Written by Brian De Palma and Louisa Rose
Directed by Brian De Palma
Starring Margot Kidder, Jennifer Salt, Charles Durning, Billy Finley and Lisle Wilson
USA, 1972
Slowly but surely I’m checking off my list of Brian De Palma films I still have to see, and this most recent one, SISTERS, is a doozy. I’d like to say never before has De Palma’s hitchock obsession been so clearly on display, but I feel like that’s almost always on display, so nevermind.
I’m not sure where to start with this story without giving it away, but the opening deals with a one-night stand between two participants in a voyeuristic hidden camera show – the “victim” of a prank (Lisle Wilson) and the model who’s “in on it” (Margot Kidder). Upon awakening the next morning, it becomes clear the model has a twin sister (who she’s arguing with off screen) and it is their birthday… so the one-night-stander goes out to get a birthday cake and comes home to murder!
Here the movie spins in an entirely new direction as it turns out a news reporter (Jennifer Salt, sporting her best KLUTE haircut) has been REAR WINDOW-ing from across the way and saw the whole thing go down. Unfortunately, the cops don’t believe her when the murderous model’s doctor ex-husband (Billy Finley) helps her cover it up.
The reporter hires a private investigator (Charles Durning) and the two of them set about conducting their own investigation to figure out just what’s going on here. Spoiler: you’ll never guess. It’s wacky and insane and worth the price of admission.
Even though I grew up crushing on Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, I haven’t seen much of her other work, so it was fun to see her here as a French Canadian in sort of a dual role where she gets to do a lot of crazy stuff.
This flick’s a fine example of De Palma’s usual obsessions – voyeurism, sex, murder, spit-screens, long takes, Hitchcock – so it fits right in with his extensive filmography and doesn’t disappoint at all.
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