{"id":1478,"date":"2008-11-21T01:51:40","date_gmt":"2008-11-21T08:51:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/?p=1478"},"modified":"2008-11-24T00:41:38","modified_gmt":"2008-11-24T07:41:38","slug":"rachel-getting-married-jonathan-demme-2008-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/?p=1478","title":{"rendered":"Rachel Getting Married (Jonathan Demme, 2008): USA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Reviewed by Kevin Tran. Viewed at the Paseo Nuevo Cinema, Santa Barbara, CA.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; float: left\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.nydailynews.com\/img\/2008\/10\/02\/alg_rachel.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"325\" height=\"200\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As we get closer to awards season, there is only one film that I\u2019ve seen that really stands out among the \u201cbest picture\u201d category, and that film is Jonathan Demme\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1084950\/\" target=\"_new\"><em>Rachel Getting Married<\/em> <\/a>. It\u2019s a small-scale film with a subtle script by Jenny Lumet, but it boasts outstanding performances from its terrific cast. From a director of such a high caliber (Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia), it achieves a more honest look and feel that I think Hollywood films lack and need.<\/p>\n<p>From its first wobbly, handheld shot, an audience would either love or hate the style in which Demme shoots this home drama. The film focuses primarily on Kym (Anne Hathaway), who is coming back to her wealthy Connecticut home after a long stay in rehab to attend her sister\u2019s wedding. Instantly, Kym feels like an outcast. Her chain-smoking habit, dark sense of humor, and cynical personality doesn\u2019t match her family\u2019s warm, squeaky-clean image. As the weekend progresses until the day of Rachel\u2019s wedding, Kym and her family unearth painful memories from their dark past.<\/p>\n<p>At times, Rachel Getting Married feels like a documentary. The camerawork, and also some themes, are reminiscent of the Dogma 95 film, The Celebration, from Denmark. It also uses music in the same way, strictly diegetic. What both films flawlessly achieve is a rawness and intensity that is so full of emotions that it will surely jolt and move you. Although, the film does rely on this intense drama, I should add that it\u2019s not overbearing. Some scenes stretch on for a while, but for the most part, the film kept my interest. Demme balances all the wonderful (and horrible) moments in Kym\u2019s experience, feelings and emotions we have all felt before.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reviewed by Kevin Tran. Viewed at the Paseo Nuevo Cinema, Santa Barbara, CA. As we get closer to awards season, there is only one film that I\u2019ve seen that really stands out among the \u201cbest picture\u201d category, and that film is Jonathan Demme\u2019s Rachel Getting Married . It\u2019s a small-scale film with a subtle script [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-films"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1478\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}