Rachel Getting Married

OPENING: 10/03/2008

STUDIO: Sony Classics

TRAILER: Trailer

ACCOMPLICES: Official Site

The Charge
“I am Shiva the destroyer and your harbinger of doom for the evening.” — Kym (Anne Hathaway)

Opening Statement
After a string of documentary films, Jonathan Demme returns to fiction features with this chronicle of a weekend celebration in Rachel Getting Married. Shot on HD video and loosely staged from a script by Jenny Lumet, the movie has the intimate atmosphere of a home movie without looking cheap. Unfortunately, much like watching someone else’s home movies, individual moments that are dear to the participants are excruciatingly dull to the outside observer. Despite strong performances from an ensemble cast, I never felt enough of a connection with these characters to make me want to join in the party.

Facts of the Case
Having spent the last ten years in and out of rehab, Kym (Anne Hathaway, Get Smart) returns home on the weekend of her sister’s wedding. As preparations for Rachel’s big day come together, the siblings try to reconnect but unresolved issues keep Kym at arm’s length from the celebration. Working through a 12-step program to recovery, Kym seems to be stuck at the stage of making amends (though she may have cheated on the previous steps). Even after Rachel dumps her current maid of honor in favor of her sister, Kym can’t quite get into the spirit of the occasion. Her presence has brought back to the surface lingering feelings of guilt, blame and anger stemming from a family tragedy. But what’s a wedding without tears?

The Evidence
The smiles on the faces of the affluent Connecticut family at the center of this drama hide the scars of a devastated household. After the death of their son, Paul (Bill Irwin) and Abby (Debra Winger) have divorced and remarried. Their daughter Kym’s return casts a shadow over the happy occasion and she doesn’t look too enthusiastic about being there either. Paul continues to protect Kym even though he can’t trust her anymore. Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt, Mad Men) is distracted from the wedding preparations as she anticipates a confrontation with her sister. As the family tries to maintain its joyful façade by keeping busy with the wedding, conversations eventually drift toward Kym and what to do about her? Yet, no one in the family is really prepared to engage in the conversation they need to have. There’s plenty of yelling, slapping and storming out of rooms, but the only people with whom Kym can confide are the other members of her therapy group.

The family’s reluctance to revisit the tragedy is mirrored in Demme’s direction, which savors the activity of the wedding while only sampling the emotions coming to a boil. The camera loves the details in the background, populated with the director’s friends and colleagues as the wedding guests. Sadly, the lack of restraint in the rehearsal dinner and wedding reception make these set piece scenes too lengthy and dull. It is surprising that Demme doesn’t find a dramatic thread to take us through these moments. Instead, his documentary-style camera seems determined to record every detail. As the participants dutifully wait to take their turn in the spotlight, we’re left to endure countless uninteresting speeches one after another without feeling any connection to the speakers. Before long, I felt as alienated from the festivities as Kym, but I’m not sure it was Demme’s intention to create a long, long night for his audience while his friends delight themselves in the experiment.

The story is earnestly filled with colorful details at the expense of credibility. To establish the bride’s family’s cultural openness: Rachel’s fiancé is African-American, their multi-ethnic mix of friends are artists and musicians, they enjoy world music and they are having an Indian-themed wedding. Apparently these musician friends have nothing better to do than spend the entire weekend hanging around the family’s estate providing background music like wandering minstrels. The groom-to-be, Sidney (Tunde Adebimpe), is also a musician but you wouldn’t know it if he didn’t state the fact at the alter. As for the Indian-themed wedding, not one person in the wedding party is from India and no one hints of observing a faith other than Christian. While the colorful saris are a nice variation on the obligatory white wedding gown, their inclusion here feels less like cultural dress and more like dress up.

The script attempts to find unique moments of drama in the mundane activities around the house and the contest between Paul and Sidney involving the dishwasher is the most contrived. It’s a scene that goes on for too long before ungracefully arriving at its point. The quieter moments between the sisters are much more effective and it is unfortunately that those scenes are truncated just when they’re starting to get somewhere.

The parts are played well by the ensemble cast and Hathaway certainly holds her own among them. Kym is a confused young woman who doesn’t know where she stands with her family anymore. Hathaway’s performance contains the right quality for a shattered person on her way toward healing, but I wasn’t quite convinced that she had that deep-seated pain that haunts her character. Rosemarie DeWitt shines as Rachel, the sister who loves Kym enough to call her on her lies.

Closing Statement
The layered improvisational staging is reminiscent of Robert Altman’s ensemble dramas. But Altman’s controlled chaos involved fully realized characters, interesting dialogue and scenes that moved the story forward. Too often in Rachel Getting Married the ensemble moments are full of activity without a clear dramatic focus. The documentary sensibility of the camera reinforces the feeling that we’re watching someone else’s party. No presents for this couple; I don’t feel that close to the family.

The Verdict
5/10