip Hop as well. | ||||
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Despite being a film that I initially thought i'd have no interest in and one that I almost passed on reviewing, SISTER'S KEEPER turned out to be a really enjoyable film. SISTER'S KEEPER, is definitely a good example of just how good an independent film can be. You don't necessarily need money, all you need as a good script, a dedicated cast, and a confident Director directing the shots. |
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