Rachel Getting Married (2008)

Demme returns to freewheeling indie form with an intimate, participatory comedy-drama that overwhelms through its captured-reality technique and diegetic music. It is long and unfocused but exhilarating for those who surrender to it.

Demme is at his most humane, capturing warmth and compassion amid family tensions without villains. The film harnesses genuine love and good feeling at the wedding, making it a vibrant, moving party despite underlying pain.

The critic praises Anne Hathaway's loose-limbed, self-loathing performance as the havoc-wreaking ex-junkie Kym alongside Jonathan Demme's unrehearsed, home-movie approach to filming the family wedding weekend. Strong turns from Debra Winger, Bill Irwin and Rosemarie DeWitt are highlighted, as is the film's shifting incidental music that heightens emotional beats.

Hathaway delivers a sensational turn as the troubled Kym in this warm, observant family drama full of moving and funny moments. The script excels at depicting family dynamics and roles, making it an unpretentious and inviting watch despite some longueurs.

Hand-held and spontaneous, the film pays tribute to Altman with superb performances, especially Hathaway, though its length and musical interludes may limit commercial appeal. It feels fresh and assured overall.

Demme brings honest cinema and lightness of touch to family conflict, balancing smiles and tears at a wedding. Hathaway delivers an award-worthy central performance that gives the script room to avoid genre clichés.

Demme offsets the screenplay's conventional suburban dysfunction with disorienting handheld staging and warm communal set pieces. The split between drab narrative and celebratory wedding warmth works in the film's favor, leaving viewers with a generous embrace of humanity.

The review takes a negative stance on Demme's film, declining to embrace its approach to family drama and performance.

The critic welcomes the film as a return to Demme's independent roots and praises Hathaway's career-changing turn as the ultra-troubled Kym, along with the ensemble's edgy realism. It singles out the mix of bitter and sweet elements, with music providing joy amid family turmoil.

The film is both a loose, freewheeling return to form and overextended self-indulgence. It excels in tracking family tensions through restless camerawork and strong performances but loses focus in its lengthy celebratory wedding sequence.

The critic praises Demme's loose, home-movie style and the authentic, overemotional performances that make the family dynamics feel real. Hathaway excels as the needy, limelight-seeking recovering addict who opens old wounds at her sister's wedding.

The critic notes that the film centers on the troubled younger sister Kym despite the title, praising Anne Hathaway's magnetic and un-princessy performance as a damaged, narcissistic figure. It highlights the movie's authentic vitality and expansive sympathies amid familiar themes of addiction and family dysfunction.

The critic highlights Hathaway's fine, convincing performance as the selfish, self-deprecating Kym and praises the excellent cast and Demme's fizzy, skilful staging of the wedding proceedings and family tensions.

The film is a strong, authentic portrait of family dynamics that succeeds through its patient, documentary-like structure and ensemble performances. Hathaway's fierce yet nuanced turn as the troubled Kym stands out as a highlight amid the wedding celebrations and emotional tensions.

The critic finds the film an honest, intense family drama with documentary-like realism that rewards viewers seeking substance over rom-com formulas. They single out Anne Hathaway's raw, unadorned performance as the standout element that makes the story compelling despite its challenges.