Rachel Getting Married

Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt) is getting married, and her sister Kym (Anne Hathaway) is out of rehab for the occasion. Kym’s appearance throws her family into disarray, and everyone is forced to deal with various problems simmering under the surface. Sounds good? It’s really not.

The IMDb synopsis says that the movie “paints a colorful, nuanced family portrait.” Colourful, absolutely. Nuanced? Not so much. I had several problems with this movie, not least of which is the choice to use a handheld camera. I think, if used sparingly, this can be an effective tool, but here Demme uses one throughout the film. Instead of making this a more intimate experience for the audience, it gets grating and you’re likely to develop a severe headache.

Secondly, this movie seriously needed more editing. Some scenes go on forever, while others feel underwritten. It made me wonder if Demme and his editor even knew what they were doing. Which reminds me, Demme said that the script made him cry when he read it. Why? I’ve no idea. It’s been a while since I felt this disconnected from a movie.

Then there’s this old gem: there is no one to sympathise with. The story could have been compelling, but I ended up not caring about anyone. It feels like a personal project on Demme’s part, but maybe he should have let the audience in a little bit instead of just alienate us.

Instead of being touching, it all just comes off as self-indulgent. There is something there, certainly it has potential, but the whole thing feels underdeveloped.

Now, the acting really is very good. Hathaway, while annoying, shows us she’s more than just a Disney princess. My favourite performance though was DeWitt as the sister. It’s not easy playing the “straight man” when constantly being upstaged by the big Oscar performance, but DeWitt delivers an honest performance, which actually is nuanced and understated.

Every year, there is at least one indie “darling” that is severely overrated. This year, it’s Rachel Getting Married.