Rachel Getting Married - Movie Review (2008)

Rachel Getting Married is a story of Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt) who is obviously getting married, but rather than just consentrating on this special day and all the beauty of weddings and the consept of marriage, this is also a story of a bittersweet relationships between family members, struggling sisterhood and the importance of one basic fundamental in everyone's life, our families.

The setting is beautiful and peaceful. Rachel is back at her childhood home in Connecticut and is ready for her big day. She and her fiancée Sidney (Tunde Adebimpe) are expecting to have lot of friends and family members coming to the reception and there will be a lot of ethnic flavor, beautiful music and a lot of love in this house during this special weekend. So who could ask for anything more? It seems like this is going to be the perfect wedding.

Except for one little detail, which happens to be nothing less than Rachel's own sister Kym (Anne Hathaway), who is coming to the house the day before the wedding and is always a bit unpredictable, a sister who may either behave nicely or possibly ruin the whole thing. So Kym is obviously the Black sheep of the family and has had her share of struggles in life, living in rehabilitation facilities and now finally, and strongly trying to stay sober and stabile.

So here they are, those two sisters, the other one starting a new chapter in her life and the other one, still trying to find herself, still trying to fit into the picture (and into the family). When Kym arrives as this dark, self-ironic, self-centered herself, the mood in the house changes quickly. Rachel gets very upset and frustrated about her sisters theatrical acts especially after the rehearsal dinner and cannot stand how their father Paul (Bill Irwin) is always trying to protect Kym. Kym on the other hand, once again finds herself being accused of lot of things, defending all her acts. So the beautiful setting gets soon a different tone of color and things get more darker and more dramatic.

It was so bittersweet and so familiar to witness all the confrontations, jealously and arguments between these two sisters and especially Rachel's frustration and negative feelings towards Kym felt so real. On the other hand it was quite sad to see all the sorrow and the despair that Kym was facing and those thoughts that were running in her head all the time. Her thinking of being this not so wanted, unpredictable, sosiopathic, strange sister of Rachel's.

There is also some deep sadness still lingering in this family. Kym and Rachel lost their brother Ethan years ago accidentally and this loss seems to still hunt them all. Kym is torn apart because of the loss, blaming herself, and for a pretty good reason. She being the one driving the car (under the influence of drugs and alcohol) when she lost control and her brother ended up drowning. Even in the middle of all the wedding preparations they go back to this old memory which is so tough thing to swallow, especially for the dad, Paul.

But the most saddening thing was to see their mother Abby (Debra Winger) coming to the picture and realize she was a mother who didn't really seem to care about her daughters too deeply and who looked like she was trying to run away from all the situations quietly, without a scene. Which gave me the idea that maybe Kym's problems in the past were due to her mother's emotional unavailability for her children.

Still, in the end the importance of family breaks through all the drama and all the difficulties and the end was delivered quite beautifully and gave a nice finishing touch to this story.

This movie made a huge impression on me and really got me to think about my own motherhood and the fact that the role we give to our children is something to think about, seriously. This movie also got me to think about the importance of family and the relationships between family members. How many times I myself have witnessed family gatherings gone wrong, and for no important reason.

I also enjoyed the cinematography and the style of directing in this film. I think that the movie was visually so familiar and traditionally implemented that it almost felt like someone from the bride's or groom's family was filming some of the scenes. I think it brought the characters closer to the viewer and made the whole story more believable.

Even though some criticize this fact, I really liked the visual style and would enjoy to see more films like this. I feel strongly that stories don't have to have the Hollywood-Style visual shine to make a deep impression on viewers. The stories with a beautiful soul and strong, believable characters are the ones that touch us the most. And Rachel Getting Married is definitely one of those films.

I was very close to giving this movie five stars, but towards the end the movie got a little slower and I felt like some of the scenes at the end could've been left out, so that is why (only) four stars.



Directed by Jonathan Demme
Written by Jenny Lumet
Cast Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mather Zickel, Bill Irwin, Anna Deavere Smith, Anisa George, Tunde Adebimpe, Debra Winger
IMDb:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1084950/

The Reader (2008) - Movie Review

This is a story of Post-WWII Germany. This is a story of two people that meet and have true passion despite the age difference. This is also a story of pride, pride that can in the end lead to some sacrifices. And a story of new connection, new beginning and new hope, even there is not always so much to look for.

The movie begins on one rainy day. A young Michael Berg (David Kross) is walking in the rain and is weakened by a worsening scarlet fever. He gets a helping hand from a lady called Hanna (Kate Winslett), who offers to guide him back to his home. When Michael gets better and is able to leave his house again, he wants to go to her and thank for her kindness. Hanna lets him in her tiny apartment and in her lonely life. It doesn't take long for them to find themselves being passionate lovers. There is quite an age difference and the affair keeps secret, but there is still something unforgettable about all the moments these two share together.

Hanna also seems to have some peculiar habits. She loves to be read and Michael sure enjoys reading to her, every single time that they meet. He doesn't ask any questions, but just keeps on reading. No matter how passionate they seem to be, there is always room for a new chapter, a new book and a new story.

Until one day, when Hanna mysteriously disappears, leaving Michael heartbroken.

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Years go by and Michael is a law student observing trials in court halls. One day when going to the court there is a Nazi war trial, where several S.S. guards are defendants and believed to have sent children and women to their deaths in Nazi camps. When at the courtroom he suddenly realizes that Hanna is one of the accused S. S. guards. He is stunned to see her again in these kind of circumstances. There is also a tiny secret, just a little detail Hanna won't reveal in the court, but which Michael knows about and is torn between helping her or just letting it go.

Time goes by and Hanna is now in prison. She is serving a life time sentence for her actions during the war. Michael (Ralph Fiennes) on the other hand has a family, but eventually gets divorced and when going through his old things, he finds all the books he used to read to Hanna and decides to record those books into tapes and send them to her. He sends them year after year, until finally Hanna starts to use these tapes to teach herself how to read.

In the end Michael is the only contact Hanna has in her life outside the prison and when it's time for her release, he is the one to take care of her and her new life, being a free woman. But things don't always go the way they're supposed to as is the case in this one too.

The end of the film was quite slow paced and even a bit boring I would say, but overall this was an interesting story of two strangers that meet, fall in love, have true passion, drift apart and then meet again in the strangest circumstances.

Kate Winslett's role as Hanna was very strong, believable and real. Like Kate herself is. There is just something about this woman that makes her so alive and real on the screen. She is perhaps one of the most down to earth actresses that I know of and maybe that's one of the reasons she outshines the others. And remember, Kate is nominated for an Oscar for her role as Hanna.

But this film is not only about love and the little affair, nor about Kate or her skills, even though she is nominated for Oscar for her role in this film. But we need to remember that this is also a story about war and about all the horrible memories of the Holocaust, the dark side in German history. It was very moving and confusing to see young Michael walking in the old prison camp, all those empty halls and those empty gas chambers. You could almost sense the presence of all those poor people that were walking their last steps to their deaths, closing one chapter in German History.



Directed by Stephen Daldry
Written by David Hare (screenplay) and Bernhard Schlink (book)
Cast Kate Winslett, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross
IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0976051/

Revolutionary Road (2008) - movie review

Life and relationships are full of ups and downs, everyone knows that. Some people are better at enjoying life's little treasures than others, some are never satisfied with what they have and always want more, and for those life is sometimes very hard. They think they should deserve something better, but are paralysed from acting and making the change themselves, they end up miserably on the comfort zone.

April (Kate Winslet) and Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) are a young adorable couple with two beautiful kids. They live in a cute white house with some space for everyone to play and enjoy life. Frank works in the city and is forced to take a train to cover the long distance, when April has lived years at home taking care of the kids, house, food and garden.

She's a bright young lady who suffers of her situation, and the difference between the couple's lifes starts to tear them apart. April gets depressed, Frank gets an affair. Suddenly April remembers their long lost dream of moving to Paris, and their relationship starts sparkling again. But when things have gone already bad, not even Paris helps...

Revolutionary Road is extremely intense drama. It is intense especially because of the realism - this can happen to anyone, and I'm sure this kind of couples are out there - many of them. All the terrible pain of relationship gone bad, being together but alone, and that performed with the skill and intensity of Winslet and DiCaprio, ones of the most brilliant actors of their generation, just makes your heart ache for two hours.

This movie is one of the best I've seen in describing how a relationship can go bad without a clear reason. For outsiders everything looks perfect, but under the cover everything is burning and ready to explode and destroy.

The movie wakes you up. It makes you think about your own life. And if your own life is going downwards, it hopefully wakes you up to act before its too late.



Directed by Sam Mendes
Written by Justin Haythe, based on the novel by Richard Yates
Cast Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kathy Bates, Kathryn Hahn, David Harbour, Michael Shannon
IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0959337/

Reservation Road (2007) - dvd review

Losing your own child is the biggest of all losses. Reservation road is story of both the family which loses a child in an hit and run and the guilt of the driver. Neither side has it easy.

Ethan (Joaquin Phoenix) and Grace (Jennifer Connelly) are mother and father to a small daughter and son. Dwight (Mark Ruffalo) is a divorced lawyer who tries any ways possible to hold on to his son who is now living with his mother. When Dwight is driving from a baseball game with his son, he accidentally hits a little boy on the road, and decides to risk everything and hurries away without stopping.

When the boy dies and the police can not find the driver, boy's father decides to take the case into his own hands. What is left is just a revenge.

Even though the subject is heartbreaking and the roles are brilliant, Reservation road still does not really convince. There are too many coincidences to make the story feel real. What's missing in the story is replaced by the extremely realistic fathers whose pain you can almost touch.

Directed by Terry George
Written by John Burnham Schwartz and Terry George, based on the novel by John Burnham Schwartz
Cast Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly, Mira Sorvino
IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831884/