Rachel Getting Married (**½)

Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, Debra Winger, Tunde Adebimpe, Mather Zickel
Seen: March 22nd 2009

**½ Out of ****

Rachel Getting Married tells the very down to earth story about Kym (Hathaway). Kym is released from rehab for what seems to be a weekend so that she can attend her sister, Rachel’s (DeWitt) wedding to Sidney (Adebimpe). Kym is one of those who apparently rage on in their selfish lifestyles because of a long-time expectation that has arisen from those closest to her, she continues tearing things down because, even inadvertently, that is what everyone believes she will continue doing. She has done some things that some might perceive as terrible in her past, especially when considering those actions’ consequences. Her father, Paul (Irwin), is obsessed with her, trying to almost spy on her as much as possible, because even though he loves her to bits, he does not trust her anymore, and the same goes for her mother Abby (Winger), who has fallen to the other side, secluding herself from the family. Paul is married to Carol and Abby to Andrew, and there is definite awkward air between the two when they do share a few minutes of screen time.

When Kym comes home she is received with open arms, but soon enough things unravel as the family gets over reuniting with her and back to old thoughts of her. She does, however, give them some reason, as she is extremely selfish in everything she does, even though it is her sister’s wedding weekend. She goes on a drug-less rampage through the family – first giving what is taken as a fake apology to her sister for what she has done during her life. Through all this, there also seems to still be a simple thread of familial love to everything, even though emotions boil over as the family must come to grips with each other.

Demme has made a movie about a wedding so bohemian that I now most people will see the romance in it, but not want a similar wedding for themselves. The music in the film gets annoying at stages, to such a degree that I had to cover my ears at some stage, a shrill violin just going on in a relentless fashion. Some scenes are also stretched out too long, even though I believe they do have some value – the kitchen clean-up competition between Paul and Sidney, for instance, is overlong, but comes to an abrupt end as Paul is reminded of Ethan, Kym and Rachel’s younger brother, who died years ago in a tragic accident strongly related to the emotions that infiltrate the whole film. The party after the wedding ceremony is another example, and while you can see it is done in this way to show Kym’s newfound restraint and power, it does go on for way too long, making you feel like the partygoers will eventually feel, drained.

The film has merit in Hathaway’s performance, as well as those of the supporting cast members, most notably DeWitt, Irwin, and the subtle, undeniably loving and patiently understanding portrayal of Sidney by Tunde Adebimpe. The lesson here is that love is patient and kind and keeps giving chances, and that is brought about in such a way that the film does not in the least feel like or resemble a moral lesson, but even taking that noble ending into account, the film is just too much of a mess to really appreciate for much more than the crazy family wedding weekend portrayed in such a way that your interest wanes because of the incessant droning of instruments in the background. The only reason to see this is for Hathaway’s fantastic breakaway performance as a foul-mouthed, selfish drug addict trying to get things right, even if she doesn’t try all that hard.