Rachel Getting Married
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Movie Reviews of Rachel Getting Married
Movie Review: I am Shiva the destroyer, your harbinger of doom this evening
Summary: 5 Stars
Anne Hathaway has come a long way, baby, since The Princess Diaries. In Havoc, though not a very good movie, she really stood out, revealing a lot of... emotional depth. I knew that she had a lot of talent the moment I saw her. She has since proved it by holding her own against a devilish Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain, and as Agent 99 in the movie based on the TV Show, Get Smart, where she showed off her considerable comedy chops.
In Rachel Getting Married she does heavy drama, with just the right light touch of humor for comic relief. She creates a great character, really annoying and unsympathetic. She would almost be likeable, with her sharp wit and good looks, were it not for the fact that she has more baggage than the luggage carousel at LAX on the day before Xmas, and her annoying little habit of making everything about her. She is released from rehab for her sister Rachel's marriage. She sees it as a great opportunity for mayhem. Oh well. At least the people from her hometown are glad to see her:
Counter Girl: [Kym walks into the convenience store] Hey! Didn't I see you on Cops?
Did you know that 12 Step meetings are a great way to meet people and hook up? The hook ups are referred to by the 12 Steppers as the 13th step. Kiernan and Kym (Hathaway) 'meet cute' at the meeting. Later she finds that Kiernan is going to be the best man. She has been demoted to bridesmaid due to her unreliability, but demands that the Maid of Honor step down, because sister trumps best friend. Isn't that cute? The Best Man and Maid of Honor met at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. She quickly discerns that Kiernan is a lawyer.
Kym: You're a lawyer?
Kieran: Was. For about five minutes.
Kym: Say something Legal.
Kieran: Tort.
You can bet she has a clever retort for that. But getting back to her most annoying habit, you HAVE to see her wedding toast. After a long line of really inappropriate toasts that everyone takes in stride, this being a marriage between two people whose families are involved in music and tolerant to a fault, you can hear the whole room grind to a halt while she does her stand up rehab routine. Of course she has broken the cardinal rule of toasts, that while you may recall embarrassing incidents from your collective pasts, the toasts should be about the people getting married, not just about yourself. For Kym, it is always about her. Later, she gets annoyed that her sister Rachel has ended their argument with the news that she is expecting.
Kym: [Upon learning her sister is pregnant]
Kym: That is so unfair!
As good as Anne Hathaway is, she gets a lot of competition from Debra Winger, playing her mother, who is a bit of a diva. When Winger arrives, fashionably late, everyone holds their breath. They both adore and are exasperated by her, as she seems to hold everyone at an emotional distance. Later, it is revealed that there is a lot of guilt and stress and blame and heartache between the mother and daughter. A tragic event haunts them both. It takes a very accomplished actress to pull off the emotional centerpiece of the film, given her relatively short amount of screen time. Rosemarie DeWitt also deserves praise as Rachel, just as determined to not let Kym spoil her wedding as Kym seems determined to wreck it.
Jonathan Demme did a great job of directing this film, orchestrating the drama, letting the preparations for the wedding, the endless rehearsals by the musicians (these families really must know a lot of musicians) build, fanning the tension to a fever pitch; until the wedding, and the news of the upcoming bundle of joy brings everyone together. Demme is really immersed as much in the music world as the film world, having made films with Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and The Talking Heads, and he really brings that experience to bear on Rachel Getting Married. The musical interludes at the wedding are a delight. The groom even sings his vows, and believe it or not, it sounded great.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY OF ANNE HATHAWAY
Get Smart (Single-Disc Widescreen Edition) (2008) .... Agent 99
The Devil Wears Prada (2006) .... Andy Sachs
Brokeback Mountain (Widescreen Edition) (2005) .... Lureen Newsome
Havoc (Unrated Version) (2005) .... Allison Lang
The Princess Diaries (Widescreen Edition) (2001) .... Mia Thermopolis
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY OF DEBRA WINGER
The Sheltering Sky (1990) .... Kit Moresby
Terms of Endearment (1983) .... Emma Horton
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) .... Paula Pokrifki
Cannery Row (1982) .... Suzy DeSoto
Urban Cowboy (1980) .... Sissy
Kym: I am Shiva the destroyer, your harbinger of doom this evening.
People Really Didn't Like This Film!
Summary: 5 Stars Take a look at the star ratings! I've never seen such a curve, with twice as many one-stars as any other number, and with such rhapsody versus such vehemence in the reviews. You'd think it was a book about global warming, from such agonistic writing.
I can understand both sides here. "Rachel Getting Married" was in no way entertainment. Even my wife, who for once didn't fall asleep in the middle of a movie she'd rented herself, said she was 'glad she'd seen it' but wouldn't assert that she liked it. She's a psychologist, by the way, and has been "on the set" of countless Twelve-Step meetings. She did NOT find anything in this flick unconvincing.
RGM is a two-day romp amid the wedding festivities of a filthy rich, self-consciously unconventional, hideously dysfunctional Connecticut family. The star of the film and the queen of dysfunction is the younger daughter Kym, on furlough from her latest ultra-costly rehab facility for her older sister's wedding. The groom's family seems to have unexplained musical connections; in any case, jazz, blues, rusty metal, samba, and Bollywood jam sessions swirl in the background of the wedding day and night. The whole film is shot with hand-held cameras, at odd angles, over shoulders, through doorways, giving the impression of uncut home movie footage. The groom's younger brother is shown, as if to validate the cinematographic concept, with a video camera whirring constantly. Kym is a tornado of unresolved conflicts, who cuts a swath of grief through the extravagant celebration.
So why didn't "people" like this movie? Most of the reasons given in the one-star reviews seem so shallow and petulant that I found myself respecting the craft of director Jonathan Demme and scriptwriter Jenny Lumet more and more as I read them. Hence my own five-star rating. Let's look at the gripes:
1. "Kym, acted by Anne Hathaway, is a hateful spoiled brat that I couldn't feel any sympathy for."
Well, dear critic, you got the first part right. Kym is a hard case -- narcissistic, seething with disallowed resentments and jealousies, an `actress' even in her own life story, a liar and faker whose `recovery' is only another histrionic script. She's a walking documentary for the DSN-IV, the `Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association. But who says you're supposed to like her? And who could expect her to `recover' over a weekend with such a family? Hathaway gets Kym perfectly; of course Kym botches everything, of course she returns to rehab just the same head-case she was before the camera started to roll. That's life. The several five-star reviewers who acknowledged their own addiction got it right. No sympathy? Get a heart!
2. "Nothing happens. There's no resolution." Exactly. If there had been some miracle of redemption and resolution in the final scenes of this film, I would have thrown my shoe at the screen. This is not a fairy tale.
3. "Nothing is explained."
Okay... Is that a problem for you? Can't you project some of your own experiences on it as explanations? One of the best things about this film is that there are no "flashbacks", no extenuating narratives. The people are who they are. No alibis.
4. "The Dad is a wimp."
You missed something, critic. The Dad is actually Ozzie Nelson of Ozzie and Harriet, or Mister Greenjeans, or Ernie from the Moppets. He's hopelessly conflict-avoidant and ineffective. He's just as selfish and narcissistic as his daughters, but he scripts himself as Mr. Nice. He's part of the problem, not the cure. He's addicted, also, to his own self-image and lifestyle. Actor Bill Irwin nails this role perfectly. Actress Deborah Winger also nails her role as the detached, divorced Mother, out to save herself as best she can. In fact, the whole cast of RGM is superb. Even if you hate the film, you've got to admire the acting.
5. "I hate those people. They're spoiled, self-indulgent yuppies."
Yup indeed. They're not "my people" either, but aside from their artistic trappings, they're not so removed from us, not in their family dynamics anyway. I could have been at that wedding, as one of the paid help, one of the musicians. Really, I have been. Dress them in costumes from `The Godfather' and give them Jersey accents, or in stetsons and cowboy boots and set the scene in Houston. I wonder, critic... Do you hate them because you're envious of their privilege? Just for fun, imagine yourself a slum-dweller in Tehran, watching this film. If you could follow it, what impression would you form of Americans? This is a film about self-recognition. If you can't recognize anyone in it, may be you need rehab.
6. "It went on too long. It could have been edited."
Yeah, yeah, I say the same thing about Wagner. But all the `slow' stuff - all the speeches at the rehearsal dinner, for instance - set us up for Kym's various crack-ups. Once I'd given up the notion that I was watching the film for pleasure, every scene in it made embarrassing sense.
So now what?
Now that I think of it, I like this film more and more. Say that again: Now that I THINK of it, I like this film more and more. Like a heartfelt hangover, this is a "morning after" film.
Movie Review: Count Me As One Of The Wishful Invited
Summary: 5 Stars
It's sad to see "Rachel Getting Married" such a love-it-or-hate-it reaction, because I truly believe there's something in it for everybody. Most of the naysayers seem to attack what "doesn't" relate to them, rather than what does. When did it become such a bad thing to see a loving couple get prepped for the most joyous, festive wedding?
Like most indie films, I was reluctant to throw this one into my DVD player. And after 10 minutes, I was almost ready to turn it off. The shaky camerawork. The out-of-water fish character that Kym is from the getgo. The lack of music.
But then, something really strange happened. I didn't yawn. I didn't slouch into my bed. I didn't pause it for a break. I didn't turn it off. And about halfway through, I literally proclaimed aloud, "Wow! I'm really getting into this!"
I share this little story because most great movies capture your attention, and refuse to let it go. "Rachel Getting Married" is a different deal, though. It asks YOU to participate in it. Like Kym, it asks you submerge yourself into a situation you can't understand. It wants you to be slightly annoyed with Kym's erratic behavior, but then like her family, asks you to just give her another chance. It asks you to endure the endless number of toasts that Rachel & Sydney are receiving, because they're so heartfelt, and the wedding couple are enjoying them. It asks you to listen in on Kym's AA meetings, because so many diseased are bearing their souls at their most intense fear.
If this doesn't sound like a game you want to play, then don't. There is no movie on this planet that everyone likes. But...if this sounds like a film test you want to take, then let me share what I got from "Rachel Getting Married".
First off, the performances are uniformly strong, but in a different way than most award-winning roles. In addition to Anne Hathaway's excellent performance as Kym, every actor in this movie completely embodies their roles to a tee. You forget that their acting, which is probably why Rosemarie Dewitt, Debra Winger, & Bill Irwin weren't recognized for their excellent work as Rachel & parents. Instead, I grew to know them as "people", if you can believe that.
The camerawork has been the subject of much discussion, and understandably so. Handheld cinematography is a tricky feat, but I never found Jonathan Demme's movements to be distracting. He wants to feel like you're in the same room from start to finish. From the musical parties to the uncomfortable family arguments. What's been misunderstood is that Demme doesn't use the first-person movements for the entire feature film. There are enough distance shots to help the viewer get his/her bearings. But when the wedding comes, let me tell you, I wouldn't have it presented any other way.
Jenny Lumet (daughter of acclaimed director Sydney Lumet) wrote the screenplay. If it's anything like what's on the screen, I have to give her a ton of credit. "Rachel Getting Married" has a traditional narrative, like 99% of dramas, but it doesn't feel like one. Instead, the film is more of a collection of vignettes and clips. For example, there's a seemingly pointless scene when Sidney and Paul (Rachel's father) compete in a dishloading contest. The scene ends when Kym accidentally grabs a dish that brings great pain to Paul's memories. Now...this scene works as well as it does because Demme (and maybe Jenny Lumet) resist the urge to get all of the actors' reaction shots when that heartbreaking dish is grabbed. Bill Irwin's mournful face tells enough of a story that we don't need the other people's "WTF?" glances.
And of course, there's been much discussion about the music. If there's a more musical wedding than in "Rachel Getting Married", I don't know of it. The musicians practice and casually play in the background for much of the movie. Some viewers have also loathed the music; even Kym snaps at one point, "Are they going to play all day?" Lemme tell you, if folk music isn't your thing, then this might not work for you. I hope that the celebratory experience gives enough of a good vibe that you'll dismiss the music selection.
I haven't said much about the story, because you probably already know the basic premise. Kym gets out of rehab to attend sister Rachel's wedding, with the expected discomfort from all sides of the wedding. We get the confrontations, and eventually the heartwarming resolutions. But the reason the story works is because the actors are subtle and skilled enough to give the story a fresh twist. Plus, Lumet's writing has some remarkable scenes. The aggressive conversation between Kym and Abby over a family tragedy takes a painful, sharp turn.
To say that "Rachel Getting Married" is flawed is wrong, even if you dislike the film. Jonathan Demme, Jenny Lumet, and the cast & crew clearly made the movie they wanted to make. If you're not into it, then it's your own taste, and you should find something that you enjoy. But I'm glad I gave this film two hours of my time, because I wish it was actually a part of my real life. In a way, it is.
Movie Review: Demme Marries Himself
Summary: 5 Stars
An illuminating sadness punctuates the pauses of a festive worldly gathering in Jonathan Demme's "Rachel Getting Married", a cinematic tour-De-force that throws itself into the Oscar game from far left field. It's the best and most fulfilling film I've seen at the movies this year so far.
The plot is simple. Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt), the oldest, most idolesque of the children in her family, is getting married. For the occasion her troubled younger sister Kym (Anne Hathaway) is given a weekend pass from rehab to attend the ceremony. Rachel and Kym, a former model and certified drama queen, tackle and tumble for the spotlight, only to reopen deep wounds and a tragic family history.
I know, your probably going "I've seen it before. It was only last year. But it was called "Margot At the Wedding", and it really wasn't all that good!" And you might be right about obvious plot similarities, but you'd be neglecting one fact that excludes every like minded movie done before it: this is unmistakably a Demme picture.
After a decade spent swimming around mostly in music documentaries ("Heart of Gold", "Storefront Hitchcock"), Demme marries his on-the-fly live-concert approach with the sharp focus on human character that's been the bold definition of his work since "Melvin and Howard". Scenes grab for melancholy and laughs in the same breath. Music is a counterpoint to Kym's downward spiral, and Oscar nominated legends like Debra Winger share the screen with old Demme buddies Robyn Hitchcock, Sister Carol East, and Tunde Adebimpe from TV on The Radio.
Like "Beloved", "Silence of The Lambs", and "Philadelphia", this film is a veritable acting powerhouse. Everything you've heard about Anne Hathaway's performance as Kym is true. Her well-crafted train wreck is heading straight for an Oscar nomination. Although Winger's screen time is short, her performance as Kym's mother, a woman grown frozen with rage and denial, deserves a supporting nom, just for a baity cat-fight scene with Hathaway alone. She brings an epic fiery resentment to the picture at just the right moment, and her aged-sexiness make her totally believable as this girl's mother.
But the film's biggest surprises are the unknowns: TV actress DeWitt and stage actor Bill Irwin, as Kym's sensitive father Paul. Both deliver subtle work, steady ballasts to the volatility of mother and black-sheep daughter. DeWitt is superb as the sibling who is willing to overlook the past if her sister might be simply willing to concede for a day (in more ways than one). Irwin is the man who's seemingly recovered, with a beautiful new wife and a home that seems to bristle with unrelenting life, but who still keeps artifacts of the dead unconsciously in full view. A scene between Irwin and Tunde, in which they have a competition to load a dishwasher (!)could be the film's most exciting and devastating moment.
Visually, "Rachel Getting Married" is unlike any Demme film seen before. Working with Jim Sheridan's verite'-trained cinematographer Declann Quinn, Demme constructs an intimately beautiful home video tapestry akin to the Dogme staples "Breaking The Waves" and "The Celebration", as much to the films of Robert Altman. Conversations bob and weave into one another in a sort of gritty poetic-realism where sunlight dances with unwanted shadow. And it's the most vibrant film of the year....the music never stops, as Rachel's wedding practically becomes the Jonathan Demme curated Summer Music Fest. (and we're all invited!).
Lastly, we must not forget the film's most sly, important and (seemingly) invisible element, Jenny Lumet's original screenplay. A vital new talent has been born folks, as the woman is blessed with the ear of everyday dialogue and the intrigue and nuance that underlays it. The acting is spectacular, but this script is so strong that I could envision say Natalie Portman and Elizabeth Reaser in the Kym and Rachel roles, and this film might still have equal power. It's just that good.
For my best picture of 2008, this one will be very, very hard to beat. See it while you can!
10/10
Movie Review: one of the best movies of the year
Summary: 5 Stars
I was terribly surprised and saddened to see all of the negative reviews that have been written up for this movie. After skimming quite a few of them, I was surprised to see that some of the reviewers seemed to have missed the point of the film.
Rachel Getting Married is certainly not an action film. There are no explosions, guns, dead bodies, ghosts, or slimy monsters. Nor is it a romantic comedy. I think perhaps the attention from the academy- whose selections are often more conventional and showy- might have caused many people to have false expectations for the film. Fans of other academy favorites, like "A Beautiful Mind," or "Gladiator," might be disappointed with this movie. My father, for example, would probably never sit through this movie- neither would my brother, for that matter. Its just not how either of them would want to spend his Friday night. I don't think everyone should like this movie, but I think that it should be judged with appropriate expectations in mind.
I noticed that one reviewer mentioned that he/she could not enjoy the film because he/she found Anne Hathaway's character to be so unlikeable. I have to wonder if that viewer watched the movie all the way through. Rachel Getting Married is a portrait of a family faced with the seemingly insurmountable challenge of forgiveness. The director shows us who this woman is through the relationships she has, rather then through her actions. In the beginning of the film I also despised this character- she appears to be a narcissistic, selfish woman obsessed with her own flaws, greedily feeding off of the attention of everyone around her. As the movie progresses, however, the director mercilessly peels off layer after layer of the recovering addict- and as the minutes tick by, the viewers get swept up into the emotional turmoil of the film. I found myself empathizing with the character, and loving her despite her tremendous flaws. Once the film had ended, I realized why it was necessary to react violently to her in the beginning.
I believe that the director was trying to remind the audience what it truly means to be a family, and how difficult it can be to forgive someone you love, even when you know that they are still punishing themselves. Rachel Getting Married is hard to watch, perhaps because many viewers must have people in their life that they cannot bring themselves to forgive- including themselves. How many of us have had a brother, and uncle, a parent, who did something so despicable, so terrible, that we could not look at them without being reminded of it? How many of us have known addicts who have done terrible, terrible things? How many of us avoid these people, not trusting them, not trusting ourselves, because the love we feel for them is involuntary, and leaves us vulnerable to their potential future mistakes? Rachel Getting Married forces us to examine this relationship- to experience it throughout the course of Rachel's wedding.
As far as the movie being pretentious- I thought that it actually took a few shots at the pretentious, liberal, intellectual family (the unexplained cultural theme of the wedding itself, for example, I thought particularly funny). But perhaps I was only able to appreciate this because of my own experiences with privileged families (both liberal and conservative) growing up.
This film is not for everyone, but I thought it a beautiful and skillful portrait of a woman- not as an individual, but as a daughter and a sister. As a person whose actions effect those around her- as a person who desperately wants to be forgiven. The performances are especially breathtaking, and the overall message is relevant. I loved it.