This is what I call a movie!
There were many great movies of 2008, but Rachel Getting Married would have to rank as one of my favorites, either 1 or 2. I can’t decide.
Hathaway definitely deserved the Oscar. I had never seen her play a role like this before. Her character, Kym, was raunchy, uncomfortable, damaged, confused, witty, and relentlessly unforgiving to herself and others. She plays a recovering addict who returns home for her sister’s wedding. She must attend Addicts Anonymous meetings, pee in cups, and deal with the joining of two families that feel like strangers. While watching this you will find yourself cheering for Hathaway’s will to fight the doubt in herself, cringing at her dinner toasts and constant need for attention, and hoping that no one kills themselves.
All of the characters in this movie, and there are many, create a great dynamic. This is a movie that depends just as much on its actors and their performances of the script as it does on the brilliant directing. I swear. Some of the scenes in this movie could me movies by themselves. There are beautiful colors, beautiful people, and beautiful words.
I really do want to give props to the casting director. Every single one of the actors and actresses selected to play in this movie was perfect. They all made it seem so real, so much like life itself. Not only are all of the characters amazing, but you learn more about them as you go. The father, the fiance, Rachel, Kym, their mother, the fiance’s family; it was all so…mind blowingly awesome. The characters unravel, break away, and come together as life goes on. I even found myself clapping during some of the scenes. Not to forget, I had a hard time wiping the smile off of my face, almost as if I was there with the characters and didn’t want them to see me grinning at some of their awkward situations.
On a side note, it was a truly lavish and fantastic wedding. Clearly the families had some money. In fact, after seeing this movie, I don’t know that I could settle for any less of a wedding for myself, maybe except without the main drama. Varieties of exotic music, strange and magical dinner toasts, true and raw emotion, people from all walks of life, contests revolving strictly around the dishwasher: this was truly awesome.
The director deserves an award..or 3. Some of the scenes, even with no dialog, feel magical. They make you feel as if you have come upon some secret and fantastic ritual amongst people, that when together, know all of life’s most beautiful secrets.
It seems that my favorite words to describe this movie have fallen along the lines of beautiful, fantastic, awesome, magical, awe inspiring…synonyms basically.
This is a feast of a movie. It is dramatic, cinematic, witty, charming, and sometimes heartbreaking. If anything, I do hope that people will give this movie a chance. Also, if anything else, disregard all of my advice for the simple reason that: attempting to describe this movie will probably not do it justice and ultimately lessen its cinematic genius.
By the way, I managed to laugh in the first two minutes. Thought I would throw that out there.
Dude, I really want to see this movie!! If it’s as good as you say it is, will you watch it with me sometime? I really wanna see it