Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

Little Sister

Play trailer 2:07 Poster for Little Sister Released Oct 14, 2016 1h 31m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
94% Tomatometer 35 Reviews 55% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Young nun Colleen (Addison Timlin) is avoiding all contact with her family until an email from her mother announces that her brother is home. Upon returning to her childhood home in Asheville, N.C., she finds her old room exactly how she left it - painted black and covered in goth/metal posters. Although her parents are happy to see her, unease and awkwardness abound, and her brother is living as a recluse in the guesthouse since returning home from the war in Iraq.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Little Sister

Little Sister

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Little Sister subverts indie drama expectations with a refreshingly off-kilter look at family dynamics that makes its points through solid characterizations and earnest effort.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (35) Critics Reviews
K. Austin Collins The Ringer Little Sister is an indie family drama about change and reconciliation, but it's instilled with a poignant regard for the moment, too . Aug 10, 2017 Full Review Gary Goldstein Los Angeles Times [A] fine, darkly poignant tale of a conflicted young nun-in-training facing her own version of "hope and change." Oct 27, 2016 Full Review Peter Travers Rolling Stone Zach Clark goes down dark-comic alleys, but he's made a transfixing film about a dysfunctional family that looks touchingly and unnervingly like yours and mine. Rated: 3/4 Oct 15, 2016 Full Review Josh Slater-Williams Vague Visages Little Sister has a uniformly strong cast, but Addison Timlin gives one of those star-making turns that, if the universe is at all just, will be but the first prominent stepping stone for an extraordinary career. Nov 13, 2023 Full Review Stephanie Monohan Screen Slate An ode to odd ones, it's the most tender-hearted movie to ever open with a Marilyn Manson quote. Feb 24, 2021 Full Review Emilie Black Cinema Crazed This film is a wonderful study of family dynamics and personal growth. Rated: 4.5/5 Apr 19, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (28) audience reviews
Jeff M This quirky comedy/drama has a lot going for it, including a fine performance by Timlin that holds the picture together, but as much as I love a good dysfunctional family movie, when the family in question is filled with eccentricity after eccentricity and dilemma after dilemma, it gets to be overwhelming and less credible as time goes by. One or more of the characters is dealing with drugs, alcohol, disfigurement, terrorist activity, religious uncertainty, lung problems and the list goes on. It tends to feel like quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness, and that eventually sinks the movie for me, despite some nice individual moments, including a third act scene between Timlin and Sheedy that is one of the few genuinely felt scenes in the movie. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/24 Full Review Gareth v An indie dramedy that does have some funny moments and a solid soundtrack but falls flat when it tries to get political. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/22/23 Full Review Audience Member One of my favorite films. Great goth soundtrack. Quirky performances. Realistic characters. Recommended. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Great acting, direction, and music! Funny and entertain Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Watchable, but forgettable..... Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Little Sister is a quaint little indie drama about a nun who is about to take her vows when she is called home to spend time with her dysfunctional family, especially her brother who has been disfigured in the war. I felt this movie rode the line between comedy and drama fairly well, because it is dealing with some heavy things, but the way each person in this family finds to cope with it can be quite humorous. I liked some of the unexpected things that the main character would do, because we come in with certain expectations of a nun, and she simply doesn’t fit in that box. There are a lot of important topics that no one talks about in this movie, even though you know they are issues that need to be addressed. However, that felt like a choice because real families will often avoid confrontation in the same way. The sad thing that I didn’t enjoy about Little Sister is the fact that these issues, because they remain unaddressed, also never get resolved. So this is not the kind of movie that I ordinarily enjoy. I get annoyed with some of the things that the characters do (or don’t do,) and there’s not a satisfying resolution in the end. Most of the acting performances were decent, even if everyone was fairly mild and soft-spoken. There were enough laughs in Little Sister, and because I was eventually able to accept the fact that they deliberately denied resolution, I could see myself recommending it to others. But it certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Little Sister

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Unexpected 64% 44% Unexpected Watchlist Dreamland 67% 50% Dreamland Watchlist TRAILER for Dreamland Demolition 54% 55% Demolition Watchlist TRAILER for Demolition Adult Life Skills 75% 68% Adult Life Skills Watchlist TRAILER for Adult Life Skills Flower 48% 42% Flower Watchlist TRAILER for Flower Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Young nun Colleen (Addison Timlin) is avoiding all contact with her family until an email from her mother announces that her brother is home. Upon returning to her childhood home in Asheville, N.C., she finds her old room exactly how she left it - painted black and covered in goth/metal posters. Although her parents are happy to see her, unease and awkwardness abound, and her brother is living as a recluse in the guesthouse since returning home from the war in Iraq.
Director
Zach Clark
Producer
Zach Clark, Melodie Sisk, Daryl Pittman, Chris Webber
Screenwriter
Zach Clark
Distributor
Forager Films
Production Co
Forager Films, Wraith Films, Nice Dissolve
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 14, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 11, 2017
Runtime
1h 31m
Most Popular at Home Now