In a desperate attempt to wash the blandly toxic taste of Watchmen from my mouth, I hustled out to see Rachel Getting Married. Something, anything of substance to reignite critical thought processes bludgeoned into a bloody pulp by overweening comic book sensibilities. Gimme shelter, Jonathan Demme!
At least temporarily, it did the trick. Adult, emotionally multi-layered, beautifully performed, the movie was everything Watchmen wanted to be but didn’t even come close to. It carefully sifted the perpetually in motion dynamics of a family bearing the heavy weight of addiction, divorce and tragedy without pointing fingers and pronouncing judgment, leaving that up to the audience to decide for themselves. In Kim, the film’s non-titular lead, Anne Hathaway created an abrasive, self-absorbed, prickly character who was near impossible to like but all the more compelling for that very reason. Rachel Getting Married brought a tear to this cynical, heart-hardened viewer’s eye. And dammit, I want to see more Debra Winger!
One major complaint though? Surely Academy Award winning director Demme could’ve afforded the luxury of forgoing the hand-held camera conceit. I know, I know. It created that whole home movie, documentary feeling that tied in with the wedding story of the film but it grew quickly tiresome and constantly threatened to overshadow the story itself with its distractive presence.
Can we please move on from this clichéd device? It served its purpose once upon a time when the technology was changing but now smacks of filmmaker laziness. Let’s leave it for those struggling with low budgets who can’t afford a tripod.
WATCH FILMS
CREATIVE IDEAS
2008 MOVIES
2007 MOVIES
DRAMA MOVIES
COMEDY MOVIES
HORROR MOVIES
ANIMATION MOVIES
ACTION MOVIES
THRILLER MOVIES
DOCUMENTARY MOVIES
EXPERIMENTAL MOVIES
MUSICAL MOVIES
ONE MINUTE MOVIES
