Broken Ties

The title "Sisters on the Run" conveys the main action of this film. But the earlier title of "Broken Ties" gets closer to the essence of the bonding of two sisters, Maddie and Selma Carrera. At one point in the film, there was the offhand reference to the two sisters as Thelma and Louise. But that analogy was not accurate because Maddie and Selma were not criminals on the lam, but decent, law-abiding women. The younger sister, Selma, had some bad breaks in life, including having to serve as caretaker to a deeply troubled mother. Now, she is in trouble after apparently murdering her abusive husband, Jason Sinclair. The problem is that Jason is a dirty cop and the ringleader of a drug trafficking operation. Selma and Maddie go on the run when the other crooked cops locate Selma, who is residing with her sister. The actresses were outstanding in exploring a transformation of each of their characters. Selma goes from being a self-absorbed victim to a strong-willed agent of her own destiny. Maddie is transformed from a stuffy and callous wife and mother into someone who is sensitive of the feelings of other people. The dual transmogrification was because of the magical effect the sisters have on each other. There was also a good cop, bad cop theme, with the good cop Rusty ending in a romantic association with Selma. But the touching denouement of the film appropriately isolated the two sisters in a compositional frame that demonstrated the degree to which their ties were no longer broken.

The title "Sisters on the Run" conveys the main action of this film. But the earlier title of "Broken Ties" gets closer to the essence of the bonding of two sisters, Maddie and Selma Carrera. At one point in the film, there was the offhand reference to the two sisters as Thelma and Louise. But that analogy was not accurate because Maddie and Selma were not criminals on the lam, but decent, law-abiding women. The younger sister, Selma, had some bad breaks in life, including having to serve as caretaker to a deeply troubled mother. Now, she is in trouble after apparently murdering her abusive husband, Jason Sinclair. The problem is that Jason is a dirty cop and the ringleader of a drug trafficking operation. Selma and Maddie go on the run when the other crooked cops locate Selma, who is residing with her sister. The actresses were outstanding in exploring a transformation of each of their characters. Selma goes from being a self-absorbed victim to a strong-willed agent of her own destiny. Maddie is transformed from a stuffy and callous wife and mother into someone who is sensitive of the feelings of other people. The dual transmogrification was because of the magical effect the sisters have on each other. There was also a good cop, bad cop theme, with the good cop Rusty ending in a romantic association with Selma. But the touching denouement of the film appropriately isolated the two sisters in a compositional frame that demonstrated the degree to which their ties were no longer broken.

The title "Sisters on the Run" conveys the main action of this film. But the earlier title of "Broken Ties" gets closer to the essence of the bonding of two sisters, Maddie and Selma Carrera. At one point in the film, there was the offhand reference to the two sisters as Thelma and Louise. But that analogy was not accurate because Maddie and Selma were not criminals on the lam, but decent, law-abiding women. The younger sister, Selma, had some bad breaks in life, including having to serve as caretaker to a deeply troubled mother. Now, she is in deep trouble after apparently murdering her abusive husband, Jason Sinclair. The problem is that Jason is a dirty cop and the ringleader of a drug trafficking operation. Selma and Maddie go on the run when the other crooked cops locate Selma, who is residing with her sister. The actresses were outstanding in exploring a transformation of each of their characters. Selma goes from being a deeply troubled victim to a strong-willed agent of her own destiny. Maddie is transformed from a stuffy and callous wife and mother to someone who is sensitive of the feelings of other people. The dual transmogrification was because of the magical effect the sisters have on each other. There was also a good cop, bad cop theme, with the good cop Rusty ending in a romantic association with Selma. But the touching denouement of the film appropriately isolated the two sisters in a compositional frame that demonstrated the degree to which their ties were no longer broken.