Sister Wives – Film Review

Louisa Connolly-Burnham’s Sister Wives just wrapped up an impressive festival run, picking up the W at the Utah International Film Festival for Best Drama — and there’s a reason this film collected 30+ wins around the world.

Set inside a polygamous community in 2003 Utah, the story follows Kaidence and Galilee, two young women bound to one another under the same roof, in the same marriage, as they begin to experience scary, new, exciting feelings for each other.

Colorist Karol Cybulski uses a muted palette that mirrors the rigid life these women are trapped inside, while the prairie dresses offer just enough individuality to remind us there are real people under all of that structure. The cinematography by Angela Zoe Neil beautifully captures both the isolation of this world and the fragile intimacy between Kaidence and Galilee.

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Connolly-Burnham, who also stars alongside BAFTA winner Mia McKenna-Bruce, has a fantastic sense of timing as a director. Every scene is allowed to breathe, which keeps the film feeling authentic instead of sensationalized or exploitative.

The editing by Chloë Kilby and sound design by Francesca Bourne work together so smoothly that not a single emotional beat gets lost from scene to scene.

And another shout-out to DP Angela Zoe Neil and gaffer Thomas Thomas — the lighting is used beautifully. It stays soft when the characters feel safe and turns cold and harsh when the outside world starts closing in.

Connolly-Burnham shows a strong understanding of the tension between faith and freedom. Her use of music composed by James New gives Sister Wives a modern pulse, even though the characters feel completely cut off from the rest of the world.

Harrison Clark did an awesome job leading the production design. And if IMDb is right and he built this visual world solo… BRAVO. The spaces and textures feel lived-in and real.

Every single department brought their A-game to this film.

Using a fundamentalist setting to tell a coming-out story is such a smart and original choice. Most people may not relate to living inside a polygamous religious sect, but the feeling of being oppressed in order for someone else to hold power is something almost everyone understands. That’s what hit me the hardest.

Well done to the entire Sister Wives team — and congratulations on an incredible festival run.