Genre: Drama
Director: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, Tunde Adebimpe
Running Time: 114 minutes (plus trailers)
Written by Jenny Lumet - the daughter of acclaimed filmmaker Sidney Lumet - and directed by Jonathen Demme - the academy award winning director of Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia – this award winning film chronicles two days in the life of Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt), who as the title suggests is on the verge of getting married. However, just as the rehearsal is about begin her renegade sister Kym (Anne Hathaway) returns home from rehab, bringing with her the families tragic past. In terms of plot synopsis, that’s about it. The story is certainly barebones, consisting of toasts, vow-writing and constant arguing. Rachel Getting Married is at times a heartbreaking study of love and family, and for the most part I really enjoyed it. However, I can’t help but feel that my…inherent cynicism prevented me from loving it completely.
But before I get into that, let’s take a look at the positives. The first things that jump to mind are the incredible performances from Hathaway and DeWitt. The character of Kym varies from identifiably tragic to selfish and unpleasant, and Hathaway never falters, even during some scenes of intense emotional distress. Rosemarie DeWitt is more subdued as the good sister Rachel whose life is constantly overshadowed by her troubled sibling. Even though Hathaway has been the one receiving all the acclaim, this movie is really a duet. The chemistry between the two lead actresses is amazing, and although the story is set over a very small period of time, you get the sense of a lifetime relationship between the sisters, filled with love, frustration and resentment. None of the other actors really stand out, but frankly they don’t need to.
Despite some rather obvious story elements (which I’ll get into later), a lot of Rachel Getting Married is strong. It gets plenty of humour from the awkward wedding speeches and so on, and while it’s not laugh out loud, it will make you smile at least. I didn’t like the direction, but I will admit that the documentary style Demme employs is often effective, as it makes the audience feel part of the film, and therefore part of the family, and when the emotional stuff really kicks in, you feel it with the characters. For the first half of the movie you don’t know what Kym did to end up in the clink, but when you do find out it is horrifying, and the revelatory scene feels so realistic that it is hard to watch. I’m confident enough in my masculinity to admit that I teared up a few times, which is some a movie hasn’t been able to do to me in a long time.
The emotional impact of the film made me want to sing its praises, but a lot of the technical elements made me want to walk out of the theatre. From the moment its threadbare opening credits begin to role, you know that Rachel Getting Married is one of those movies that takes enormous pride in being “indie”. The dialogue reminds me of Juno; at some points it’s funny, but at others it’s extraordinarily overwritten, and many lines that were intended to be sarcastically witty are just plain irritating. Demmes hand-held camera work is painful to watch, particularly when characters are walking. So many plot points - the rehab, the home wedding, the family arguments - are the clichés of a genre that likes to believe it doesn’t have any. I know this will sound cynical, but I can’t help but think that every single choice the film-makers made, from the plot to the dialogue to the cinematography to the music (a selection of instrumental and indie rock) was done in an order to make this an alternative film , but in doing so it fills all the tropes are associated with alternative cinema and as such the movie seems very formulaic. Which ironically is exactly what it was trying to avoid in the first place. And please don’t respect this movie for being set around an interracial marriage. Because lets face it, the only reason it is is to draw attention to how open-minded the film-makers are. Or at least how open-minded they want to look.
Wow. That paragraph was seriously jaded. Let me reiterate that I enjoyed this movie quite a lot. But its heartfelt sentiments are sometimes overshadowed by its pretentious style. If you don’t like that independent, artsy style of cinema then you will absolutely loathe Rachel Getting Married. But if you think you can stomach it (as at the end of the day I could) then I would definitely recommend you check it out, at least on DVD. Because despite its precious methods, Rachel Getting Married has some good things to say, and the heart wrenching performances from the two leads are worth the occasional rolled eyeball.
Rachel Getting Married is in cinemas now.
