Sister Sister

Sister Sister has a similar story structure to The Handmaiden. We first see events through the eyes of one lead female character. Then, the point of view shifts and we see the same events through the eyes of the second female lead. In The Handmaiden, this point of view shift made events even gayer than they originally were. In Sister Sister, the perspective shift makes events straighter than originally thought. Take a wild guess which movie I like better.

The first point of view we see the story from is Kim. Glamorous Kim runs a live radio show where she interviews people in traumatic, often abusive situations. At home, Kim’s marriage with husband Huy is strained following Kim recently miscarrying. A common caller to Kim’s show is Nhi Em Gai. Nhi is 3 months pregnant and being abused. After saving her from a suicide attempt, Kim welcomes Nhi into her home. The women’s relationship develops quickly, culminating in a serious accident. The perspective then shifts to Nhi and Huy’s point of view. We see how much of a role Huy played in the events of the first act. Would’ve been easier on everyone if they just divorced.

If you like thriller tropes and plot points, Sister Sister provides. This is definitely a thriller where shit actually happens. Lives are ruined, lies are told, motives and alliances are uncertain. I do celebrate the film for that. Nothing is more offensive to me than a boring thriller. Sister Sister isn’t boring. It’s quite entertaining, actually. It’s got unhinged women developing an immediate relationship. That’s a good start! Then we’ve got some double crossing and hidden motivations. I Like that too! The film definitely holds together for its run time. It provides enough twists and story disruptions to keep my interest.

However, these thriller elements have uneven execution. The film tries to do some thematic stuff involving humans pushed into making extreme choices and the role of women in society and in the family. But please understand, this is too silly a movie to succeed in any such commentary. The thriller elements in Sister Sister are often cliche or not well executed. Part of the entertainment of this film comes from the fact that it’s sort of silly. There’s a car accident set piece we see a few times that’s a great example of the film overall. It’s meant to be horrifying, and thrilling. But it’s just so over the top and silly that I can only laugh. When the car hits a pedestrian, the pedestrian just goes flying! And then the car rolls over and over and over before setting on fire. Delightful stuff.

I still don’t know whether Sister Sister counts as a WLW movie. Kim is definitely into women. Before Nhi, she had lifelong feelings for a childhood friend of hers. But Nhi’s interest in Kim is revealed to be largely falsified. And that’s what the third act is; Nhi’s character acting aggressively heterosexual in a way that sort of “no homos” the first act. Plus, the film has a third lead. Kim’s husband, Huy. He’s really the key character in this whole film. And he’s definitely not a WLW. But honestly, it’s Huy who steals the show. In the third act, he levels up in his unhinged motives. And it makes for great viewing! There’s a really delightful scene where he does an unsettling dance number with Nhi in dramatic red lighting. And following this, he does violence with a hammer! Did I mention how entertaining I found Sister Sister?

Sister Sister is very high on entertainment value. But don’t expect much intelligence nor focus on lesbianism. This movie understands thriller beats better than most. But its execution of those beats is uneven at best. Especially when compared to The Handmaiden, a masterpiece on so many ways, Sister Sister falls short. But that doesn’t stop it from being a pretty entertaining sit.

Overall rating: 5.6/10

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