Rachel Getting Married Movie
| Resolution | Size | Download | ||
|
1920x1038 | 11242.57 MiB | 1080p | |
|
1280x688 | 4478.43 MiB | 720p | |
|
320x166 | 505.07 MiB | ipod | |
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
"Rachel Getting Married" is a contemporary "drama with an aggressive sense of humor" about the return of an estranged daughter to the family home for her sister's wedding. Kym's reemergence throws a wrench into the family dynamics, forcing long-simmering tensions to surface in ways both hilarious and heartbreaking. "Rachel Getting Married" paints a colorful, nuanced family portrait.
| Anne Hathaway | Kym |
| Rosemarie DeWitt | Rachel |
| Mather Zickel | Kieran |
| Bill Irwin | Paul |
| Anna Deavere Smith | Carol |
| Anisa George | Emma |
| Tunde Adebimpe | Sidney |
| Debra Winger | Abby |
| Jerome LePage | Andrew |
| Beau Sia | Norman Sklear |
| Dorian Missick | Dorian Lovejoy |
| Kyrah Julian | Sidney's Sister |
| Carol Jean Lewis | Sidney's Mom |
| Herreast Harrison | Sidney's Grandmother |
| Gonzales Joseph | Sidney's Cousin |
| Jonathan Demme |
7.50 out of 10 (4114 votes)
Visitor Reviews
An excellent film, whose director and leading lady, outshine sparse imperfections...
posted on 30 Aug 2009What makes 'Rachel Getting Married' so much more than your average run of the mill off-beat indie is a curious formula. For one thing, it is so expertly told by Jonathan Demme, the director of 'The Silence of the Lambs' with intricate storytelling and a beguiling mystery of sorts and secondly, the whole film is supported by an amazing ensemble cast and a virtuoso performance from its leading lady.That leading lady is Anne Hathaway who plays Kym, a drug addict and alcoholic, who is returning from a stint in a rehabilitation clinic to be at the nuptials of her sister, Rachel. Returning to their Connecticut home, Kym meets the mob of dysfunctional family members and friends that have assembled at the household – including her father, Paul, who struggles to keep his two daughters mildly contented and downplay the tumultuous family past which is a huge undercurrent throughout the film, and his new wife, Carol; Rachel's groom, Sidney and his party, including best man, Kieran; and also close by, much to Kym's chagrin, is Rachel's pretentious bridesmaid, Emma. Not to mention her despotic mother, Abby who is on hand to critique and judge her prodigal daughter.The mystery I've aforementioned involves Kym's past and the incident which broke the family apart. From the get-go, we know that it involved a car accident, and Demme makes a captivating experience for the audience members to get to the bottom of it all. When the mystery is finally revealed, we understand the characters and their struggles so much more and perhaps even sympathize with Kym, whose alcoholic and drug related tendencies have ostracized the wedding party, and even her sister and mother. Kym finds reasonable solace in her father, who also reveals his true feelings on said accident and on his daughter, and in Kieran, the groom's best man, who she meets at a 12-steps meeting. Can Kym come to terms with her addictions and grief, can Rachel and her mother come to terms with the past and can the whole family ever find their own piece of mind?The cast is terrific – Hathaway is something of a revelation as Kym. From her sunny roles in 'The Princess Diaries' and 'The Devil Wears Prada' to more serious ones in films like 'Brokeback Mountain', she has shown her versatility and range and her Academy Award nominated turn as Kym heralds the coming of a very great actress. Bill Irwin delivers a strong performance as Paul, as does Debra Winger as Abby, but I believe the standout of the supporting cast is Rosemarie DeWitt, without a doubt. In her Rachel, are too sharply blended happiness for her wedding and her grievance of the past and a difficult family life and it is very easy to conclude that her performance was definitely one of the greatest breakthroughs of last year. Mather Zickel as Kieran, Anisa George as Emma, Anna Deavere Smith as Carol and Tunde Adebimpe as Sidney round off the supporting cast.One of the highlights of this film is its music, which is mostly courtesy of the wedding party. In her airy home, a mass of Rachel and Sidney's musically inclined friends are dotted about the house providing a wonderfully diverse and quintessentially indie soundtrack. Another highlight comes when the wedding guests have a 'cabaret' of sorts, setting the scene for a wedding that is different from your standard nuptials. From its Indian themes to its musical diversity to the spectacular gazebos and fairy lights, this wedding seemed like one hell of a party! This wedding is so engrossing that you nearly slip out of your own state of mind, and into the mind of its guests, who, whilst ethnically or spiritually diverse, love each other deeply.Demme does a great job at directing and at turning his hand to an independent picture and not something of the stature of 'The Silence of the Lambs' or 'Philadelphia', he, like his players, shows his versatility and establishes himself once again as a very great director. Jenny Lumet's script is also top notch, as are its editing, costumes and so on… The only flaw I would have is that it is slightly long and the use of hand-held cameras is somewhat overused and can be slightly distracting at times but apart from that, this film makes for a memorable, wonderfully crafted and superbly casted piece of cinema. And one of the most under-rated of the year too, I might add.
Self-indulgent twaddle
posted on 28 Aug 2009Having read fantastic reviews for Rachel Getting Married, my friend and I were horrified to discover ourselves trapped in a small arts cinema unable to remove ourselves from what was the film equivalent of a car crash. As an actress I've always found Anne Hathaway to be extremely likable and talented, and although her acting is of a high standard in Rachel Getting Married, she fails to dig the film out of its self-indulgent hole and in fact is the spade that helps make the hole that little bit deeper. You won't find the characters in the movie particularly likable people, in fact your not supposed to despite the tragic circumstances of their lives. Anne Hathaway's Kym is one of the most painfully whiny and selfish characters to ever cross the screen and ask for sympathy. In the moments where the film does ask the audience to feel said sympathy for her, you feel like the telling the director where to get off. As for the film's handling of grief and the complex emotions involved in the feeling of failure and guilt over the death of a child, the film fails miserably. There are glimmers of realism in Bill Irwin's portrayal as the father and the audience genuinely does feel this man's pain. Overall though, the film fails to deliver the delicacy required of its themes and leaves you feeling exhausted; not emotionally exhausted as one would expect of a film of this genre but physically exhausted from muscle tension because a) you can't decide whether to leave and b)you can't believe they're actually doing and saying those things! If you enjoy watching the self-obsessed whine, this is the one for you.
Excellent
posted on 28 Aug 2009I have to admit, I wasn't overly excited about seeing this movie and mostly went because my roommate talked me into it. Now, I couldn't be gladder I did so.The acting in this movie is exceptional. When coupled with a stellar script, one gets a film full of well-defined organic, believable relationships. These are real people saying real things. No fluff, no stylized drama. Some people might complain or have a problem with the non-smooth camera work, extreme close-ups, abrupt editing, but, for me, this enhanced the real-life, gritty, down-to-earth feel of the film and made the situations all the more believable. Jonathan Demme's direction seems effortless but is effective and powerful.I won't go into plot, but this movie is about real people, family, culture, and confronting ones demons. To struggle, to feel isolated, to desire love, to fight, to lie, to cry-these things are human, and these are the things this film deals with. Lots of memorable moments and great dialogue add up to a film that will keep you thinking long after you leave the theatre parking lot. This will be one of the best film's of the year, but will probably be under-seen.
Coffee colored people by the score
posted on 26 Aug 2009Is it just me and my cynical/jaded view of the world? Or was this simply a movie that was unconvincing from the beginning? Why didn't I connect with these characters? All these multicultural, musical, self-aware and self-expressed house guests who have gathered for this upscale, esoteric (vaguely East Indian themed but throw in the United Nations for good measure) wedding with a full dress rehearsal two nights before, all hosted at a home with way-too-many bedrooms....it was as if the cast of Hair had been transported into some retired banker's mansion in Connecticut for a love-in....I mean who ARE all these people and what do they do and how do they earn a living and where do they get their tolerant world view from and how come they can all do witty monologues (or sing a cappella) with a hand-held mike....it didn't all make sense to me and thus I found the whole movie derailed by an unreality....it just seemed like a whole bunch of actors acting...and it was hard to connect with the raw pain the writer no doubt intended we would share and feel.....only when Ann Hathaway's mannerisms and facial expressions conveyed how she felt like she didn't belong amidst the joyous after-wedding celebrations did I, for one, get transcended from seeing an acting performance to the vicarious experience of a point of despair and isolation I am sad to admit I can personally recognize.....
Anne Hathaway's performance is the best reason to see this.
posted on 20 Aug 2009At first when the movie starts I was put off by the hand-held camera and shaky close-ups. It was as if I was in the car with the passengers. But as I became used to I realized this is also what makes the movie better than ordinary. Much of the movie focuses on gatherings of friends and family, and family to be, as Rachel prepares for her wedding, then the wedding itself, then the aftermath. It is as if the viewer is one of the guests, wandering around, catching glimpses of certain things, hearing parts of conversations.Set in New England, Anne Hathaway is Rachel's sister Kym. As the movie starts Kym is coming from 9 months in an abuse recovery facility. She has a bad history, for a young woman, abusing alcohol and drugs and getting into a series of binds because of it. She is coming home for the wedding, or maybe for longer, we aren't certain. Rosemarie DeWitt is the sister, Rachel. She is the "good" daughter, has finished college and currently working towards her PhD in Psychology. There is lots of "analysis" she can do on her own family, and she can't always resist the temptation. Bill Irwin, who I enjoyed so much years ago as a silent circus mime in the TV series, "Northern Exposure", is the dad, Paul. He does everything he can to keep things smooth, but a number of blow-ups occur, Kym seems ultra sensitive about how others are reacting to her, and Rachel has some long-held resentment. In a sense the story plays out like the Biblical story of the "prodigal son" might. Even though Rachel has been the faithful daughter, always doing what is right, Kym squandered her advantages in life, but now seems to be coming home, and as such the father is ready to figuratively kill the fatted calf, to pay more attention to Kym, and Rachel is resentful. The wedding goes on, seemingly too much time is spent on the family and friends, instead of advancing the story. But maybe that is what the story was about. In the end Kym clashes with almost everyone, even her mother. She also has a minor accident by going off the road and only being discovered the next morning, sleeping curled up in the drivers seat. With no drugs or alcohol in her system she is not detained. But as the movie ends we see Kym returning to the rehabilitation facility, even after her dad said a local friend had an opening in her business and Kym should call. My wife and I interpreted that as Kym realizing she wasn't ready to return to normal life so went back voluntarily.Anne Hathaway is truly marvelous in her role. If anyone still had any doubts of her acting range this role should dispel those.
Contrived spontaneity done brilliantly
posted on 20 Aug 2009Last night I had the privilege of seeing this film having previously had trepidations of seeing further movies produced with hand-held cameras for indeed five minutes of 'The Blair Witch Project' had been sufficient to induce a nausea comparable to sea-sickness.However after having enjoyed 'Cloverfield' I felt more confident. Imagine the irony then of seeing a film whose greatness owed everything to the nature of its photography. The non-evasive,intimate and almost claustrophobic presence of the hand-held brought a spontaneity to the proceedings that would have impossible with more conventional methods. The film gave the impression of being an off-the-cuff single-take docu-drama on your typical dysfunctional American family and it worked brilliantly. Contrived spontaneity is very difficult to achieve successfully. Anne Hathaway was indeed worthy of an Oscar nomination and she proved beyond any doubt that she is more than just a cosmetic advert.
A family's dysfunctions exposed and dealt with over the course of a wedding.
posted on 16 Aug 2009Rachel Getting Married is about a family being put through the emotional highs and lows of a daughter getting married, another daughter coming out of rehab for the occasion, and the constantly resurfacing memory of a lost son who was accidentally killed. Over the course of a few days, everyone's dysfunctions are exposed and dealt with, though, like in real life, they are not all resolved.The movie started slowly, with me sitting uncomfortably, wary of the dizzying camera work, but it soon drew me in with many underlying promises of a riveting story of family drama to come with each character introduced. It is an amazing cast and they genuinely convey the bonds of family with facial expressions that wordlessly demonstrate love, hurt, and trepidation - all at once.Anne Hathaway, as the lead and with the meatiest role of the ex-druggie daughter come home, draws the most attention and quite deservedly. Her character, Kym, isn't quite able to handle the reunion with her family and still hasn't gotten over her guilt issues yet. Conflicts ensue, and the emotions that play across Hathaway's face are often heartbreaking. Indeed many of her best scenes went without words.But also worthy of mention are: Rosemarie DeWitt, as her long-suffering sister - the "good" but overlooked one who just wants to have her wedding day being a happy one; Bill Irwin, the doting father who has unsuccessfully tried to smother the family's pain by overcompensating with love; and Debra Winger, the estranged mother who never got over losing her son. The story is kinda reminiscent of Ordinary People but screenwriter Jenny Lumet (daughter of Sidney Lumet) created engaging enough characters and dialogue that the parallel never came to mind till after I had left the theater.The movie is not without flaws. The wedding is unrealistically fabulous, with singers and bands of many genres in attendance, an Indian motif, and a cake shaped like a sacred elephant. And it also drags for way too long. While scenes of the family enjoying themselves provide a good balance as opposed to scene after scene of drama, too many such scenes had me wanting the director to just get on with it already. Still, this is Jonathan Demme's best work since The Silence of the Lambs and the excellent family confrontation scenes more than make up for the fillers.
The Camera
posted on 10 Aug 2009Demme is another of our filmmakers who really thinks about how to affect us through the eye.Yes, we have an engaging character, engagingly played. Yes, we have some puzzling social compositions having to do with strange perturbations of the ceremony we usually see in film. Yes, we have a story recalled rather than shown.But what made this important to me is the decision the filmmaker made to use the camera the way he did. We are pretty used to the persistent, hand-held camera by now. Soderbergh and Aronofsky work with it in probing, extrahuman ways. But this is different. We know home movies, and we know that every wedding now has a video, in fact many videos that follow and capture. We've seen dozens of these and know from them that what we see is real. It is not a movie; it is captured reality, real people whose foibles cannot be hidden.What Demme has done from the very first frames, is slide us into this mode where it seems that this is a real wedding, with accidental visibility. We even have in the thing a designated character who is always filming, lest we forget that this is the dynamic we have. That man — a soldier temporarily back from one of our wars — is told three times that we would like him home permanently so that we know he is a visitor, our surrogate.The shots are mostly as we would take if we were there: long shots following people around. Shots that capture what is interesting but with obviously accidental framing. Staging that emphasizes the space but which seems to discover it instead of present something that was engineered to be seen.It works. Its good. You should see it and look beyond the acting. There's some smart, smart visual thinking here and it needs to be celebrated.There is one shot early in the thing where the cinematographer lets us know he is there. It is a long scene that follows Kym through the house. Where everything else is shot as we would, from eye level, this starts right on the floor and over three minutes or so slowly moves to eye level. Oh, hello Declan of "Vanya on 42nd Street" fame; yes, we see you.Hathaway does a good job, but the character is easy. She did a better job in "Brokeback" where she created something new, complex and original in just a few minutes.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
113 minutes I'll never get back
posted on 10 Aug 2009This movie is utter crap. It is a waste of time and the kind of movie that can end a great actor/actress' career (much like "Medellin" was for Vince in Entourage). I understand why it is only the first script of Jenny Lurnet's to get made into a movie and I hope it is the last. The fact that it was written in seven weeks should have been a warning sign. It is the kind of film that is so bad that you keep watching and waiting for it to make a return and save the experience, but alas we were left waiting. How this was nominated for anything is beyond me!!! I also am not sure why people are giving it high ratings and saying how fantastic it is when you have to be on as many drugs as Anne's character to enjoy it. Please Anne, don't do any more rubbish films like this again.
Heart wrenching and beautiful
posted on 10 Aug 2009I was fortunate enough to be able to see this at the opening of the Venice film festival (and Ms. Hathaway too!). The movie opens with Kym (Anne Hathaway) waiting outside to be picked up by her family, for she has just finished rehab (again). Her father comes to get her, and informs her of all that is going on back at the house, because her sister is getting married this weekend. One watching will sense there is going to be alienation, and extreme tension glossed over by smiles, with everyone hoping that the wedding will go smoothly. The camera style was perfect, it was shot with a home video camera and its shaky, and zooms in and out, and really fits the mood for the entire movie. I give this movie 10/10 for the emotional factor, Anne as well as all the actors were so immersed that they really brought you into their heartbreak. The family tragedy, combined with Kyms heavy drug use has torn the family apart, with her loving father trying to cope, a distant mother, and a loving yet very angry and sad sister (Rachel). One just wants the best for this family, some semblance of happiness. The best part is that, this is not a Hollywood ending, this is what happens in reality, that a family doesn't just get over something in one weekend, and that guilt can be so strong that you never forgive yourself. The music is awesome, it was one of my favorite things about the movie. Each person is going to take something away from this, many people can relate to it, and in my opinion thats what makes a great film. I highly recommend seeing it, it will move you, as it did for me.
You may want to take a Dramamine before viewing
posted on 10 Aug 2009I knew I was probably in trouble with this after having seen the pretentious opening credits.I appreciate that the idea of filming this was probably to make it appear that it was being filmed like it was a home movie, for the sake of realism I guess. You are usually asked only to watch amateur movies for a few minutes, or part of an hour, but here you are expected to sit through nearly two hours of mostly hand-held camera work by someone who was determined to convince you that he was jolly well using a hand-held camera. I now know what seasickness feels like.Anne Hathaway is good as the recovering druggie Kym who shows up at her sister Rachel's wedding after being in and out of rehab for a decade; Rosemarie DeWitt is even better as Rachel.The cast for the parties and the dinner must have been captured during recess at the United Nations. Never has there been a bigger collection of mixed races, ages, and cultures overflowing with such praiseworthy tolerance. Many scenes overstay their welcome. When Rachel's betrothed sings a song at the wedding it seems to go on forever. I assume that scene was supposed to be moving, but immediately after the movie I could not have recited a single phrase from the song. And what was with Kym's cringe-worthy toast to her sister at the dinner party? It seemed out of character even for the unpredictable Kym.There may have been material here for a movie that I could have liked, but this thing was too chaotic and disjointed for me.
too much wedding, not enough Kym
posted on 08 Aug 2009There is a far more serious film just beneath the surface of Rachel Getting Married. It involves sexual abuse, anorexia, maternal neglect, and paternal and sibling denial. It is clear that we are expected to feel hopeful that Anne Hathaway's character Kym will recover sufficiently to escape to paradise(Hawaii). However, looking at the hints and subtext provided by Lumet and Demme it seems clear that Kym will struggle to transcend her family role as patsy. A role about which she is naturally ambivalent. Kym is a good girl and wants to please both her rehab councilors, her 12 step peers, and of course her criminally dysfunctional family. There are three scenes that suggest this other film. About 60 minutes in there is a scene at the hair dresser's with an unnamed ward mate from Loeb House who reveals Kym's response to the human mirror exercise. I think we are to understand that this is a coded rendition of the truth. Tellingly, Rachel storms off, calling the story a lie. Indeed, Kym denies any truth of the charges of sexual abuse to her father. Then there is the scene where Kym confronts her mother, confirms the substance of the story, and accuses her mother of neglect and insist she take some responsibility for the death of her younger brother. Her mother refuses, the scene concludes with physical abuse, that may or may not be a mirror of sexual abuse. Kym flees, and to make amends to her mother, attempts suicide. It is not a serious attempt. It is an act of contrition, not despair. Finally, there is the remarkable bathtub scene, where Rachel, full of forgiveness and approbation, infantilizes Kym by bathing her. Kym for her part makes another gesture of amends by shaving her arm pit. For me, the substance of this film lies here. The whole of the wedding and even the title seem acts of misdirection. It is not clear that Lumet and Demme are wholly aware of this subtext. If they are than the film fails for aesthetic reasons. If they are not than it is a failure of imagination.
Family, Rehab, Wedding and Amends
posted on 06 Aug 2009Greetings again from the darkness. After the first 5 minutes, I hated Anne Hathaway's character and I was sea-sick from director Jonathan Demme's hand-held camera work. And then two hours later I felt like I had just attended a family wedding! I got fully sucked in by Jenny Lumet's (daughter of Sidney, the master) riveting story of a family ripped apart and trying desperately to hold on to what is left.While Hathaway's Kym is getting all the pub, I found Rosemarie DeWitt's Rachel every bit as mesmerizing, though a bit less laser-tongue equipped. Their scenes together are mind-warping ... truly like watching footage of a train wreck over and over. They love and hate each other, all while being loved and hated by everyone else in the family. So much self-destructiveness that it makes one wonder why apparent sweet guy Sidney (played oddly by Tunde Adedimpbe of TV on the Radio) wants to have anything to do with this ghastly group.Just to make sure you are absolutely uncomfortable, Lumet tosses in the rarely seen Debra Winger as Kym and Rachel's estranged mother, who has emotionally backed out of their life completely so as not to feel the guilt she deserves for the death of the youngest sibling.There is no way to watch this movie without numerous moments of being squeamish or uncomfortable. That is really the strength of the film ... it draws you into this world that you just don't want to be a part of.
Hathaway gives an Oscar calibre performance in this hearbreaking/heartwarming dramedy
posted on 06 Aug 2009RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (2008) ***1/2 Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, Debra Winger, Mather Zickel, Anna Deavere Smith, Tunde Adebimpe, Anisa George. Hathaway gives an Oscar caliber performance as a young woman currently in rehab who is released tentatively to attend her sister's weekend nuptials and confronting her dark past with moments of clarity all too real for her to deal with. Heartbreaking and heartwarming are equally balanced by filmmaker Jonathan Demme (his best work since SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) in this verite documentary feel throughout and a winning screenplay by Jenny Lumet (director Sidney's daughter). A fine ensemble and an arresting supporting turn by Winger as the girls' estranged mother make for a memorable, viscerally real and honest film experience.
A waste of everyone's time
posted on 06 Aug 2009You begin to get that feeling in the pit of your stomach about a third of the way through "Rachel Getting Married", the feeling that you may have wasted $2 and the time to go to the video store to rent it. But because it has a great cast, you feel that perhaps it will get out of first gear and redeem itself and you continue to watch. The redemption never comes. If anything the film actually grows more tedious and were that not enough, the music gets you to gritting your teeth. I doubt this movie would ever have been thought to be something worth marketing were it not for Anne Hathaway starring in it. Her physical persona is the only thing that could possibly save this truly insignificant film and yet that doesn't happen either. Boring beyond words with a minimal plot and annoying music, "Rachel Getting Married" truly is a waste of your time.
Did I sacrifice every bit of... love I'm allowed for this life because I killed our little brother?
posted on 04 Aug 2009I am certainly glad I don't pay attention to other's comments, because I was watching a completely different movie.Anne Hathaway, Oscar nominee, Golden Globe nominee, and winner of just about every critics award for her performance in this film, was magnificent as the junkie sister that comes home to a dysfunctional family for a wedding.The film itself, was one of the very best of 2008. Jonathan Demme did a marvelous job with Jenny Lumet magnificent script.The entire cast came up against some incredible competition this year in Milk, The Dark Knight, and Synechdoce, New York, but was still fantastic, with Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, Tunde Adebimpe, Mather Zickel, Anna Deavere Smith, Anisa George, and Debra Winger along with Hathaway.I really felt like I was a fly on the wall watching a real family deal with their pent up emotions over a sister that was totally self-absorbed.Amazing!
Supposed Cathartic Wedding Preparation
posted on 04 Aug 2009I just fail to see what the fuss is all about in 'Rachel Getting Married'. Generally, I love movies about dysfunctional families and tend to enjoy them a lot but this film did not work for me as much. It could have used some editing. The speeches in the rehearsal dinner were too many and some could have easily been left out as they just dragged on. I liked the idea of a multicultural wedding but the way it was displayed in the movie was again, using too many examples and really rushed through. It was as if to state, okay, they has these kinds of music, performances from these cultures, these kinds of costumes etc.Next, I especially had problems with Rachel's characterization. She's supposed to at least be a graduate in psychology and yet she fails to understand her sister and is extremely judgmental and whiny. Her reaction to Kym's apology during the rehearsal dinner was childish, to say the least. Given Kym's problem with addiction, of course her father would be extra sensitive towards her but in none of the scenes do we see him give Rachel little to no attention. He's been very present in supporting and helping her. Is it so wrong that he also wants to help Kym bring her life back on track? Rachel seems to be an attention seeker who suffers from a me-me complex. The only good thing that her education seems to have done for her is being able to diagnose, period. In the real world, I would wish for someone like her to only focus on research rather than in practice. I just don't see how a psychologist can be so ignorant and insensitive and towards someone who has obviously been through so much and is still struggling to make ends meet.The movie is clearly about Kym and her family (as the rest of the characters only appear in a few scenes looking happy and dumb). The issues within the family are pretty much left unresolved (much ado about nothing). The hand-held camera (perhaps the movie was intended to be viewed as a wedding video) doesn't have much effect but that may be because I'm too used to it being in these kinds of movies.One of the few positives about this is Anna Hathaway's performance. She manages to rise above the mediocrity (I do not know whether I'm being too generous with this word) of the movie. This is perhaps her best performance to date. Bill Irwin too is brilliant as the loving optimistic father. Beautiful Rosemarie DeWitt makes the best of the poorly written Rachel. Debra Winger is great.With the exception of a few good performances, 'Rachel Getting Married' hardly has much else to offer.
A Pleasant Surprise
posted on 04 Aug 2009Rachel Getting Married is one of those small gems that you can't believe you overlooked for so long, but are glad when you've finally found it. This movie has been out for what seems like ages. And tonight, at a local discount theater, my wife and I decided to finally go see it for a whopping total of three bucks. It turned out to be a darn good bargain. It takes a seasoned director to be able execute a character driven story such as this. Jonathan Demme takes his audience, quickly drops them in on a small slice of this family's life for a short period of time, and then takes them out, albeit not as quickly as he brought them in. And it works almost perfectly. The acting was superb all around, and Anne Hathaway's Oscar nomination was well deserved. In fact, I wouldn't have been surprised if Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel) had been nominated as well. The performances were also aided by a very good screenplay. The dialogue was so believable in Jenny Lumet's script, that I had no problem believing that these were people who had known each other for years. The characters were so well developed, that the back story (which was quite large) was seamlessly weaved in without a hitch. When it was over I cared about these people. I cared about what happened to them in the past, and I cared about what happened to them while I was given the privilege to observe them, and finally, I cared about what was going to happen to them in the future. That kind of connection to the characters is rare in film these days. This was a very good movie, and the blemishes were few and far between. There were a few scenes that went on a bit too long (i.e. the very musical reception). And quite frankly, I think the film missed it's chance at the perfect ending (the family cake cutting) about twenty minutes before the actual conclusion. It was almost as if Demme was trying to figure out a way to offer the audience some sort of final resolution to it all (which he doesn't), and that was completely unnecessary. However, those are very minor complaints I have about an otherwise very good film.
A Nutshell Review: Rachel Getting Married
posted on 02 Aug 2009Rachel Getting Married has been getting some pretty positive vibes because of the performance of its leading actress Anne Hathaway. And it's indeed a role that she could use as a showcase to break out of her mold as a teeny-bopper/good looker since she started off with The Princess Diaries. Her stint in recent movies such as the intern in The Devil Wears Prada, as Jane Austen in Becoming Jane and her Agent 99 in Get Smart, still had her rooted in being pretty much a glamour puss, and Brokeback Mountain offered a very brief supporting role, no doubt it was primarily centered on the two male leads of course. And not forgetting the rather average Havoc, which reminded that it doesn't mean you need to shed your clothes in order to be taken seriously.Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married offered Hathaway plenty, and I mean plenty of room to highlight the spectrum of emotions that she could play as a druggie on rehab, Kym, who's let off for a few days in order to attend her sister's wedding, the titular Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt). But of course being released from rehab and heading home for the first time, she seems, or perceives herself to be a fish out of water, and becomes rather unsteady in her approach toward one and all in the family.Jenny Lumet's story is superb. There's some much emotion running through all the characters, that they are easily identifiable, and doesn't fall into stereotypes. A whole host of narrative threads get thrown up, but it doesn't confuse nor confound. It patiently builds up back-stories to each lead character, but doesn't frustrate the viewer because it simply draws you in. After all, it's centered around a wedding, where emotions, stress and anxiety are running high, and words come loose off the cuff, where something said could hurt like daggers through the heart.There were two extended scenes which I really enjoyed, one being the evening dinner before the big day, where in laws and close friends share a meal together, and give their respective toasts to the bride and groom. Plenty of good stuff here, from music to excellent tribute monologues, and of course Hathaway's performance during this scene that really nails her character, followed by an explosive argument which really was the icing on the cake. The other scene would involve the actual wedding of course, and Jonathan Demme for this movie, had decided to employ what horror and action films had done so with certain degree of success, the shaky-cam! For a drama? Yes. Does it work? I thought for this story, it worked particularly well. It seemed as if you are partaking in the festivities yourself, being put there in the crowd, and watching events unfold like a close relative, an unseen voyeur, or what I felt it was most like, watching a wedding video which was shot on a hand-held, and having to sift through everything in order to edit the best cut for the wedding couple. It's documentary style, having the camera poke its nose into every character and capturing some candid moments, both good and bad.The usual family squabbles amongst parents and siblings come and go, and also serves as a reminder that no matter how hard or how pointed some arguments can get and hurt, that blood still runs thicker than water. Watch out for Debra Winger as the mom and the startling development with Hathaway's Kym. I thought for one that it was something rarely seen on screen in a story besides that shaving of the underarms (OK I jest!).Rachel Getting Married is still an enjoyable (almost) two hours that you wouldn't notice fly by because of the excellent ensemble cast, and a story captured rather accurately on themes revolving around family. It's as good as it can be, and leaves you with that feeling of wanting to experience it all over again. Recommended.
So boring - like being forced to attend the wedding from hell!
posted on 30 Aug 2009I was attracted to this movie by the story - troubled addict, Kym, is plunged into a family wedding - and the prospect of an exceptional performance from Anne Hathaway. As it turned out, she was about the only thing worth seeing, and even then she seemed to be struggling under the weight of the director's (and writer's) pretensions. Apart from the shambolic camera work, presumably meant to reflect the tensions between the stereotyped 'characters', the mumbled dialogue (tho' this improved as the film progressed) and poor continuity (Kym crashes her mother's car into a large rock but later we see her stepping from the recovery truck with the car towed behind without a mark), this movie ignores the basic requirement of dramatic film-making - to tell a convincing story in a taught and engaging way. Too often we were exposed to long, dreary sequences that served no dramatic purpose. It seemed as if the makers' ran out of material with another hour of time to fill, so we got interminable shots of people dancing, excruciating wedding speeches, a bizarre dishwasher-filling contest, etc. We came close to walking out of this turkey, and if we'd had an aisle seat we would have done. So if you're bored and thinking of taking in this movie, stay home - at least you won't have paid for your dismal evening.