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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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 Posted - 12/18/2008 : 10:01:30
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Rachel Getting Married
Anne Hathaway does not play the eponymous Rachel but her sister Kym, and more than anything she's done recently she proves here that she's a very good actress indeed. Rosemarie DeWitt is her equal in Rachel and the film concentrates on her Big Day. The sisters are only part of a family trying and mostly succeeding in blowing away the grey clouds they live under.
Greyest of the emotional weather shades Kym, possibly bi-polar and a recovering addict who has to live every day with the knowledge it was she who destroyed the family irrevocably.
But the day belongs to Rachel, as she keeps reminding us. And the film documents the process of the wedding.
Director Jonathan Demme is determined to show us every nook and cranny of preparation for the ceremony. Sometimes he uses a hand-held camera to glimpse here and there as more and more people fill the house, rehearsing songs, erecting a garden marquee, fitting dresses, rekindling friendships, and so easily manoeuvering between the white and black families which are being united we know if anything's going to provoke drama that's not what it will be.
Sandwiched between these group shots are the revelations between family members, primarily as they relate to Kym - and explosive some of them are, too!
I must admit I could have done with much less of the "home movie" stuff, but the dynamics within the family are handled with sensitivity and humour and enough irony to wipe out any sniff of cheese. Demme guides his excellent cast well, avoiding the minefields of melodrama without sacrificing the emotional difficulty of the relationships.
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turrell 
"Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh "
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Posted - 01/05/2009 : 03:15:33
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I thought nearly all of the acting was superb, but the movie was just so-so. Too much hand held for my tastes. Way too much music to fill time and show you how cool it is that there are so many types of music at a wedding. The story is too small to carry a whole movie so Demme just fills time - like 10 minutes on how to load a dishwasher when he could have achieved the same emotional impact of the scene in 2 minutes. Bill Irwin was also excellent as the cluelessly desperate dad - man what a voice that guy has.
I think this was an excellent career choice for Hathaway, but an otherwise tedious film that was obviously begging you to realize how cool it is. |
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MisterBadIdea 
"PLZ GET MILK, KTHXBYE"
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Posted - 01/05/2009 : 05:09:14
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"I thought nearly all of the acting was superb, but the movie was just so-so."
Seconded. This is a neo-Cassavetes film, and I'll be the first to admit that I don't really get Cassavetes. It's a good film but one I struggle to get excited about.
Someone on another forum said that this movie was way better than last year's indie girl quirkfest, "Juno." And yeah, it is a better film than "Juno" in nearly every way. But I dunno; I'd still rather watch "Juno." There's something special about "Juno," and I'll be damned if I can tell what's so great about "Rachel Getting Married." |
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turrell
"Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh "
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Posted - 01/05/2009 : 06:13:27
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| Juno had dialogue - this movie had hurt feelings. |
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w22dheartlivie 
"Kitty Lover"
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Posted - 01/05/2009 : 07:18:14
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quote:
Originally posted by turr9ll
Juno had dialogue - this movie had hurt feelings.
What a fascinating comment. |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/29/2009 : 11:32:03
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Rachel Getting Married
I thought it was excellent, even if at many points it was hard to watch because of the factors people have mentioned. My take on it was that the extended cringeworthy aspects (the rehearsal dinner; the we-are-oh-so-hip-that-we-have-ethnic-music-and-clothing-at-our-wedding; especially the torture of watching the dishwasher scene) depict the awkwardness of such an occasion brilliantly. Particularly well done was trying to bite their lips in order for things to run smoothly but letting it all out anyway, first in snippets that they think they can get away with and then in a torrent. However, I would agree that the shaky camera thing has been done sufficiently already and is thus pointless, especially as some shots are supposed to be on a camcorder and are thus less differentiated as a result.
Hathaway is awesome: I'm going to weigh up my Oscar preferences again now. |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/29/2009 : 11:34:10
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| Has anyone else wondered how many people have got this mixed up with Bride Wars? The other day I saw someone changing the ticket they had in error for that for one for this, and when I saw this yesterday, several people left suspiciously near the beginning! |
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Rachel Getting Married
