As with the recent Margot at the Wedding, Rachel Getting Married uses what should be a celebratory event as a situation for bringing out family tensions. Both films use sibling relationships as the basis for their stories and use a somewhat unstable sister returning to the fold as a corrosive element to throw the family dynamic into chaos. In the case of Rachel Getting Married , Kym (Anne Hathaway) is the sister just released from rehab and returning home for the wedding of her sister Rachel (Rosemarie Dewitt). Rachel has planned a multi-ethnic weekend of food, friends and music. But Kym, who has a penchant for acerbic one-liners, seems destined to disrupt the proceedings with melodramatic outbursts that open some long festering wounds. Exposing these past injuries, however, also leads to a healing process.
Debra Winger (center) plays the mother of the bride in Rachel Getting Married (Sony Pictures)
The film marks the screenwriting debut of Jenny Lumet, daughter of acclaimed director Sidney Lumet. Her script reveals the kind of cruelty that only family members seem able to inflict on each other. But she also leaves room for redemption and hope. Demme tackles the whole affair with handheld cameras that create a look that's a cross between documentary and home videos. His intimate approach places us right in the middle of the both the party guests and the simmering family tensions. There's an undeniable energy to the whole affair and Demme is blessed with a fine cast.
Debra Winger makes something of a surprise appearance as Rachel and Kym's estranged mom (the father divorced her years ago and has since remarried). She delivers a smiling but effectively chilly performance that provides clues to the underlying tensions in the family. Anne Hathaway leaves most (but not all) of her cuteness behind to play the damaged Kym. Also noteworthy are Dewitt as Rachel and Anna Deavere Smith as the step mom.
Rachel Getting Married (rated R for language and brief sexuality) is a bit messy in a way that reflects the lives of the characters it is depicting. But it is refreshing to see Demme so invigorated by a narrative script again.
Companion viewing: Margot at the Wedding, Four Weddings and a Funeral, A Wedding
