REVIEW: Rachel Getting Married

This week I watched the unexpectedly original movie Rachel Getting Married. I forget who told me I needed to see it, I think it was a few people, and to who ever you are, thank you! While this is most definitely NOT a happy-go-lucky, popcorn and candy type of movie, I thoroughly enjoyed this work of art.

Rachel Getting Married is a drama about a recovering drug addict, Anne Hathaway, who returns home from rehab and jumps straight into her sister's wedding. Of course, there's turmoil for this dysfunctional family and it's portrayed in a very thoughtful, articulate way by director Jonathan Demme (he also directed The Manchurian Candidate, Philadelphia and The Silence of the Lambs).

The casting and the acting was perfect. You truly felt you were watching loving, very hurt family during one of their most personal experiences. Anne Hathaway has definitely shown that she can do more than act in goofy yet charming comedies (though I really do love The Princess Diaries. I can't help it!) Anne creates a character that is complex and layered; she is someone you want to comfort and at the same time give a good slap to. Same compliment goes to actress Rosemarie DeWitt, who plays Rachel in the movie. Both of these characters yank the audience through a brutal weekend.

The absolutely brilliant use of camera and score also helped to pull you into this unique film. Being a Creative, I can't help but watch all of the behind the scenes extras that are created for the DVDs. I knew there was something very unique about this film but I couldn't figure out what until I watched the special features for Rachel. In it, Demme explained how they had purposefully written musicians into the story line, so that they could try something that no other film has done: filmed both the actors AND the score at the same time. The musicians were family friends who were staying at the house for the wedding. They would be practicing, or goofing off with this instrument or that while the scenes were all being played out. The effect was amazing. It was raw and true. You felt like you were right in the room with them, feeling their awkwardness or pain or happiness. The music was eclectic and flowed organically, even though at times the musicians would be downstair, with only vague knowledge of what was happening in the scene the actors were filming upstairs.

The camera work was another unique way of bringing intimacy to the movie. Most of the time, there were two cameras that were following the actors about the scenes. In large group scenes, like at the wedding, the actors were to just be in character and "be at a wedding." They didn't know when a camera would come and film them (except for during the major parts of the story). This created many vignettes that were worked into the film. It gave real depth to the characters and that feeling that you were looking in on a real family wedding. Most of the people at these large filming were friends and family of the director, which also added to this ambiance. In some of the other reviews I read, people complained about the free style camera work being too shaky. Take note that if that style is hard for you to watch, this might be a movie you'll have trouble with.

I enjoyed the rawness. My main criticism was that there were couple of scenes that went on way, way, way too long. At one point I was starting to get annoyed, hearing all of the speeches at the rehearsal dinner, but patience paid off in the end. Also the wedding scene is very long and gets a bit bizarre. As I mentioned, they worked musicians into the story line, and along with that came some surprising cameos of artists from all sorts of backgrounds, which makes this scene very surreal.

Overall, while I spent most of the movie either crying or holding back tears. It left me deeply grateful that the art of film is so accessible as a medium. This was a beautiful exploration of haunting characters in a unique and captivating way.

More about Rachel Getting Married at www.imdb.com/title/tt1084950/