Sister my sister

Based on a murder case which occurred in 1934 in a provincial French village, this psychological drama is set almost wholly within the claustrophobic confines of a bourgeois household. Two sisters are employed as maids for a prudish, arrogant, middle-aged widow and the frumpy grown daughter she clings to for companionship. Immaculately groomed and discreet, the sisters slave endlessly without complaint for years to meet the perfectionist standards of the mistress of the house. Seeking any relief from this cold, oppressive environment, the sisters, who are also bound to one another in an unhealthy co-dependent relationship, eventually become lovers. As their relationship becomes increasingly tortured, the burden of meeting their employer’s expectations strains class tensions to breaking point. Beginning with the scene of the horrific murder that almost inevitably occurs, the film then effectively builds the pressure cooker atmosphere of class division, sexual repression and co-dependence that provided fertile ground for this seemingly incomprehensible crime. Cast: Julie Waters, Joely Richardson, Jodhi May, Sophie Thursfield.