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Rachel Getting Married By: Sarah Rix The charm of "Rachel Getting Married" undoubtedly lies in its cast. The performance by Anne Hathaway as Kym far outshines the mediocre script of this family drama. The Academy Award buzz behind her role as the fresh out of rehab, self-centered, former drug-addict, and sister of the bride is undoubtedly justified. The film revolves around Kym's attempt to re-immerse herself with society and her family after a nine month stint in rehab. Her sister Rachel, a role also played extraordinarily well by Rosemarie DeWitt, has an upcoming wedding to Sidney (Tunde Adebimpe). To put it simply, Kym fails to really fit in to the family. As an outcast of the group Kym attempts to find her niche within the family and tries to apologize for past actions, inevitably resulting in conflict between the two sisters and their divorced parents. There is really nothing new in terms of story line or plot. The same tested formula of family conflict is laid out clean and simple. Thankfully, the film leaves out the romance sub-plot early on, making it clear that the family is the main focus, as opposed to Kym's easily assumed romance with best man Kieran (Mather Zickel). With less importance placed on plot, character development and relationships are the true issues placed up on the center stage. And as it so happens, there turns out to be an abundance of it. As Rachel's marriage date nears and Kym becomes more nervous about losing her sister, the relationship between the two falls apart. While never a strong bond to begin with, at least not from Rachel's perspective after having to put with Kym for so long, Kym feels like she's been given the short end of the straw and tries to overcompensate by attempting to draw attention to herself and her stint in rehab. Conflict between Kym and her mother and Kym and Rachel's best friend Emma are easily established. For the audience, sympathy grows for Rachel who is trying desperately to ensure the perfection of her special day in the spotlight, a spotlight that she feels her father (Bill Irwin) has constantly placed on Kym. For most families, this is a relatable situation. Sibling rivalry is common, and while not ever family may face the same exact issues as this film portrays, moments in the film evoke memories of at least a few family experiences, be they good or bad. The evoking of family memories perhaps contributes to the overall exhaustiveness of watching Rachel Getting Married. The film seems to drag on a bit as it inches towards its finish. It is without a doubt an extremely dark film. There is a fair amount of humour and also a great deal of sad moments. They balance each other out nicely while at the same time proving the point that the mood of a family can quickly change from up to down - though not generally vice versa. It's a decent film, but hardly earth-shattering. Were it not for the raw, documentary like feel of the film, perhaps it would just be written off as a typical dysfunctional family movie centered around one member's former problem - in this case drug addiction. If anything, the film should be watched to see how well Hathaway and DeWitt are able to play off of each other. |