Movie #92 Sisters *1973*

Last night I started watching Le Cercle Rouge on Netflix streaming. I had to shut it off because the sub titles were too low on the picture and the bottom half of them were getting cut off.  I had a bit of the same problem with Rules of the Game this past weekend, just not as bad.

So, I instead watched Brian De Palma's Sisters.  This was the first film of his to really receive critical acclaim and some commercial success.  It is a murder mystery revolving around Siamese twin sisters that have been disconnected, and the pesky neighbor that thinks she saw the whole thing go down.

This is classic De Palma, but it didn't really take for me.  The thing most people talk about when this film comes up is his use of split screen.  I did find that technique really effective, impressive and satisfying without feeling to gimmicky.

The rest of the movie kind of fell flat for me.  There were a few moments here and there that stood out, but as a whole I found the pacing a little off and the ending too bizarre and disjointed. 

Margot Kidder played the twins.  She was good in the role, but her French Canadian accent really grated on me.  Jennifer Salt played the neighbor.  I think I liked her better in the movie at first, but as the film went on I got less and less interested in everyone involved.  William Finley had a role in this film.  Too tell you much about it would have to include spoilers.  Let's just say he was bat shit crazy in this thing.  A little too much in my opinion.  For a thriller movie his performance was comedic and it took me out of the picture.

I would recommend seeing this if for no other reason than the split screen.  Sisters has been released in a Criterion DVD.  I will give Sisters a 2.5/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.