Mini-Review: Rachel Getting Married

Rachel Getting Married
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Released October 3, 2008

This is a terrific independent film whose universally glowing reviews should hopefully garner it the wide audience it deserves. Easily comparable to 2006’s Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film, “After the Wedding,” this movie is a remarkably intimate and intensely interesting story with wonderfully three-dimensional characters. The cinematography and editing are very deliberate but work so seamlessly. Anne Hathaway, who to this point hadn’t impressed me much, delivers an incredible performance that really shows her transition to adult roles and should earn her an Oscar nomination. It’s quite possibly the best lead actress performance I’ve seen all year. Rosemarie DeWitt, who plays her sister, and Bill Irwin, who plays her father, are equally amazing. I’m just worried that their screen time and limited roles may rob them of the recognition they so richly deserve. Debra Winger, who plays her mother, may steal most of that for a performance that’s good but not nearly as nuanced as the other three. Plainly put, there’s no weak link in the cast, and this is one of the best films of the year. Go see it!

A-