Thursday, October 09, 2008

Worth Noting...

Rachel Getting Married gets better the further you get away from it... Kinda like a wedding itself. You remember it with growing fondness later. Even if you already loved it.

<--- director and star

My friends Rob and Joe are also firmly stationed in the possibly Best of the Year camp. Joe even believes it's a Lost in Translation, a small beauty of a film that people respond to in real and personal ways -- i.e. he thinks it could have a similar Oscar run in it. We were both feeling "protective" of it against its naysayers which Joe believes is a good sign of people rallying around it in the upcoming awards season. He may have a point. I'm not as optimistic due to its idiosyncracies and modesty but I'm hoping he's right. I'll be so glad to be wrong!
*

15 comments:

elgringo said...

That's really good news! Can't wait to see it.

E Dot said...

I completely agree! It's only been a week, but I keep thinking about it.

Anonymous said...

I really wish I lived in NY, I want to see it so bad.

Anonymous said...

When does this get released nationwide? When can I see it?

I've looked it up at imdb, rottentomatoes, movietickets.com.... nobody will give me a date of when it will be playing in wide release.

I'm in the L.A. area, is it not playing around here in limited release either??

NATHANIEL R said...

I think it's the 17th when it widens... not too far away.

Unknown said...

Variety has added Lithuania and South Africa to the Foreign Film submissions list. The films are Loss and Jerusalema, respectively.

E Dot said...

I'm in Los Angeles, and it was released on the 3rd (limited). It's playing at a few Landmark theatres (I saw it at the one on Pico and Westwood).

Robert said...

Know who I like?

Bill Irwin

Anonymous said...

I wish I felt the same way about this movie as many of you out there, but I thought it was slightly disappointing. Demme certainly did a fantastic job in creating an authentic atmosphere. The cast overall did a good job, with some fared better than others. The music is perhaps one of the highlights of the overall production. However, as a dogme-inspired movie, I found certain scenes lack truth or felt somewhat contrived. I also feel Kym's psyche seems to be obsessively delineated to the point of overkill, while other characters are under-written or somewhat generalized. The irony is that even though it's Kym's emotional landscape that dominated the story, her mom ends up being the most interesting character in the movie for me. The reason lies in the things that are not shown on screen, as well as the things not said from her or about her. That character is the most effectively and economically written. What's presented on screen does not explain everything. It does, however, allow the audience to fill in the blanks and draw their own conclusion.

Murtada said...

I loved it! Thought it was fantastic, had a few great moments and the characters were drawn so well, in particular the parents. Debra is heartbreaking.

The friend that I saw with though, hated it. Thought the characters were smug, full of themselves and not real in any way. Yikes. Different opnions!!!

Anonymous said...

It's a beautiful film. Heartbreaking, warm, honest, hopeful.... Debra Winger gives the strongest performance- haunting, nuanced and wonderfully underplayed...I'm hoping this sweeps the Oscars. Hathaway, however, as strong as she is in the film, shouldn't score a nod, I just don't think she has the acting chops worthy of a nomination. DeWitt and Winger on the other hand NEED to be nominated.

Nick M. said...

Rosemarie DeWitt needs to stop looking so similar to Elisabeth Shue. It's really confusing me.

NATHANIEL R said...

eric y interesting take on wishing there was more economy in the presentation of Kym like there was in the mother. And while I agree that her mother is drawn in very interesting sketch rather than full painting, it'd be a different film if you tried the same brush strokes on Kym.

I think her character traits sort of forbid NOT overkilling if that makes any sense...

Anonymous said...

I was paranoid about this film based on the trailer. Anne Hathaway looked like she was trying too hard, and the lines ("I'd swear you were puking again") struck me as too forced-witty to have any impact.

SPOILERS (NOT HEAVY) FOR THE FILM

But the film blew me away. Robert is completely on the nose when he mentions Bill Irwin. He was magnificent. There's so many great moments within his performance (the dishwasher scene, finding out that Rachel is pregnant...) and he really creates such a fascinating patriarch.

But Hathaway (who I was an agnostic on) just floored me. I remember Nathaniel mentioned with Jeanne Tripplehorn that some roles "unlock" a performer (for her, it was Big Love), and that's how I felt about Hathaway. I wasn't expecting such a high-wire act from her, but never once did she feel false, forced or otherwise unnatural.

Winger disappointed, truth be told. She's not so much subtle as vague, and the role is so loosely sketched that I don't really see the subtleties others saw.

Anonymous said...

i think hathaway will win.