My Sister’s Keeper The movie “My Sister’s Keeper” revolves around Kate and her immediate family. Kate is critically ill with Leukemia. The other main character is Anna, Kate’s younger sister, who in the movie battles with her parents for medical emancipation. In the movie, it touches on all her family members personal struggles with Kate’s illness, and the effects it has on their family. This movie shows some medical aspects for Kate as she battles her cancer, and Anna who is Kate’s donor.

The title of the movie of the movie has a duel meaning for me, because the sisters look after each other thru out the movie, so one may never know which sister is her sisters keeper. The movie begins in Montana, which is where Kate had always wanted to go, but never had the chance. The family gets together there yearly to celebrate Kate’s life. There is a scene in the movie between Kate and Anna, with Kate explaining why she would like to go there. Anna narrated opening of the movie, explaining how and why she was brought into the world. Anna was born out of necessity.

She was genetically engineered to be identical to Kate. Anna is a “designer baby”, born specifically to be able to donate for Kate. Anna was forced from the age of five to donate to Kate. Anna gave bone marrow several times, was catheterized, and had several other medical procedures that would be painful to an adult, much less a small child. Kate’s cancer progresses rapidly in the movie, and it effects her renal function. She is put on dialysis which caused her an infection that spread thru her body. Leaving a kidney transplant, the last option to prolong Kate’s life.

Kate’s doctors tell Kate’s mother that they think that it is time for her to let go, but she pushes for Anna to donate her kidney. In turn, the kidney donation would steal away the rest of Anna’s childhood. “My Sisters Keeper” portrays Kate’s battle with from diagnosis to the time of her death. It realistically portrays her bruising and her chemo therapy, which ultimately make Kate sicker. As the movie progresses Kate does go into a brief remission , but when her cancer returned, she was very sick and weak. They eventually stop chemo for Kate and she did radiation treatments instead.

Anna also tells her story in this film, from her genetically engineered conception, to when she is told she would have to donate her kidney. Other characters involved in the movie were their mother, Sara, who quit her law practice to stay at home to be with Kate. She becomes somewhat obsessed with Kate’s health, and many times seems to sacrifice her other children’s well being, for Kate. Their father, Brian, who is out of the home working most of the time. Their older brother Jessie, whose dyslexia , went unnoticed for years.

Taylor, is another teenage cancer patient, who is Kate’s love interest in the movie after they meet during a chemo treatment. He later dies of complications with his cancer, before Kate’s passing. Also in this film is an attorney, Campbell Alexander, who represents Anna in her law suite against her parents. He is initially portrayed as a lawyer that will do anything to win, but in the end he too has a medical condition. He has a seizure disorder, and he took Anna’s case very personally. The movie covers many medical issues thru out, but it touches on some legal issues as well.

Anna at the age of eleven, decides to sue her parents for legal medical emancipation. She wants to have a say in the use of her own body. Since the age of five, Anna has been forced to sacrifice her health, in order to maintain Kate’s health. The story was written in such a way that you believe that Anna alone is behind her lawsuit against her parents. As the law suite goes to court, it comes out that the suite was Kate’s idea. Kate was ready to give up her long battle with cancer, but was scared to open up to her parents about it.

Many times in the movie, Sara refuses to listen to anyone, and kept pushing Kate forward, to keep her alive. Kate also knows what sacrifices that Anna has been forced to make in order for Kate to stay alive. Ultimately Kate knows she is loosing her battle with Leukemia, and does not want to see her suffer anymore, nor steal Anna’s chances at a normal childhood. “My Sister’s Keeper” realistically portrays a teenage girls battle with cancer. The movie is mainly told for the perspective of Anna. Every family member describes their thoughts on Kate’s illness at some point with in the move.

The movie does a good job of portraying Kate’s declining health and her life experience as well. It also shows how a sick child can effect the entire family dynamic, and the lengths, some families will go, to save a child. Other reviews found this movie to be “really tough and challenging, but really enjoyable” (“My Sister’s Keeper- Rotten Tomato“). Rodger Ebert describes this movie as an immediate audience grabber (Ebert). I would recommend this movie to others. It touches on many topics, that families with sick children may have to face n reality, but I do strongly caution how realistically the movie is portrayed. It could be very upsetting to someone who is in a similar situation. Works Cited My Sister’s Keeper-Rotten Tomato. Flixter, n. d. Web. 4 May 2011. http://www. rottentomatoes. com/m/10010662-my_sisters_keeper/ “My Sister’s Keeper. ” The Internet Movie Database. TIMB, 26 Jun 2009. Web. 7 May 2011. http://www. imdb. com/title/tt1078588/ Ebert, R. “My Sister’s Keeper. ” N. p. , 24 Jun 2009. Web. 10 May 2011. http://rogerebert. suntimes. com/apps/pbcs. dll/article? AID=/20090624/REVIEWS/906249980/1023