Rachel Getting Married
November 14, 2008
Anybody nostalgic for the bohemian fun and atmosphere of a well choreographed house wedding will get a kick out of Jonathan Demme's documentary like new film, which revels in the sights, sounds, emotions, and music (much music) of two extended families getting together, for the first time, to celebrate a marriage. But buyer beware, if that's the only reason you have for seeing the film, which by turns is the most carefully devastating examination of a dysfunctional family unit, all outburst and painful makeups, this side of Edward Albee, Elizabeth Taylor, and Richard Burton, than you're in for a pre and post nuptial shock. Anne Hathaway is Kym, a nine months clean drug addict who is released from her rehabilitation center for a weekend to attend her sister's (Rosemarie DeWitt) wedding, but the crush of people surrounding her father's house, be it musicians tuning up for the festivities, bridesmaids making final dress preparations, or the general anxieties of immediate family before a chaotic day, makes the dicey homecoming rife for potential dramatics. Those come, indeed, during a rehearsal party where Kym takes the mic for an awkward confessional, and later when the estranged mother of the bride (Debra Winger) shows up, prompting painful memories of a tragedy Kym caused years ago as a teenage addict, but for all the explosive family bickering and problematic history, the film cuts the tension with the loveliness of the wedding preparation, ceremony and countless scenes of musical expression, which seem to bring the dramatics (especially between sister and sister) to a tentative halt. If you can get past Demme's constantly moving camera, which at times can leave a viewer disoriented and queasy, than the film offers emotional riches of both hurt and triumph, and in the two leads, Hathaway and DeWitt (both strong prospective Oscar nominees) fully bring a sisterly complexity that feels all too lived in to be stagy or forced. This is a film with characters that you want to embrace, hug, and comfort, even when they want to expunge from each other, and it's a testament to the superior performances, and Demme's confident direction, that unlike most wedding guests near the end of a hectic cycle, they never outstay their welcome.
By Adam Suraf