''Sister My Sister'' is a 1994 film starring British actresses

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a B ...

, Joely Richardson, and Jodhi May. The film was directed by

Nancy Meckler Nancy Meckler is an American theatre and film director, known for her work in the United Kingdom with Shared Experience, where she was a joint artistic director alongside Polly Teale. Life and career Nancy Meckler was born and educated in the ...

and written by Wendy Kesselman, based on her own play, ''My Sister in This House''. The film is based on a true incident in

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1933 called the Papin murder case, where two sisters brutally murdered their employer and her daughter. The murder shocked the country, and there was much speculation about the sisters, including allegations that they were having an

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity ( marriage or stepfamily), ado ...

ous

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

affair.

Plot

In 1933 France, Christine (Richardson) is the maid of a well-to-do middle-aged widow (Julie Walters) and her teenage daughter ( Sophie Thursfield). Her younger sister, Lea (May) is hired on the recommendation of Christine. The two sisters become increasingly alienated from their employer, separated by barriers between the classes. The employer and her daughter look down on the sisters for the most trivial things, and it soon becomes the norm for the two pairs of women to not even speak directly to each other. With only each other to turn to, the sisters' relationship becomes sexual, adding to the tension between the sisters and their employer. Both of them deal with trauma brought on by strained relationships with their mother and others of the church. Over time, there are continual rumors of the employer’s daughter getting married and moving out. Christine becomes paranoid and jealous that Lea will go with her when that day comes, and she’ll be left with nothing and no one, but Lea assures her this isn’t the case. Christine fears she is a monster like her mother. One day, the iron blows a fuse and burns the daughter’s blouse Lea was preparing. Short on money and time, the sisters resign themselves to their fate; when their employer and her daughter return from a shopping trip, Christine tries to explain what happened. The widow claims she knows about the incestuous relationship between the sisters and they’ll never work again once word gets out. The sisters fly into a rage and brutally murder the widow and her daughter. The movie ends on a crime report detailing the state of the corpses as someone knocks on the mansion door. The sisters cling to each other desperately as audio plays of an investigator questioning them about the murder, followed by Christine screaming for Lea.

Cast

as Madame Danzard * Joely Richardson as Christine Papin * Jodhi May as Lea Papin * Sophie Thursfield as Isabelle Danzard *

Amelda Brown Amelda Brown is a British actress of stage, film, and television. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1980, and became known for her work in fringe theatre. She played leading roles in the premieres of Caryl Churchil ...

as Visitor #1 * Lucita Pope as Visitor #2 * Kate Gartside as Sister Veronica * Aimee Schmidt as Young Lea * Gabriella Schmidt as Young Christine

Related films

The Papin case was also the subject of '' The Maids'', a play by

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels '' The Thief ...

written in 1949 that was adapted by

Christopher Miles Christopher Miles (born 19 April 1939) is a British film director, producer and screenwriter. Personal life Miles was born in London, England, the eldest of four children to Clarice Remnant (‘Wren’), a councillor, and John Miles, a consulti ...

into a 1974 film of the same name. It starred Glenda Jackson and Susannah York as the maids, and Vivien Merchant as their employer. It is also mentioned in a 1995 French film of

Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues a ...

, '' La Cérémonie'', with

Isabelle Huppert Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert (; born 16 March 1953) is a French actress. Described as "one of the best actresses in the world", she is known for her portrayals of cold and disdainful characters devoid of morality. She is the recipient of sev ...

and Sandrine Bonnaire. The characters are not the Papin sisters, but are two women that end up murdering their employer. It is an adaptation from the novel '' A Judgement in Stone'' by

Ruth Rendell Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...

. The story was also filmed as ''

Murderous Maids ''Murderous Maids'' (french: Les blessures assassines) is a French film directed by Jean-Pierre Denis, released in 2000, which tells the true story of two French maids, Christine and Lea Papin. The screenplay by Jean-Pierre Denis with Michèle P ...

'', a French film starring Sylvie Testud and

Julie-Marie Parmentier Julie-Marie Parmentier (born 13 June 1981) is a French actress. She began practising theater at nine years old, in Saint-Quentin, Aisne. At the age of fifteen, she played in her first feature film, ''Petites'', by Noémie Lvovsky. Since then ...

, and directed by Jean-Pierre Denis.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0111205, title=Sister My Sister 1995 films British LGBT-related films Lesbian-related films Incest in film Films shot at Pinewood Studios Maids in films 1994 drama films 1994 films British drama films Films scored by Stephen Warbeck 1995 drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s British films

Plot

Cast

Related films

See also

References

External links