Film Reviews

Rachel Getting Married

• Rating:
• Director: Jonathan Demme
• Starring: Anne Hathaway
• Details: US / 114mins (15A)

Don't be fooled by the title. Rachel Getting Married might sound like a chick flick but it's not. Anne Hathaway plays Kym, a drug addict out of rehab for her sister Rachel's (DeWitt) wedding. Kym is welcomed home but there's bad blood simmering. Some terrible tragedy befell the family in the past and Kym is held responsible; Kym blames herself too and wants her family to come out and admit that they still harbour feelings of resentment towards her. Her attitude threatens to derail the entire weekend…

Scripted by Sidney Lumet's daugher, Jenny, this fly-on-the-wall movie of a dysfunctional family coming apart on the day they're supposed to unite is a serious dose of reality. An awkward, squirmy kind of film, like being caught in the middle of a family's argument but can't leave the room, Demme offers no option but to look. Although giving us a teaser as to why Kym is the way she is when we first meet her, Demme then clouds her in mystery and dribbles out the information during the course of the film. In doing this, the audience's loyalty changes sides every few minutes but the characters are so well drawn, it's possible to see and agree with everyone's point and where they're coming from.

Casting is one of the most important facets that make a film work and Demme knew what he was doing when he got Hathaway to sign on. By casting her, an audience is immediately on her side but the director then goes about deconstructing everything we know about her as an actress. Her Kym is troubled and is carrying some serious guilt; she's also nasty, vicious, childish and selfish. Result? A real person instead of the usual cardboard cut-outs he usually plays. Ditto for the rest of the cast, too. However, some needless scenes and some scenes that go on for far too long - the wedding rehearsal speeches and the dancing sequence go on forever - halt the pace and deflect the film's narrative, killing Kym's urgency to get everything out in the open. How Demme didn't spot this in the editing room is anyone's guess but in sticking close to reality throughout maybe the director is trying to show that weddings, although can be fun, can be very boring too. Who knows?

Review by Gavin Burke