Now a lot of people did not like this film. i have not read too many bad reviews so im not sure what they find in it that is so awful. this is another one of my favorite of the decade. i have very rarely ever felt so close to a film before. i did with Fellini's "Amarcord' of 1973 and "Moonstruck" of 1987 but not to many others that i can remember. the film invites us into a family. it is a rather broken and scarred family but they do the absolute best they can to hold on. this is what is so natural about the film. many called it extremly depressing and boring but i found it incredibly moving. it is unconventional and breaks rules which makes it awkward at first, but lingers on in our heads for a long time after. this really, compared to some of the other films i watch, is quite a comforting film. i find it very operatic like "Magnolia", funny and sarcastic like "Annie Hall" and sad like "Terms of Endearment". it has all of those qualities and that for some reason is warmth to me. i feel like i know this family. my family, including extended, is about like this. dramatic- but when problems occur, we are always able to mend them and come out of them stronger. this film is an adventure but takes place in one setting which truly is excellent filmmaking. the acting is incredibly organic and if you look at every performance, they are so real and as they should be. probably because some of the actors are not acting at all. there is not a faulty performance situated within this film. i love this film for its welcoming feel.
Rachel, although i thought it was, is not Anne Hathaway. her character is Kym who is definatly not getting married. in fact she's just getting out of rehab for her sisters wedding. yes her sister is Rachel played wonderfully by Rosmarie DeWitt. she is kind and accepting of her wild and quirky sister- sometimes. it gets rocky between the two of them sometimes in many scenes of argumants that are so naturally structured, it's almost surreal. the sisters' mother and father are divorced and the father remarried. the mother did too. they have a younger brother, but that is another story to be told. the soon-to-be-husband is Sidney who is shy, but he is such a warm and lovable character, just looking at him will make you tear up. the mother of the girls is played in an astonishing comeback (not for long) performance from Debra Winger who commanded the screen in a defining performance in her career. the father of the girls is played by Bill Irwin, another lovable character who has many wonderful scenes as well. there is so much to the plot that words can't describe because they are so textured and layerd. critics loved it but audiences did not. maybe it was because Hathaway was in it and they were expecting a chick-flick. i don't know. i thought it was just so well written and the way in which it moved was so nouveau and just different. i loved it. it was like improv-music they way everything just happened. it really is a masterpeice as i sit here writting this review, i can just feel the film's naturalistic style seeping through the DVD cover.
The film was nominated for one measly Oscar for Hathaways performance which was absolutly worth it. she was so painful, alive, awkward, funny and deep inside a beautiful person. Hathawy went through a huge transformation, phisically. Like Charlize Theron (but not that much) in "Monster". the hair and maybe some weight loss. the screenplay should have been nominated written by the daughter of the legend Sidney Lumet, who the husband-to-be was named after. it was so ligitamitly funny and sarcastic. DeWitt hould have been nominated for her indescribably excellent performance. Winger should have been nominated and maybe even won because she has not before and is such a wonderful actress. Irwin could have been niminated for his loving and moving performance. Best Director for the legendary Jonathan Demme. and finally Best Picture category: absolutly. this is really an astonishing acheivment for everyone in part of the film. the cinematography was criticized by some for being too 'home video like' and im sorry but that is really what made the film. it makes it more realistic and familial. it did not work for "Public Enemies" but worked perfectly for this. this is one of the most important and human films of the decade and should be not seen but expirienced by all. i love this film and i cant say much more. it is food for the soul and teaches us much about family and what it means. i am moved to what is said in the trailer for the film. "This IS NOT your family. but it IS your family."
| Academy Awards, USA | |||
| Year | Result | Award | Category/Recipient(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Nominated | Oscar | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Anne Hathaway |
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