Anne Hathaway getting attention

Complicated characters fill a simple plot in Rachel Getting Married

By Zipporah Porton
Published: October 17th, 2008 | 11:45am

It’s difficult to see Anne Hathaway as anything but a Prada-wearing princess with a diary. While in Rachel Getting Married, Hathaway does not completely disappear into the role of attention-loving, recovering drug-addict Kym, she does reveal to the world that she is ready to be taken seriously.

Rachel Getting Married, directed by Jonathan Demme (Beloved, The Silence of the Lambs), follows the story of Kym, who returns home from rehab for little more than a weekend to take part in her sister Rachel’s (Rosemarie DeWitt) wedding. Her return both excites and frightens the rest of the family, including an overprotective father (Bill Irwin), Rachel’s suspicious best friend Emma (Anisa George), and stepmother (Anna Deavere Smith).

Not much really occurs action-wise in this first script written by Jenny Lumet, daughter of Sydney Lumet (Running on Empty), but there are some deep emotional moments and scenes that get to the core of the family’s problems. There is a dark secret that the family shares involving a tragedy prompted by Kym’s long-standing addiction, which she has moved on from while Rachel has not. Additionally, Kym’s desire for acceptance, attention, and forgiveness grates on Rachel’s nerves as this is finally her day and Kym throws a tantrum over not being picked as maid of honor.

While you’ll want to take more away from this movie than Hathaway’s chopped bob and smudged eyeliner, her performance is really the focus, as is her character. Though the movie has Rachel’s name in the title, it’s all about Kym, just how her character would like it to be. Sibling rivalry sprouts up as Kym’s toast at the rehearsal dinner to Rachel and her somewhat bland, though loving, fiancée Sydney (Tunde Adebimpe, lead singer of TV on the Radio) turns into a comedy routine about addiction and amends. It is hard to like either of these sisters, but it is easy to understand their pain.

The problems with the film lie in the pacing and flow of action. The characters themselves are rich, and Demme and Lumet have the ability to strike fear into the audience every time Kym goes near something she can destroy (physically and emotionally). However, the story has many scenes that drag, such as a lengthy rehearsal dinner and a 20-minute scene about loading dishes into a dishwasher. Eventually these scenes serve a purpose, but they could have gotten to that point much faster. Also, we witness what seems like Rachel’s entire bohemian wedding from start to finish, from belly dancers to hip-hop, which feels like watching a home movie where you don’t really know anyone involved.

I don’t feel comfortable hollering Oscar to reward Hathaway’s performance, but I do applaud the bravery it takes to portray a person that the audience might not like. She still shines through the sea of virtual unknowns with her beauty, even though they tried to tone it down. The audience is always aware of her star presence, but it works because the characters are also taking note of where Kym is to ensure that nothing goes wrong.

This is a small, intimate film where not much happens, but it provides a glimpse of this dysfunctional family that cannot decide what to do with their difficult daughter — even though without Kym’s presence, the family wouldn’t have anything interesting to discuss.