Rachel Getting Married
What do you get when you give a nice script to a cast of actors with extraordinary chemistry, then hand it to a director with more undeserved reputation than good sense? Rachel Getting Married.
The debut screenplay by Jenny Lumet, daughter of distinguished director Sidney Lumet, is a solid one. The presentation of a dysfunctional but loving family feels true and thoughtful. The dialogue is realistic and interesting—fairly cliché- free and spontaneous, as though more improvisation took place than actually did. The celebration around which the plot takes place is extremely descriptive and has to be the most ecclesiastic and culturally diverse wedding ever conceived.
The cast charged with bringing the Buchman family to life must have rehearsed endlessly because they sure come across as people intimately familiar with each other, warts and all. The back story of Kym's drug addiction, which is gradually revealed throughout the film, is written all over everyone's faces, to the extent that they know what happened.
Kym's extremely misplaced ego, born from her previous drug-fueled, attention- grabbing antics, wouldn't have it any other way. Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway, now firmly removed her Princess Diaries days, focuses all her energy on this emotionally shipwrecked woman, who alleviates the guilt crushing her like a ton of bricks through a self-centered façade determined to draw all attention from her sister's big day to her pitiful situation. Her supporting cast perfectly fill the roles of detractors, enablers and innocent bystanders, all of whom want nothing more than for Kym to overcome her addictions. Only some try to press her enough to admit that until she's willing to help herself, nothing will ever change. Once the family secret is exposed, we all hope the message gets through.
Jonathan Demme, the man behind the camera, is Rachel Getting Married's biggest stumbling block. Last time I checked, he's the guy who directed Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia. You'd think he could afford a damn camera mount. Then again, he also agreed to completely unnecessary remakes of Charade and The Manchurian Candidate, so perhaps his obviously impaired judgment failed again.
Are the handheld cameras supposed to make us feel like observers wandering through the three-day wedding preparations while just happening to catch the most private family moments and Kym's AA meetings? It makes no sense and comes across like someone putting too much effort into making the movie look effortless, independent and artsy. It's a lousy, distracting way to put your stamp on the film, drawing attention to yourself by trying to pretend you weren't there. Demme no doubt had an influence on the superb performances, but his decision to shoot Rachel Getting Married like the Jason Bourne movies was just plain dumb. There's no good reason for cut-rate production values and it nearly wrecked a fine writing debut and excellent performance showpiece for a great group of actors.