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Go for Sisters

Released Nov 8, 2013 2h 3m Crime Drama List
74% Tomatometer 57 Reviews 54% Audience Score 250+ Ratings
With help from a former detective (Edward James Olmos) and an old friend (Yolonda Ross), a parole officer (LisaGay Hamilton) tries to find her missing son (McKinley Belcher III). Read More Read Less
Go for Sisters

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Meandering and diffuse, Go for Sisters proves a letdown for all but the most ardent John Sayles enthusiasts.

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Critics Reviews

View All (57) Critics Reviews
Eric Kohn indieWire It’s worth mentioning that Sayles has commendably produced the sort of project Hollywood rarely churns out but otherwise the ideas here lack inspiration. The movie illustrates that talented craftsmanship isn’t necessarily equatable to great art. Rated: C+ Sep 12, 2023 Full Review Peter Debruge Variety An overlong cut that’s dense on plot (arguably the least interesting thing about the film) and dull whenever it chooses to indulge quiet moments among characters. Sep 12, 2023 Full Review John DeFore Hollywood Reporter Arthouse appeal is solid for a film that, though not nearly as commercial as Lone Star or endearing as Secret of Roan Inish, plays to the filmmaker’s strengths and makes good use of costar Edward James Olmos. Sep 12, 2023 Full Review Eric D. Snider ScreenAnarchy Tighter scripting and a more focused storytelling approach would have helped. Even as it stands, though, the film is a compelling, unassuming little morsel worth checking out. Sep 12, 2023 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com Ross and Hamilton are captivating, and you'll come away from Go For Sisters in awe of them and thrilled because you'll have discovered a film that resoundingly fails to adhere to formula or stereotype. Aug 29, 2019 Full Review Bernard Boo Way Too Indie It's Hamilton and Ross' incredible on-screen partnership that makes Go For Sisters a solid success for the indie maverick. Rated: 7/10 Apr 3, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (14) audience reviews
Audience Member Suspenseful and compelling story of a mother rescuing her son from the hands of criminal kingpins with the help of a drug addict on parole and a myopic ex-cop. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Fine story ...nothing more , nothing less ! SOMDVD Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member http://filmreviewsnsuch.blogspot.com/2015/05/go-for-sisters.html Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member This isn't Mexico. It's like a theme park for bad behavior. Bernice is a single mother parole officer who hasn't seen her son much since he returned home from the military. She calls and goes to the area he lives but can never find him. One day one of his friends turns up shot up so now she will turn over every resource to find him. She uses one of her friends that is also her professional cases to track him down and get him out of whatever situation he's in. "Playing with Buffy the fucking Vampire Slayer here." John Sayles, director of Passion Fish, Eight Men Out, Lone Star, Men with Guns, Sunshine State, Silver City, Amigo, and Honeydripper, delivers Go for Sisters. The storyline for this picture is very interesting and unfolds in an unpredictable and unique fashion. The overall film is mainly focused on the characters and contains minimal action, but the acting is very good and the cast includes LisaGay Hamilton, Edward James Olmos, Yolanda Ross, Don Harvey, Isaiah Washington, and Michael Laskin. "Only victim?" "They killed his pitbull too." I came across this film on Netflix and thought it would be cool to watch Edward James Olmos in this role. The plot was actually fairly interesting and reminded me a little of Frontera. I will say this is a unique picture that is definitely worth a viewing and is interesting but it doesn't have enough drama or action to be a classic. "This looks like trouble. I don't need any trouble." Grade: B- Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Finally on Google Play....finally watching it. Agatha Christie like mystery, 21st century, southwestern United States-Mexico border. Recommend. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member One thing to know about filmmaker John Sayles: from his feature debut, 1980's amazing Return of The Secaucus Seven, on through Brother From Another Planet, Matewan, Eight Men Out, City of Hope, Passion Fish, The Secret of Roan Inish, Lone Star and Men With Guns, Silver City and Amigo, Sayles is one of the most consistent and original voices in filmmaking today, a true independent whose characters are always part of their world almost symbiotically, and often overwhelmed by it. Go For Sisters is the 18th film from Sayles and it's a doozy, deceptively simple and terrifically structured. It centers on two women who have been so close since high school they could pass for sisters. But they haven't seen one another in years. Bernice (LisaGay Hamilton) is now working as a parole officer in California, while Fontayne (Yolonda Ross) is an ex-con and recovering junkie now on Bernice's bad side, since she can send her back to jail for any minor infraction. But Bernice needs Yolonda's help. Her Iraq-vet son, Rodney, is missing, and a friend of his has been murdered, so Bernice needs to find him fast. With the help of Yolonda, they come face to face with disgraced police detective Freddy Suarez (Edward James Olmos, just superb) who gets them to Tijuana where Rodney may have been smuggling Chinese immigrants into the country. That's all I'll say about plot. One of the best things about a Sayles film is how they sneak up on you and just floor you. The unlikely trio of Bernice, Yolonda and Freddy come across enough characters to fill many movies, or a novel, something Sayles also does well, thus his expansive approach. Audience who can sit still for anything that isn't a Transformers movie will balk. Screw them. Sure, his storytelling technique can stifle the narrative, but for me the benefits and riches outweigh the flaws. Sayles excels in the personal, the everyday, allowing him to craft a world much like our own, no matter how stylized or bizarre. Humanism drives Sayles, not flash and action. Hamilton, Ross and Olmos are all sublime. Go For Sisters stays with you long after seeing it. Find this one on DVD now. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Go for Sisters

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Movie Info

Synopsis With help from a former detective (Edward James Olmos) and an old friend (Yolonda Ross), a parole officer (LisaGay Hamilton) tries to find her missing son (McKinley Belcher III).
Director
John Sayles
Producer
Edward James Olmos, Alejandro Springall, Peter Bobrow
Screenwriter
John Sayles
Distributor
Variance Films
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 8, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$56.0K
Runtime
2h 3m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital