Big budgets do not mean great movies.  In fact, the film industry seem to have taken a page out of the Seattle Mariners book; huge payroll for little substance.  Story and character growth are bartered for eye-gouging CGI and over-pampered A-List actors.  Your Sister’s Sister rises above this frivolous mediocrity; giving us something honest and true.  With a paltry budget of $125,000, Sister is anchored by realism and humanity.  

Set in the Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, Sister circles around Iris (Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada, The Five Year-Engagement), her best friend Jack (Mark Duplass, Safety Not Guaranteed, The League) and her sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt Rachel Getting Married, United States of Tara).  After a rough year of coping with his brother’s (and Iris’ former lover) death, Iris encourages Jack to retreat from the world at her family’s cabin.  Expecting isolation, he is unexpectedly greeted by Hannah, also seeking refuge after the collapse of her 7-year relationship.  After a bottle of tequila, the two engage in un-sober, sloppy sex; only to be greeted by Iris the next morning.  While the two hide the secret of the trist, Iris also confides in her sister that she has fallen in love with Jack.  The plot doth thicken.

Blunt, Duplass, and DeWitt astound as a trio.  The three engage in a waltz of secrets, carefully tiptoeing around questions and side-stepping glances.  Chemistry crackles between the actors, highlighted and elevated by simple, yet sincere dialogue.  Though at times the dialogue delves into the melodramatic, the trio’s commitment and believability remedy any raised eyebrow.  Their performances are uncompromising, showing tremendous vulnerability in a situation of such fragility that all bonds of sisterhood and friendship can unravel with a single tug.  Lynn Shelton (Humpday) captures natural and scenic beauty of the pine-fresh forrest and misty lake, forming an ambiance of wistful meditation and cathartic revelation.  Though at times melodramatic and a tad predictable, the combination of Shelton’s camera and Blunt/Duplass/DeWitt’s performances spellbind and prove that money doesn’t make good movies; dedication to truth and beauty do.