Being Renewed Day by Day

With a stack of magazines and a dozen open tabs in Firefox I’m sitting down to tell you about the film, Rachel Getting Married. I finally saw it last weekend at the AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring, MD with friends Michelle & Aaron. Since I work at AFI-Silver several days a week as an unpaid intern, my perks include free passes to movies at the theater, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see this highly regarded film. It came out in limited release on October 3, 2008 and blew away most reviewers who saw it. You’re sure to have heard about this film if a) you’re a fan of Anne Hathaway b) you listen to NPR’s Movie Podcast or c) you like “artsy” films, otherwise because of its limited release, you may not have heard about it.

The IMDB rundown:
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Written by: Jenny Lumet
Featuring:
Anne Hathaway … Kym
Rosemarie DeWitt … Rachel
Mather Zickel … Kieran
Bill Irwin … Paul
Anna Deavere Smith … Carol
Anisa George … Emma
Tunde Adebimpe … Sidney
Debra Winger … Abby

At first I was surprised by the documentary style of the film. I hadn’t read many reviews concerning the style, but rather concerning the actors and artists involved. Then again, Jonathan Demme at the time he read the screenplay, considered himself “deeply in the world of documentaries.” So, it was a surprise that turned into understanding just how the raw camera work best displayed the raw emotions and constantly moving action – literally moving with the characters from room to room and house to car, place to place. The story centers around Kym who comes out of drug rehab to join family and friends for her older sister, Rachel’s preparations for the wedding and the spectacular event. Emotions run high during most family events, but weddings symbolize a giving and taking of new members and new love which, in this case especially, causes each person to examine themselves in the light of love. Kym believes she can’t love (forgive) herself because of her role in the family and has a hard time accepting the concern of her family (ie. her father’s watchful eye) as love. Rachel is in love and wants to celebrate for one day without the antics of her dysfunctional family – who she truly loves.

You’ll see all the dynamics of family, but also the dynamics of culture. The wedding party is a mix of ethnicities, personalities, and stories. One stand-out scene is the rehearsal dinner when friends and family tell stories and toast the love and admiration they have for the couple. It is also in that scene that Kym gives a toast/speech which brings tension to the evening of laughter. However, it leads into a pivotal revelation back home after the party. Things spiral seemingly out of control from there and you simply must watch the movie to see the ending, cause I’m NOT giving it away.

Related News:
The Golden Globes results came Sunday night and answered the question about who would be the winner of Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama. Kate Winslet took the stage leaving four talented performers in their seats, including Anne Hathaway. While Hathaway didn’t go home a winner, it was her first nomination and she has much to look forward to in her somewhat young career. Her brilliant performance in Rachel Getting Married also nominated her for Film Independent’s 2009 Independent Spirit Awards – Best Female Lead.

If you love lists, like I do, you can check out these top 10 lists of movies for 2008 and see that Rachel Getting Married hit #9, #8, #7 all the way to #1 on approximately 24 critics lists. – Oh and as I was writing my last post I considered prematurely sticking it somewhere in my top 10 just based on what I heard.

Paste Magazine gave it a #14 spot in its top 20 films of 2008 and calls Anne Hathaway’s performance “fierce” and “quivering.” Early on in the hype, PasteMagazine.com also recognizes the diverse cultures represented in this film and in response to critique says, “The interracial nature of [Rachel & Sidney's] relationship goes unremarked upon throughout the entire film, and [that fact is] vexing several film critics, who dismiss such a notion as a fantasy.” My comments about this supposed “elephant in the room” topic are influenced by the conversation I had after the movie with my two friends (I didn’t ask their permission to mention this, but it might be “ironic” to note that I am white, Michelle is African-American, and Aaron is Asian…) We discussed the reality of the diversity in that wedding situation, and in life (um, us?). However I also noticed that the music business seemed to be the common thread in many of the on-screen relationships. Clearly America is a diverse nation and how dare we call such films “a fantasy” which broach that diversity in a positive light.

Hathaway also posed for the cover of Vogue’s January issue. Inside, her story was titled “The Awakening” and the stunning photography displays a “solid, Golden Girl.” While the article talked about her break-up with her boyfriend of four years, it included a quote from Director, Jonathan Demme: “She’s like a human lava lamp. She makes you stay in touch with what’s in her mind by what’s on her face.”
(Find out more at Vogue Diaries)

Rosemarie DeWitt is another notable talent in the film. She brings an attractive familial and familiar presence to the screen with her bright smile and eyes comparable to Jennifer Garner’s.

Her character – older sis, Rachel – brings balance to the off-tempo Kym and DeWitt does a fabulous job. You may recognize her for her roles on TV series – “Mad Men,” “Standoff” or the new “The United States of Tara.” Hopefully after this performance, we’ll see more of Rosemarie DeWitt on the big screen.

Watch the Movie Trailer

Once again, my goal for this blog is to cover media in a 3 week cycle – Movies, TV, Music. That means, next week, you should let me help you indulge in the show that’s on “The Search for a Superstar” – that’s right, American Idol! In my 5th year as a constant viewer and in its 8th Season as a top reality show on FOX, AI has a new judge – hit songwriter Kara DioGuardi- and has made several other changes that prove the producers will do what it takes to keep ratings up and America watching!

Thanks for reading my first official review/report and I hope you’ll be back next week for more!
Peace_Sarah_

So, I have a resolution for 2009. Yes, I am joining the multitudes of people making promises I am bound to break. Bound. My written words tend to be plans for the future. I am goal oriented and thrive on lists that I write down so I can cross them off. If you look in my paper recycling bin right now (yes, I am also going to recycle the 650 pounds of paper I use this year) I guarantee you will find 1/4 of the papers have some sort of list on them and 1/2 of those lists are unfinished for one reason or another. That serves as the preface for this resolution and all resolutions I ever make.

This specific resolution also refers to the fact that this blog is dusty. No. Worse than just dusty – it is so sparsely used that it’s at the risk of foreclosure in a bottomed-out economy of unread blogs. It’s time for a cleaning, a polishing, and to keep with the house analogy – time for a blog flip…. oh yeah, I’m gonna sell it… to you!

My blog-refurb starts with a new goal for my writing. Instead of giving you all the details of my ever-exciting-post-student phase of life, I want to do some reviews and commentary on the media that is impacting my life and hopefully the lives of those who will be reading. The three big media types that impact my life and give me cause to interact with my culture are films, music, and TV programs. For each of these three categories, I partake using several venues including movie theaters, the local Library, Concert Venues, magazines, my fave television stations, iTunes, and of course the all-knowing, all-inclusive World Wide Web.

Instead of overwhelming myself with a daily post of quick info, I’m going to aim for a bit more in-depth research and then offer a weekly post. If I find myself with more time/words, I may up it twice a week…

For now, I’m going to follow the year-end trends and give you my top 10 in each category that I mentioned. If I had a billion years, I’d link each one to myspace or something… just use the ‘ole highlight, right-click “search for in google“…

Top 10 Songs I listened to in 2008
10. “Why Did You Let Me Stay Here?”- She & Him
9. “Why Can’t It Be Christmastime All Year” – Rosie Thomas
8. “Hologram” – Katie Herzig
7. “Lose You” – Sandra McCracken
6. “Good Night Girl” – Nadas
5. “Honey Will You Sing Me a Song” – Matt Hires
4. “Bleeding Love” – Leona Lewis
3. “When Water Comes to Life” – Cloud Cult
2. “Mercy”- Duffy
1. “Buildings & Mountains” – The Republic Tigers

Top 10 Artists I listened to in 2008 (with a little help from last.fm)
10. The Weepies
9. Anberlin
8. Andrew Bird
7. Sufjan Stevens
6. Jennifer Knapp
5. Hem
4. Over the Rhine
3. Sara Groves
2. Rosie Thomas
1. Sandra McCracken & Derek Webb (counting them as 1)

Top 10 Movies of 2008
10. High School Musical 3 (October)
9. Kung Fu Panda (June)
8. Be Kind, Rewind (February)
7. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (May)
6. Taxi to the Dark Side (January)
5. Synecdoche, NY (October)
4. Burn After Reading (September)
3. Man on Wire (July)
2. The Dark Knight (July)
1. Slumdog Millionaire (December)

Top Concerts/Live Performances of 2008
10. Shane & Shane with Bethany Dillon (St. Louis, MO)
9. Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken (St. Louis, MO)
8. Katie Myers (Lookout Mountain, GA)
7. Michael Rhodes (Lookout Mountain, GA)
6. Ingrid Michaelson (Alexandria, VA)
5. Over the Rhine & Garrison Star (Birmingham, AL)
4. Rosie Thomas (Vienna, VA)
3. So You Think You Can Dance (Norfolk, VA)
2. Iron & Wine (St. Louis, MO)
1. Art. Music. Justice. With Sara Groves, Brandon Heath, Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken, & Charlie Peacock (Messiah College, PA)

Top 10 TV Programs of 2008
10. L.A. Ink (TLC)
9. Soup (E!)
8. John & Kate + 8 (TLC)
7. What Not To Wear (TLC)
6. American Idol (FOX)
5. 30 Rock (NBC)
4. True Hollywood Story (E!)
3. So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)
2. Pushing Daisies (ABC)
1. The Office (NBC)

Please feel free to comment on my top 10 lists! I am not holding myself to standards besides honesty about what I was able to “consume” this year. I admit I left out several movies that I should have seen/will see and several artists/songs that I should have listened to/will listen to in the coming year! Thanks for reading!

Peace_Sarah_