• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Oct 12, 2016 By Austin Trunick Web Exclusive

In the fall of 2008, as the first Obama election cycle hits full swing, young nun-to-be Colleen (Addison Timlin) receives a desperate plea from her estranged mother: “Come home.” On the cusp of taking her final vows, Colleen is granted permission to borrow Reverend Mother’s car and drive from New York to North Carolina so that she can sort out her affairs before committing to life in a Brooklyn convent. She returns home to find her emotionally-troubled mother (Ally Sheedy) self-medicating with recreational drugs, and that her marine brother (Keith Poulson) has locked himself away in the guest house ever seen his release from the hospital where he was receiving treatment for injuries sustained in Iraq.

Little Sister is a film about a family on the mend. As Colleen comes to terms with what’s become of her nearest and dearest, the audience is slipped piecemeal hints at their pasts — at the Goth, GWAR-loving girl she was before fleeing to a nunnery, and the events which led to her mother’s attempted suicide. That all may sound very heavy, but Little Sister is a tender dramedy – very funny at points, and more often quite sweet in others. It’s an unusual film that’s less about a familial reconciliation than it is about the small moments it captures; the story (and backstories) unfold in little vignettes, as we’re given illuminating glimpses at each character’s private lives and desires.

This is a hard movie to sell, because saying too much would rob the reader of experiencing the brilliant way in which the characters open up and unfold before the viewers’ eyes. Little Sister is smartly written, pleasurably paced, and well-acted all around. Zach Clark is content to sit back and let his idiosyncratic characters carry the film in a way many filmmakers wouldn’t dare.

Author rating: 8/10