Mature drama brings out the best in Hathaway
In one of his most mature outings to date, Jonathan Demme (“The Manchurian Candidate”) creates a raw and powerful look at the struggle for acceptance and forgiveness in “Rachel Getting Married.”
Courtesy of MovieWeb.com
After just completing her most recent stint in rehab, Kym (Anne Hathaway, “Get Smart”) is returning home for her sister Rachel’s (Rosemarie Dewitt, “Cinderella Man”) wedding. While at first her return is warmly welcomed and embraced, it isn’t long until Kym’s selfish and unstable mannerisms begin to raise tensions among the family.
Unanimously accepted as one of the happiest days of a person’s life, weddings are a celebration of two people’s jump into creating a future together. Hollywood is famous for glamorizing the process of the ceremony in such romantic comedies as “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and “The Wedding Planner.”
Last year, director Noah Baumbach took a different approach to the subject though and created “Margot at the Wedding.” Filled with dark humor and an overwhelming role played by Nicole Kidman, the film has little to do with a wedding, but primarily on the struggling relationships of the characters.
In similar fashion, “Rachel Getting Married” is set around a wedding, but based upon a family’s endeavor to forgive and connect with its most detached member. Never forcing a hidden message, the film simply shows the audience the events that take place around Rachel’s wedding.
In her most consuming role to date, Hathaway creates a conflicted character that screams Oscar. When the film begins, Kym is a selfish brat who is only good for causing trouble. As time goes by, Kym and Rachel continually fight to understand each other, Kym realizes how much pain she has inflicted on the ones she loves. The transformation is truly heartbreaking and offers one of the best cinematic translations of a person in the stages of rehabilitation.
Counteracting Hathaway in an extremely underappreciated role is Dewitt as Rachel. Always overwhelmed, Rachel, through the help of her friends and father, is somehow able to manage her wedding while also finding a way to help her sister.
Using many non-traditional elements, Demme is able to transport the audience into the film itself. Shot using handheld cameras, the shaky cinematography makes viewers feel as if they are filming the chaos themselves. Also, instead of mixing the score after the movie is done, Demme had the film’s wedding band/performers create the score as the film played out.
Though hardly a joyous film, “Rachel Getting Married” is a celebration of the art of independent filming.
‘Rachel Getting Married’
Release Date: October 3
Director: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie Dewitt, and Debra Winger
Genre: Drama
Rating: R for language and brief sexuality.
Grade: B
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on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 at 2:56 am and is filed under Arts & Entertainment, Film Reviews, Vibe.
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