In television ads for Nick Cassavetes’ My Sister’s Keeper, words like “touching” and “heartwarming” appear on screen. However, although the film aims to tug at the heartstrings and tear up the eyes, it attempts to do so in a cheap way. “Mawkish” and “inauthentic” seem more appropriate descriptions to me. Apparently, the filmmakers --  and perhaps the author of the book on which it’s based -- consider weeping and thinking as mutually exclusive, which is a shame because My Sister’s Keeper could have offered  an intelligent, insightful look at the legal, ethical, and moral dilemma facing a family fighting to save the life of a cancer-stricken child.

Kate Fitzgerald (Sofia Vassilieva) is diagnosed at a young age with a rare form leukemia. Her parents, Sara and Brian (Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric) refuse to accept what amounts to a death sentence for their daughter. At the veiled suggestion of her doctor (David Thornton), the Fitzgerald’s conceive a genetically engineered child to serve as a donor for Kate. Thus, their youngest daughter Anna (Abigail Breslin) exists for only one purpose -- to save the life of her dying older sister. When Kate needs a kidney transplant, Anna refuses and contacts attorney Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin) to sue her parents for medical emancipation.

Such a setup is rife with potential conflicts that would make for an intriguing, absorbing drama.  But the film fails to deliver on that promise. Instead, the medical emancipation suit, which at first appears to be the focus of the film, is demoted to sub-plot status. My Sister’s Keeper seems to suffer from an identity crisis. Just what is this movie supposed to be? A feel-good, Lifetime melodrama with impossibly well-adjusted characters? A portrait of a family in crisis? A love story between two doomed teenagers? A courtroom drama? These are four possibilities. Maybe it’s meant to be all four, and if so, that’s a bad decision. The different storylines dilute one another. And in truth, the medical emancipation storyline is the most powerful because it encompasses such broad territory, considering not only the legal aspects of the situation, but also the ethical and moral ones as well as the opportunity to explore the family conflicts inherent in the Fitzgerald’s efforts to help Kate.

Surely there must be tensions in a family where the parents are focused on one child at the expense of the others. This single-minded devotion to Kate had to have engendered bad feelings such as jealousy, anger and resentment in Anna and brother Jesse. Especially for Anna, whose body is regularly farmed for bone marrow, stem cells, and organs for Kate. However, the only emotion the siblings display toward Kate seems to be one of love. In fact, the only conflict in the family concerns Sara’s attempt to dismiss Anna’s case in court to ensure the kidney transplant goes ahead, even if it is against Anna’s will.

With the exception of Baldwin and Vassilieva, the performances aren’t outstanding, but Jason Patric performs well in his role as Brian. To his credit, he manages to create the image of a level-headed, compassionate man. Cameron Diaz’s bulldog of a mother comes across as strident and insensitive to Anna’s human rights and well being. Sara is a one-dimensional character. She’s meant to be sympathetic, but I was appalled and angry at her behavior. Although Breslin brings sincerity to her role, she seems unable to rise above her aura of terminal cuteness.

When her character isn’t being unbelievably optimistic, Vassilieva is lovely and affecting as Kate, but top marks go to Baldwin in his brief role as Campbell. Baldwin is a master of nuance. He’s capable of being direct and straightforward while subtlety hinting at something more than meets the eye going on with his character. Baldwn knows how to suggest, yet withhold. I wanted to know more about him -- and in the courtroom scenes we learn what drives him to help Anna.

I haven’t read Jody Picoult’s book of the same name, so I don’t know the message this author meant to convey. Maybe the film adheres to her vision. Still, whatever the story’s origins as a novel adaptation or original screenplay, the film My Sister’s Keeper ends up as a drama without a compelling intention. As a result, it lacks the conflicts which could have elevated it from a jumbled, sentimental weeper to a thought-provoking and genuinely poignant movie.

(Released by Warner Bros. Pictures and rated “PG-13” for mature thematic content, some disturbing images, sensuality, language and brief teen drinking.)

Review also posted at www.moviebuffs.com.