Rachel Getting Married is a compelling, character driven film, which could have been a contender for film of the year, had it not been for its annoying selection of wedding guests.

It marks three distinctive moments in cinema 2008; the debut of screenwriter Jenny Lumet, who has inherited her father, Sidney Lumet’s, talent for telling compelling stories; the return of director Jonathan Demme to feature films, after several years as a documentarian; and the emergence of Anne Hathaway as a dramatic lead actress.

Hathaway stars as Kym, an acid tongued addict, fresh out of rehab two days before the wedding of her psychiatrist sister Rachel (Rosemary DeWitt), to musician Sidney (Tunde Adebmip), at their sweet natured, food obsessed father’s (Bill Irwin) Connecticut home.

The wedding is a self planned and co-ordinated event, with various friends and family all lending a hand. Always the documentarian, Demme places a major focus on naturality, with his hand held camera playing the part of the all seeing invisible eye, that wonders through the rooms, corridors, and AA meetings which these characters dwell.

In a nice touch, the wedding band –always constant; always rehearsing – doubles as the films score, with compositions consisting of sitars, violins, and guitars. Something of a Partridge family, the musically attuned family of the happy couple to be chip in with rock, jazz, and gospel tunes.

The main crust of Rachel Getting Married is the competition between sisters Kym and Rachel. Played exceptionally by Rosemary DeWiit, Rachel’s resentment, and even hatred towards her sister is understandable, since Kym is the harvester of a family tragedy, which planted the seed for their parents’ divorce, with Debra Winger returning to the screen after 3 years with a steadily paced performance as the detached mother.

The burden of guilt weighing down on Kym’s soul, along with her penchant for high drama, makes her an equally sympathetic and frustrating character. Hathaway plays the role with a bravura not seen before. It is a culmination of steady adult roles in films such as Brokeback Mountain and The Devil Wear’s Prada, which has led her to drop the shackles of Disney star, and become an Oscar nominated actress.

However, her former pedigree of teenage actress does help in certain scenes, when her characters immaturity rears its ugly head, and tries to steal the spotlight from Rachel’s special occasion. Cue a humiliating, self absorbed speech at a pre-wedding dinner.

But then again, Kym is not the only one who annoys: the guests themselves are rather irritating, with several background characters prompting this viewers gag reflexes with spread the love style speeches that are cringingly vomit inducing.

Then comes the wedding itself: a nauseating, liberal chic, Indian themed secular ceremony, glazed with Christian and Jewish overtones. The groom sings his wedding vows, with a rendition of a Neil Young song. Someone, somewhere, with an acoustic guitar, must have been restrained from breaking out Kumbaya.   

Yet, while the hipster madness does irritate, it does fall in line with the tone of the film and the tastes of these characters, which are exceptionally portrayed by their actors, due to Demme’s free flowing direction, where he doesn’t so much direct his actors, as document their actions. Here is to more Demme features in the future.