Advertise here.
 |
Title: Rachel Getting Married
|
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ | CONSUMER ADVICE |
The big concern with this movie is the language and overall depressing atmosphere. Parents would do well to keep away from children. Recommended for ages 16 and up. |
Imagine a wedding. What do you see? There is a bride and a groom, looking happy as can be. There is music in the air, people dancing, drinking, and dancing happily. But who is that sitting in the background? An outside observer? In this case that person is Kym (Anne Hathaway). She is the older sister of the bride, Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt), and despite the fact that Rachel is in the title this movie is about Kym. Kym is a recovering drug addict. Several years ago she caused a horrible family tragedy that she has never forgiven herself for, nor does it look like several of her family members have either. Out in time for the wedding though, Kym re-enters a world that is full of judgement and life. Judgement because no one knows how to treat her. Life because they live like she is not there.
 |
“Rachel Getting Married” is a comeback film for Oscar winner Jonathan Demme, who has finally come back to the world of serious fiction after meddling in making documentaries. Many have counted him out since his days of directing acclaimed fare such as “Silence of the Lambs” and “Philadelphia.” This movie may well change their mind. Though the outline of this film has “slapstick comedy” written all over it the movie is anything but funny. Most of the time it’s tense. You feel Kym’s loneliness. You feel the people around her ignoring her. You know these feelings will not be bottled up forever. The camera shakes ever so slightly, making this feel more like a home video then a movie (it’s not filmed in Cinemascope). I can’t even recall if there was any music in the background. This is unconventional film making for an unconventional film.
 |
When people see this movie they most likely won’t know what to think. They will likely expect one thing and get another. What may come as the biggest shock is the lead role played by Anne Hathaway. Known mainly for her G-rated “Princess Diary” films and comedies such as this summers “Get Smart,” here Hathaway shows why she is the next Julia Roberts. If she doesn’t get an Oscar nomination for this role there will be hell to pay. She creates a character who is difficult to love, but we can’t come to hate her. She made a horrible mistake in the past, and she doesn’t appear to have improved very much, but to see her is to feel her pain. And believe me, the pain is real. Oh, but I must be making this sound like a complete downer. It’s not.
 |
There are moments of happiness in this film, including a dinner filled with so much happiness one character says tearfully “I know this is what heaven feels like.” Truth be told, the ending may even be positive (though it’s vague enough to let you come your own conclusion). Regardless what I write in this review, regardless how much I praise the acting, the writing, or praise the unique style of filming I’m sure few of you readers really care about, nothing but seeing this movie will do it justice. This is not a movie you watch, this is a movie you feel. You feel, let it sink in, and then you feel some more. And if you skip this movie based on some meaningless star grade then you’d be doing yourself a great disservice. See this wonderful movie. If you decide it sounds uninteresting...well, then that’s your loss.
 |
 |
