GREAT READS

Rachel Getting Married

Sony Pictures Classics presents ; a Clinica Estetico production ; in association with Marc Platt Productions ; produced by Neda Armian, Jonathan Demme, Marc Platt ; written by Jenny Lumet ; directed by Jonathan Demme ; a Jonathan Demme picture.

This movie is pure drama of the most real sort. The film presents a dysfunctional, but loveable family trying to hold it together long enough to celebrate a wedding. The major cause of stress is daughter Kym (played by actress Anne Hathaway) who's been released from a mental institution for the weekend. She comes home to see her sister, Rachel, get married. Kym is excited to be with her family again, but her erratic behavior has people laughing one minute and crying the next. She's a strangely likeable ex-addict who is sincerely trying to recover, but her worst addiction is to her pain from the past. The movie quickly becomes a mesmerizing waltz - the characters try to flow with one another and to somehow make amends. Good intentions, laughs and tender moments abound, but they also keep stepping on each other's toes. The story brilliantly presents a family in crisis with some hopeful resolution. Viewers will cringe at times, but ultimately appreciate the questions the movie works to address.

Recommended by Erica Jesonis