A young woman comes out of rehab to attend her sister's wedding in Jonathan Demme's 2008 film, Rachel's Getting Married. It's more cheerful than a Lars von Trier movie but it's gloomier than most. It's filled with good performances and an interestingly staged wedding ceremony.
Anne Hathaway plays Kym, the family black sheep. It's from her perspective we see everything else as she struggles to find a place within her family. She's been a substance abuser all her life but we learn about a third of the way through the movie that the real fissure between her and her family is caused by the fact that she had a little brother who died when he was in the backseat of a car Kym drove off the road when she was high. The sister getting married, Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt), their mother (Debra Winger), and father (Bill Irwin) hover between determined hospitality and unbridled rage directed at Kym. As the wedding planning moves into the events of the wedding itself, the viewer is invited to gauge how honest any expressions of affection are, or if there can be any true bond left after what Kym had done.
The wedding party was filmed in an improvisational style. Actual musicians can be seen jamming, including Robyn Hitchcock, Fab Five Freddy, and Sister Carol. This is explained by the fact that Kym and Rachel's father works in the music industry. The wedding party has a remarkably authentic atmosphere.
Rachel Getting Married is available on The Criterion Channel this month as part of a family reunion playlist, presumably for Thanksgiving. This oughta perk everyone up.
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