Cuatro hermanas

This is a movie based upon a very controversial topic. Without giving too much away in the way of spoilers because their synopsis on this web page doesn't really give too much away either, all I want to say is kudos to the entire crew that worked on the production of this film. I'm certain many people consider their options in similar manners, but are too 'weak' to go through something like this. You have to watch this movie to form your own opinion though. Everyone will have their own take or spin on how they would have handled this. I think it's personal to the ones undergoing the 'diseases' and we should begin to heed their choices instead of our own personal choices. If we all had the freedom to make the choices we wanted to make on our own, without others, we'd be a much healthier world. But we tend to be too overbearing and controlling of others. People need their freedoms to move forward....or not! Let them be! Mother Mary will come to us speaking words of wisdom, let them be! Enjoy this film that is very well worth anyone's time to watch.

I was familiar with the brilliant play that inspired the film and was blown away with the adaptation. Four sisters grappling with the personal disappointments, their fraught relationship with their mother and each other, and with their mother's death. The actors are riveting, the entire experience gripping. Set on a lake, the story unfolds in a kind of "No Exit," environment, where the sisters are forced to remain as the uncomfortable hours click by, forced to face issues none wishes to face. The addition of more back story and appearance of some men in the women's lives adds wonderful dimension as well, each one played pitch perfect for their role. Fun bonus to see the stunning beauty that Cindy Crawford's daughter has grown to be, especially since she demonstrated wonderful acting chops. Another actor to watch, along with the rest of the superb and relatively new to seasoned cast. Highly recommend.

This movie affected me very deeply because I was the primary caretaker for my own mother, who died in 2011 of a form of ALS. The issues involved were very close to the surface for me (still) and I reacted very emotionally to this beautifully crafted story.

Unfortunately the timeline in the movie was grossly inaccurate. It took my mother eight agonizing years to lose the use of her body, bit-by-bit, and by the end she could neither talk nor communicate. She slowly lost the use of her legs about 4 years after her first stumbling signs of trouble, and lost the ability to write about 6 years in. She was bedridden for the last three years of her life, 100% mentally normal but slowly becoming encased in a body that would no longer respond to her.

She refused a feeding tube when swallowing became a problem, and eventually had to die, three weeks later, from slow starvation. It was horrible. She BEGGED (when she still could) to be hastened toward death but by then there was nothing we could do. Washington's "Death With Dignity" law did not apply to her situation.

So while the story here treated similar circumstances with compassion, there was an unrealistic portrayal of the true horrors of ALS.

I agree with the other reviewers who have noted that this is a fabulous film filled with five strong female characters - the wildly different four sisters (named after cities) who come together after their mother's death. The writing is witty, suspenseful, and with deep character insight... there's not a cliché to be found in this script by Colette Freedman.It is by turns hilarious, touching, surprising, and gasp inducing. The four sisters are acted brilliantly, with Jess Weixler a standout as the writer who tanked after a single best seller, and went home to live with mom. It is she who shows (initially) the most courage, but where this brings the others will surprise you. .. Stana Katic is stunning as the ice princess eldest sister on track to be a judge, with Michelle Trachtenberg on point as a somewhat prissy, uptight woman who harbors her own secrets, and the effervescent Troian Bellisario as the youngest is simply a delight. Flashbacks show both the mom and three of the sisters much younger, and so the cast is almost entirely female (with small but well conceived roles featuring the always excellent Edward Molina and handsome Tom Everett Scott) making this a female dominated film in precisely the way that nearly all Hollywood films are male dominated. And guess what... It's fabulous. Agree with the other reviewer, more of these please.

SMART WOMEN. Smart women who are not defined by a male character. All of them- so well written and fleshed out. Lovely acting all around. Was enamored with Troyan Bellisario- whom I had never seen. Deftly directed with nuance and care. At times funny and others, gut-wrenching. But never fell into the stereotypical UBER-FEELY trap that many female driven fare can. Really just a total GEM of a film. Was at a screening where the audience was both laughing and crying, a successful story in my book. Was also wonderful to see Jackie Weaver in a lovely turn as their flawed but original matriarch.

BRAVO LIFETIME for backing SMART, FEMALE DRIVEN FARE!!