Movie Review: Rachael Getting Married

2009 April 08

Title: Rachael Getting Married (2008)
Starring: Anne Hathaway
Directed by: Johnathon Demme
Written by: Jenny Lumet
Music: Declan Quinn
Photography:David Harrison Jr. and Zafar Tavaii
Score: 7.5 out of 10

This Oscar year seems to have the theme of a recluse trying to fit back into her family or the the world in general. Rachael getting married is a poignant look at a recovering drug addict Kimmy played beautifully by Anne Hathaway. The sibling rivalry between Kimmy and her sister Rachael comes into sharp focus during the preparations for Rachael's wedding. Kimmy comes back home and is trying to fit in. In between rehab sessions for Kimmy we see how old wounds between the sisters start becoming important and developing into a major road friction point between them. In a brilliantly written script (Jenny Lumet ) we see a very real and human dynamics going on in the family. The highlight of the script is how it has used many incidents to give us a complete picture of each character.

Kimmy is simply one of the most beautiful roles I have seen. This character makes us like her even more than the role played by Kirsten Scott Thomas in I have loved so long. Initially I thought Kimmy was the older sister but in what is an amazing performance Anne Hathaway starts making her character look like a little girl. All this is accomplished by her subtle reactions and looks. It is very refreshing to see such an exquisite performance even when there was a chance for melodrama. The script writer has developed the screen play so intricately that one does not realize that the story is not very complicated. It is how the characters behave in more of less everyday situations.

There are some heart warming scenes of bonhomie between the black and white race. One is not surprised because the people involved are liberals and intellectuals from Connecticut. The theme for Rachael's wedding is Indian - they all wear sarees and eat Aloo 'Gaabi'.

The actor who played Rachael (Rosemary Dewitt ) is quite good. She brings a sunniness to her character which interestingly is not very likable. The father played by Bill Irvine has displayed the helplessness of the father a bit too much... but that I guess is his character.

The photography uses bright tones making the atmosphere look artificially bright and sunny while its not - at least not to Kimmy. Jonathan Demme handles his story in a very disciplined way without giving in to melodramatic elements.

Anne Hathaway was nominated for the best actor role which eventually went to Kate Winslet for Reader. Since I have not seen Reader, I will wait to compare Anne Hathaway's performance with Kate's.

This movie scores 7.5 out of 10.