An Ending that should have been a Keeper

Jodi Picoult published her hit novel My Sister’s Keeper in April 2004 through Atria Books. To see the author’s official site click here. In June 2009, New Line Cinema released the film version, to go to its' official site click here. The story introduces us to Anna Fitzgerald who is 13 years old in the novel, and 11 years old in the film. Anna’s big sister Kate has acute promyelocytic leukemia. Anna’s Parents genetically conceived Anna to be a donor for Kate when neither they nor their eldest child Jesse matched her. When it reaches the point that Kate needs Anna to donate a kidney, Anna files a lawsuit against her parents for the rights to her own body. The story follows the family’s struggle dealing with Kate fighting for her life and Anna fighting to make her own choices.

In the novel, the reader hears the perspective of each character due to the clever way Picoult changes view points at every chapter. I think it was this style of writing that helped the film be as artistic as it was. I think it was the artistic style in which the film was made that kept me liking it even though the story was drastically altered. Many of the scenes don’t even involve the characters talking they are just images with music playing. Sometimes they added voice over’s during the music for the characters to share their thoughts and feelings and a lot of the story gets told from flashbacks as well. It is honestly a beautiful film. The main controversy over this film was the major change to the ending. A lot of readers were angered by the change because Picoult did have the perfect ending to the story. One thing people know who read Picoult books is that there is almost always a twist. The film took this away. In my opinion, standing alone they are both good; but putting them together the change in the ending seriously hurts the movie’s fan club.

Here is the film’s trailer:


Enjoy!