TELEVISION REVIEW
'Sisters' is a story of courage in the face of illness
By Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe Staff | May 19, 2004

Every disease unleashes its particular cruelty. For those with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, the curse is having to watch with a clear head as your own ability to move, talk, and breathe quivers and fades away. Slowly, while the mind races ahead, the body unwillingly submits to inactivity. In the documentary "Three Sisters: Searching for a Cure," Harvard neurology professor Robert H. Brown says, "The best example of courage I know -- and strength -- is someone who is completely paralyzed dealing with ALS."

In other words, this new HBO documentary about ALS, which premieres tonight at 8, is a portrait of extreme suffering and extreme courage. Most of it takes place in the Manhattan bedroom of Jenifer Estess, who was diagnosed with the disease in 1997 at the age of 35. Attached to a breathing machine, attended to by nurses who reposition her legs and wipe away her tears, Estess describes the steady progression of her ALS and the dissolution of her denial. After doctor-hopping in hopes of finding an answer, she finally had to recognize that there is no cure for the neuromuscular disorder, that she was a prisoner. Clips of Estess as a vibrant young woman serve as excruciating punctuation to her tale.

Meanwhile, two of Estess's sisters, Valerie and Meredith, sit by her, clarifying her points and sharing her gallows humor. "Three Sisters" captures their extraordinary bond, as they finish one another's sentences and pull one another out of grief and into places of strength. With a mask affixed to her nose, Jenifer is their tower, saying "This disease is goin' down" and worrying about what will happen to her devoted sisters after her death.

The movie also captures the sisters' profound empowerment, as they describe the nonprofit organization they started in 1998, Project ALS. With the help of Jenifer's connections from her years as a producer at the Naked Angels theater company, they have raised some $18 million for research through high-profile benefits. The movie includes a great clip of actress Camryn Manheim leaning on an audience of celebrities for money at one of the auctions. "We're fighting for my sister's life," Meredith says.

"Three Sisters" makes brief forays into the world of research that Project ALS is trying to mobilize. We meet a few mice and a few lab-coated experts, including Dr. Jeffrey Rothstein of Johns Hopkins, who pays homage to Jenifer and her sisters: "I don't think we'd be at the level of research where we are today without their driving force," he says. "Three Sisters" is a relentlessly sad story of illness and despair, told in a conventional manner by director Joseph Lovett. But it's also a testament to creation inspired by affliction. As Valerie explains, in a nod to the movie's title, "Chekhov said it right -- it's all we have, is the work, and it keeps me going."