YOUR SISTER'S SISTER

YOUR SISTER'S SISTER

Mark Duplass has been very, very busy lately. I just reviewed "Safety Not Guaranteed" last week. He had a small part in "Darling Companion" and soon will have "People Like Us" in theaters.

Emily Blunt has also been busy with 2011's "The Adjustment Bureau", "Salmon Fishing in Yemen", "The Muppets", and "The Five-Year Engagement". I guess someone in Hollywood decided to see what would happen if they were in the same film.

Under the direction of Lynn Shelton ("Humpday") and cast member Rosemarie DeWitt "Your Sister's Sister" challenges the notions of a simple human relationship much like "Humpday" challenged normal male bonding.

The film opens with Jack (Duplass) at a one year memorial for his departed brother. During the service, he snaps and throws a hissy fit about his brother's death and essentially the meaning of death.

His best and oldest friend Iris (Emily Blunt) feels he needs to get away for a bit and figure his own life out. So she invites him to her family owned private vacation island in the middle of nowhere.

This suits him so he goes and, upon his arrival, discovers he isn't the only person there. In fact her older sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt) is also there getting over her lesbian break-up with her long time girl friend.

Iris isn't due for anther day, so Iris and Jack get to know each other with a little conversation, booze and casual sex. Afterwords, Jack insists that not a word of the casual sex be spoken to Iris.

When Iris does finally arrive, it doesn't take long to figure out that maybe she isn't just a great friend as soon things look interesting there as well.

Now, ordinarily you might assume that the film could go in the direction of the non-stop threesome-orgy scene with plenty of "What are you doing to my sister and why aren't you doing it to me?" dialogue to auxiliary the moans of ecstasy.

But instead we are treated to an acting clinic of expressionism with Duplass in the lead. Secrets are revealed... specifically the intent of the sexual encounter. Was it accidental... or planned by Hannah all along?

Sure parts of the threesome dialogue are inane, but then again in the real world parts of every dialogue are inane. But with the lack of bang and boom and a whole lot of NC-17 type sex, this small ensemble holds it's own.

"Your Sister's Sister" is a nice small ensemble cast that works its way into a situation then backs out of it very well. Mark Duplass and Emily Blunt are on a roll. -- GEOFF BURTON

GEOFF BURTON

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