- Release:
7 oktober 2014 - Director:
Stanley M. Brooks
- Cast:
Abigail Breslin (Ender's Game, Zombieland, August: Osage County)
Georgie Henley (Chronicles of Narnia Trilogy)
Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite, Attack on Leningrad, The Replacement Killers)
James Russo (Django Unchained, Public Enemy)
Jeffrey Ballard (John Tucker Must Die, She's the Man)
Zoë Belkin (Carrie)
- Genre:
Thriller
- Year: 2014
- On Behalf of H.O.M. Vision
Perfect Sisters
SYNOPSIS
A pair of abused and neglected teenage girl almost gets away with murder in PERFECT SISTERS, a riveting true-crime thriller. Based on the notorious "Bathtub Girls" case, this is a harrowing and heartbreaking look at the teen subculture that nurtured the girls' murderous fantasies and covered up for them after they committed an unthinkable crime in an effort to create a normal life for themselves.
Sisters Sandra and Beth learned early in life that they had no one to depend on but each other. Abandoned by their father, turned away by child protective services and forced to care for their hopelessly addicted mother, Linda, the imaginative and gifted girls sustain themselves on fantasies of a life with the perfect mom. But when Linda makes plans to move the girls in with her lecherous and abusive lover, the girls' situation becomes unbearable. Seeing no other way out, Sandra and Beth recruit their classmates Justin and Ashley to help them plan their mother's murder.
For almost a year, their crime remains hidden. But as their own guilt spins out of control and the teenagers compulsively confess their involvement to friends, rumors that they are cold-blooded killers reach the ears of the authorities.
REVIEWS
- 1nfluxmagazine.com: A thought-provoking look at matricide. The superb performances by Breslin and Henley were key to the impact Perfect Sisters had, with Mira Sorvino also giving a convincing turn as a failed mother, whose alcohol abuse and choice of men have helped push her daughters away. I really enjoyed Perfect Sisters from start to finish and strongly recommend this film to anyone who likes true stories.
- Hometheaterinfo.com: The movie is enjoyable as a fun thriller, ideal for Saturday evening, albeit while the children are visiting their grandparents. Adding considerably to this film is the performance of Ms. Sorvino.
- Hollywoodreporter.com: The film is elevated by the quality of the performances, with Breslin and Henley movingly affecting as the closely bound sisters and Sorvino convincingly conveying her character's inability to function.
- Timeout.com: Perfect Sisters, which takes a dark, matricidal turn (inspired by an actual Toronto case), was never going to be a new Heavenly Creatures. But give credit to director Stan Brooks for allowing his two former child stars some real meat to sink their teenage chops into.
- Thetfs.ca: Strong performances from the cast make this film worthwhile. Viewers will find their emotions, and opinions, swaying from moment to moment, and there's certainly going to be discussion after leaving the theatre on the guilt or innocence of the sisters, which is the best example of how powerful a film is.
- Redcarpetcrash.com: The film illustrates a true and accurate representation of what it's like to be an alcoholic and what it's like to live with one. The performances are flawless and director Stanley M. Brooks does an exceptional job showing teenage angst and grief but also shows the mother's perspective as an alcoholic and how she tries to keep her family together, all the while, battling her own demons.
- Popmatters.com: Perfect Sisters' version of a toxic intergenerational conflict speaks to Faludi's bleak message that each generation's sisterhood entails the murder of the mother, literally but more broadly as well. I have been haunted, in the days since I watched Perfect Sisters, by Sorvino's portrayal of Sandra and Beth's sad, struggling, victimized mother. And I'm left wondering how the real Sandra and Beth, both now attending Canadian universities, will fare if they become mothers of daughters.