Sisters' tale amazes on film

As the next century creeps up, we can reminisce about the movie industry with awe. Hollywood and independent filmmakers have been able to work with a creative medium that constantly reaches new dimensions, not just cinematically, but artistically and thematically. Old genres reappear, existing genres reinvent and new genres innovate.

Three (and a half) cheers, in particular, for "Hilary and Jackie," an intense yet stunningly beautiful portrait of two sisters immersed in conflicts of competition and envy, but also companionship and love. But the film works amazingly well due to the way it's presented. Exquisite landscape shots within fluid, yet active, scenes produce breathtaking visuals, as though we are looking at a series of photographs.

In essence, that is exactly what we are doing. "Hilary and Jackie," directed by Anand Tucker (also the 1997 director of a biography of Antoine de Saint-Exupery, called "Saint-Ex") transformed the autobiography/biography of the Du Pre sisters, "A Genius in the Family," written by Hilary and her brother Piers. He added depth to a story that could not have been achieved through their novel by presenting their lives from each of their perspectives, offering a distorted, yet insightful look into their relationship from both sides.

At first, we get a glance of the Du Pre sisters' childhood. Jacqueline (Emily Watson), a cellist, shares a loving bond with her sister, Hilary (Rachel Griffiths), a flutist. On the other hand, Jackie cannot deal with the attention and praise Hilary receives from being a better musician than herself. Competitive constraints imbued by her parents ("If you want to be together, you've got to be as good as each other," says Iris Du Pre) only increase her jealousy, and she forces herself to outdo her sister.

As the sisters grow up and Jackie emerges as a renowned musician throughout Europe, the magical, surreal and yet ominously disturbing perspective from a child's vantage point shifts to the reality of the psychoses of these two characters. Hilary, now much older, develops the envious quality that her sister once had for her, and takes desperate measures to improve her mediocre musical skills, but with little success. She likely would have drowned in her insecurities had it not been for amiable Kiffer (David Morrissey) to raise her esteem, and even make her "feel special."

This support is exactly what Hilary needs and deserves, but so does Jackie, as we soon find out. Married to Daniel Barenboim, Jackie believes she is only being loved for her incredible talent. She subverts her loneliness and jealousy of her sister, saying such cruel words to Hilary as, "The truth is, you aren't special" and "If you didn't have that cello to prop you up, you'd be nothing." Meanwhile Jackie, deeply hurt but nevertheless level-headed, moves to the country with Kiffer.

Jackie unfortunately loses what little dignity she has left and coaxes her sister into allowing her to sleep with Kiffer. Hilary worries for her sister, and justifies her resignation by affirming that she is doing what is best for Jackie. Nevertheless, home video-like snippets of Jackie's manipulative obtrusiveness undoubtedly shed light upon the unhealthy situation at hand, and more significantly, the rising resentment that Hilary feels towards her sister.

From here on, we witness the downfall of Jackie, as she falls victim to the degenerative disease, multiple sclerosis. But in essence, Hilary and Jackie share a bond that no illness will ever break, and their relationship ensures that "everything will be alright."

"Hilary and Jackie," therefore, is slightly steeped in melodrama, but maybe that comes with the baggage of being a touching tale of strong sisterly love surrounded by the romantic, almost poetic passion for classical music. Sure enough, the film plays up the piece Jackie is most famous for: Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor. What's interesting is that Jackie says at one point that she hates playing the cello, suggesting that she uses the instrument as a weapon, a defense against everything she confronts.

Emily Watson, known for her stellar performance in "Breaking the Waves," is excellent, and Rachel Griffiths does a fine job as well. Even supporting actors James Frain and David Morrissey stand out with their individualized yet not overbearing personalities, who add flavor to script.

The movie is remarkable in the way it uses clever camera technique (the everpresent use of a wide-angle lens) to give added 3-dimensionality to the already multi-emotionally-layered script. From the very beginning, we are aware of the disturbing qualities of the relationship between Hilary and Jackie, purely because of the distorted visuals of their seemingly blissful childhood. It's precisely these tensions; subverted, dark cinematography within a stable, pleasant story that gives "Hilary and Jackie" its power, without having to exaggerate the point it is trying to make.

02-19-99