Go for Sisters

'Go for Sisters' was screened at the Glasgow film Festival. It is one of a slew of films from 2013 with the major plot-line of dirty dealings down ol' Mexico way. Older films, with a similar theme, would suggest that this film is perhaps part of some sort of Mexico-crime sub-genre, and a worthy part too.

Film opens in LA, in a probation office. The scene is shot almost documentary style but camera wobble and swaying does spoil these early scenes, though thankfully improves thereafter.

There are three women in this opening scene. One white woman is being interviewed for breaking the conditions of her probation. A second white woman takes no active part in the interview and we clearly sense that she is some sort of probationary probation officer who is learning the ropes.

The interview is being conducted by Bernice, an experienced African-American probation officer, played by LisaGay Hamilton. Bernice is strict with the parole-violator and her experience enables her to closely question the parolee. We get the impression that she has heard and seen it all before.

Bernice then conducts a second interview with an African-American woman called Fontayne, played by Yolonda Ross. Again she is strict but listens to the explanations of the parolee. She informs the woman that because of a prior relationship that a another probation-officer will be allocated. These early scenes are shot very much in a documentary style, and we see in minute detail the system of processing.

In these early scenes, and other later ones, we see Bernice trying to contact her son unsuccessfully. He has been caught up in some criminal activity and has disappeared. Determined to find him, Bernice contacts Fontayne to ask her to help in the search. Their relationship is an old one, and so Fontayne agrees to help. This requires delving into the criminal-world and so probation-officer Bernice keeps parolee Fontayne as her client and to keep things legitimate.

Thus we are in the land of '48hrs' (1982), where cop Nick Nolte has criminal Eddie Murphy out of prison on that famous 48 hour pass, and the pair get into various scrapes, as they battle against the clock, in that famous landmark buddy film. The girls in 'GfS', whilst not having that same specific 48 hour time-period are still very much up against the clock throughout this film. Like the all-girl 'The Heat' from last year, there is some of the same buddy-comedy. The '48hrs' classic 'red-neck' scene, can now probably never be replicated in a modern film in all of it's glory. However this reviewer did enjoy an early comic scene in 'GfS', that perhaps gave a slight nod to that sort of 'good cop, non-cop' type of situation.

Early confrontations are not all comic. Life in a drug-infested ghetto is clearly shown in more documentary-style scenes. However our girls quickly realize that their search requires them to head down to the Mexican border, and to cross it too. Thus we now embark, like some sort of road-movie, on a Mexicrime journey, as in the seminal classic 'Touch of Evil' (1958), the later 'No Country for Old Men' (2007), and that slew of 2013 films.

'ToE' and NCfOM' both had a drug theme, as do all the 2013 films. '2 Guns', which is a slapstick action-comedy film, had Edward James Olmos playing a drug-cartel leader. In 'GfS', which is a serious film, Mr Olmos plays an ex-cop, who will help our girl duo across the border. In the comedy 'We're the Millers' a cover-story is required to get across the border. In 'GfS' a cover story is also required, and Mr Olmos, who also produces this film, sets this up with a bit of a slight nod to, for him, a real-life autobiographical flourish. A nice touch!

'2G' and 'WtM' were comedies. 'GfS' is not. It is instead a serious crime film with some comedy. 'The Counsellor' was a very grim drug-dealing story, not for the faint-hearted. 'GfS' whilst serious, is not as grim as that.

'GfS' is mainly in English, but two long scenes of dialogue are in Spanish, but sadly with no English sub-titles for non-Spanish-speaking viewers. This is a shame as both seemed authentic and interesting. Neither perhaps was of crucial importance, but sadly we, who are not Spanish-speaking, do not know that as a certainty. Sub-titles would have added authenticity and interest to those conversations.

It is not clear why the son has disappeared, but finding him seems to be like looking for a needle in a haystack. This requires detective work; of a deductive type as well as undercover work. It also means confrontations; some serious, and some comic.

There is good acting throughout the film; Miss Hamilton, the star, portrays a buttoned-up probation-officer trying to keep her emotions under control. Mr Olmos is the grizzled ex-cop who reminded me of last year's film noir 'Cold Comes the Night'. The talented Miss Ross, the parolee, gives a very believable and versatile performance. Good work! These three leads convince in their roles and impress with their acting. It was also nice too, to see brief appearances by the familiar faces of Don Harvey and Hector Elizondo, both of whom added authenticity to the film in their roles.

If you like '48hrs'-style action-comedy buddy-movies, or Mexicrime-style genre movies, you will find this film a worthy companion. Certified as 15+, it is a tense crime film, with some comedy. 7/10.

Currently, "Go For Sisters" has a surprisingly low overall rating of 6.1 on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). While this sounds respectable, a 6.1 would generally indicate that the film is average at best*--and this film is far from average in every way. To me, it's a wonderful example of a movie that features really, really exceptional acting coming from some less than famous faces--faces that deserve to be getting more attention.

"Go For Sisters" is a film written and directed by John Sayles--a famous name in Hollywood. It's unusual because one of its producers is Leonard James Olmos (of "Miami Vice" fame)--who also is one of the stars of the film. He did a wonderful job in the film, however, I would hate for him to get all the glory. After all, LisaGay Hamilton and Yolanda Ross (hardly household names) were wonderful as the two female leads and I would LOVE to see more of them in the future. Sure, they may not look and sound like Hollywood's idea of stars, but they really did great jobs--particularly Hamilton. I love seeing 'real women' in films--women who are not the usual cookie cutter starlets but who seem like REAL people! And Hamilton and Ross sure seemed real.

The film begins in a parole office. Bernice (Hamilton) is a parole officer who seems to know her stuff and is all business with her clients. However, her new assignment is a tough one--Fontayne (Ross) turns out to be someone Bernice grew up with and knew very well long ago. Now, years later, they are on the opposite sides of the fence. And, because it would not be appropriate to have an old acquaintance as a client, Bernice plans on transferring Fontayne to another officer. However, something comes up and Bernice decides, for once, to go against her better judgment. This is because her estranged son has just disappeared and she needs answers--especially since he might be dead or wanted for murder! She MUST know where he might be and what happened to him. And so she asks Fontayne for some help. After all, Fontayne's been around and might know some people who might know some people... Well, after a while, the two spend more time together and naturally become closer and start to talk about old times. And, it turns out that they were more than just casual acquaintances and now Fontayne seems like she's willing to help not just because Bernice is a parole officer but because perhaps she cares and is trying to put her life as a junkie behind her...perhaps.

At this point, Bernice is definitely treading into dangerous territory working with a friend/parolee to locate her son. However, the trail gets even murkier more convoluted when the women soon find themselves in contact with an ex-cop (Olmos). This is a guy who was thrown off the force and they don't know whether or not they can trust him--but they don't seem to have much choice if they want to find the missing man. And, to make things worse, the trail soon heads out of the country--to the infamous city of Tijuana, Mexico--a place where law and order have all but vanished. What will happen next? And, most importantly, will Bernice and Yolanda come out of all this alive? And, just how far is Bernice willing to go to locate her son?

I noticed that a few folks felt that the script was a bit far-fetched when they reviewed the film on IMDb. Perhaps it is a bit, but I found myself willing to believe it for several good reasons. As a retired social worker and psychotherapist (as well as school teacher), I used to work very closely with parole and probation officers. They are VERY human--some very professional, some very unprofessional and some a bit crazy! So, an officer bending rules is something I could easily believe. Also, as a parent, I could see a scared mother willing to risk everything to find her only son. But, most importantly, I could believe it because Bernice was such a believable character. Sayles did a nice job of writing the character and directing Hamilton--but Hamilton herself was just terrific in this leading role. While she has quite a few credits to her name, with acting like this, she deserves much more attention and opportunities. It also didn't hurt having Ross and Olmos supporting her--as the trio seemed very believable and the three really knew their craft.

The bottom line is that too few film emphasize what I like in films-- great acting and well-written and believable characters. While this film doesn't have a fancy special effects or the glitz of many Hollywood films, it is well made and quite tense. It's a film I strongly recommend--even if the story might sound a bit hard to believe. I sure believed it and am thrilled that the film just came out this week with Netflix. Grab a copy.

*IMDB scores are weighted a bit high--so I've noticed that a 6.1 is equal to about a 5.0 on many other scales.

I saw this film at the Ghent (Belgium) film festival 2013, where it was part of the section American Independent. The persons in this film are certainly not the cross section of society, but each of them has recognizable features somewhere hidden inside. Main characters are the tough "no bullshit" parole officer Bernice on one hand, and her old-times schoolfriend who tries to stay clean Fontayne on the other hand, They meet each other again after 20 years on different sides of the law. These two roles are set out perfectly in the opening scenes of the film, and this is precisely what characterizes the rest of the film. The people we meet after Bernice and Fontayne team up to look for Bernice's son, are portrayed very well within one or two scenes when they enter the proceedings. It gives us ample time to identify ourselves with them, though neither looks like someone we want to be in real life. All have their problems plus a shady past, which is what makes them to what they are now, at the same time precisely what makes them fit in the story as it unfolds before our eyes.

A third main character is former policeman "The Terminator" Freddy, disgraced and fired without pension, but pulling his weight in this quest, in spite of his severely diminished eye sight. Each of the three "mates" brings their own unique features and qualities, and their special knowledge how things work on either side of the law. The odd trio undertakes a quest which seems a lost cause from the outset. Nevertheless, they definitely make progress throughout the whole film, be it one step at a time, be it improbable how they succeed in dangerous situations. But still, we see how the story develops from very close by. We also see how it brings our main characters in situations they could not have survived without tons of luck, lack of fear and sheer determination. These situations combined with the persons they have to deal with, are precisely what makes this into a colorful and varied movie, in which we even see a few parts of Mexico.

All in all, I enjoyed this film throughout its 123 minutes running time. The three main characters are portrayed very well, each with their own special features and abilities. And the people they meet, albeit in relatively short encounters, look like taken from real life, allowing us peeping into their ways-of-life as a bonus. It offers no solutions for real-life problems, it is mere entertainment, no more no less. Humor works effectively as icing on the cake. I could find no information about the budget, but it does not show either way.