Rachel Getting Married
DIR: Jonathan Demme • WRI: Jenny Lumet • PRO: Marc E. Platt, Neda Armian • DOP: Declan Quinn • ED: Tim Squyres • DES: Ford Wheeler • CAST: Anne Hathaway, Debra Winger, Bill Irwin, Rosemarie DeWitt
Since she was crowned America’s Sweetheart for the lead rolein The Princess Diaries, Anne Hathaway has charmed audiences with her winning blend of Hollywood glamour and girl-next-door quality in light-hearted fare such as Ella Enchanted and The Devil Wears Prada. However, it seemed her charms – and talent – were limited as audiences and critics alike remained somewhat indifferent to her ‘acting’ efforts in Brokeback Mountain and Becoming Jane. Suddenly she has critics falling over themselves to praise her, gathering award recognition left, right and centre (including an Oscar® nomination) and deservedly so, as Hathaway turns in an astonishingly powerful performance in a wonderfully intense, insightful and intimate film that will leave you feeling as if you had attended the wedding yourself.
Hathaway plays Kym Buchman, an estranged daughter/sister who arrives home to an overly-concerned father (Irwin), an aloof mother (Winger) and the wedding of her anxious sister, Rachel (DeWitt). While the premise may lack originality, first-time screenwriter Jenny Lumet effectively weaves a tale of guilt, love and forgiveness through a series of touching, tender moments exposing and examining the misshapen relationships that have evolved throughout the Buchman family. Key to the film’s success, however, is Jonathan Demme, a director bold enough to cast the relatively untested Hathaway in the lead role, to shoot the film entirely with hand-held cameras and to tell this harrowing tale of family strife after the misfires of similarly-themed movies such as Margot at the Wedding.
Simply put, this combination of terrific performances (from every member of the cast), a beautiful script and Demme’s inspirational direction produces one of the most painfully poignant films in recent years and a cinematic gem.
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Category: Reviews
