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Sisters
(1973) |
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The first major foray into serious Alfred Hitchcock territory by Brian De Palma is a murky, twisting tale of intrigue executed with remarkable style for one so new to their profession. The film begins with a typically Hitchcockian theme of peeping into the privacy of others. We are introduced to Dominique, one of a pair of successfully detached Siamese Twins, who allures her young TV costar to her apartment for a tryst and then the ghastly tale begins to unfold.
De Palma weaves his tale with his trademark style and produces a film that toys with its audience in a similar manner to the great Psycho. This was the first time De Palma paid tribute to Hitchcock's work and the result is suitably impressive. Margot Kidder lays on a thick French accent and does a great job as the manic depressive and ever so slightly psychotic Dominique. Danielle, the other twin, remains hidden from view even though like with Mrs. Bates, we do overhear the odd interjection. Emile, the shady surgeon cum husband is at the centre of the mystery that surrounds the case of these particular twins. Is Danielle, the supposedly evil twin really dead or is she waiting in the wings somewhere for her turn to strike? De Palma uses the split screen technique liberally during the film; a technique that he was to employ in further efforts like Dressed to Kill and Carrie. Here the technique, inspired by the Woodstock film, works wonderfully well for the most part and makes film viewing that much more interesting for being bold in technical style. There is a horribly gruesome murder early on in proceedings (another ode to Psycho) which is so savage that it is difficult watch. A resident witnesses the brutal death of a man in another apartment allowing De Palma to explore Rear Window territory into his within his own dark mystery. The honours are carried at the end of the day by De Palma for his homage to Hitchcock and for his courage to try something different. Margot Kidder, soon to be Lois Lane in the Superman films impresses with her performance and her diction. Major honours though go to veteran music composer Bernard Herrmann who comes up trumps with yet another wonderfully rich and effective score. Herrmann has been immortalized for his score for Hitchcock's Psycho and here he breathes the same brilliance into De Palma's project lending it mystique, atmosphere and sheer class. Herrmann was able to infuse life into films even late in his career with scores for the It's Alive films as well as Sisters and Taxi Driver. Sisters is one of those handful of De Palma Hitchcock rip-off's/homage's (depending on your point of view) that is a joy to watch stylistically and visually. For many of us lusting for more Hitchcock style visual flair and artistry, De Palma doesn't quite make the grade, but at least he gives it a darn good shot and much of his work may be derivative, but at least is thoroughly entertaining to watch.
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