Rachael Getting Married

24 Apr

One of life’s little pleasures for me, is having a Netflix account. My wonderful wife manages this, and being that we have very similar cinematic tastes, this works out well. Sometimes however, as we parse through the series of red-envelopes, stashed away in our little “Netflix drawer,” attempting to answer the question, what will we consume, and be consumed by for the next 2 hours, we come upon a movie that I may not be thrilled about. Such was the case of “Rachael Getting Married.” A chick flick. Or at least so I thought, based mostly by the title, and lead actress, Anne Hathaway, the one in all those princess movies.

But alas, I was quite wrong. I was unprepared for this story, told in a slightly off kilter, yet very natural and refreshing way. As the story begins, we find the characters converging upon a bustling home, filled with friends and relatives preparing for the soon coming wedding. This wedding, is beautiful. Not the kind of beautiful that can be bought, with the perfectly coordinated decorations, and the best caterer in town, though. It is beautiful, because it is so eclectic. There are so many cultures and traditions represented, it becomes a beautiful tapestry of human life and experience. You feel that you want to be there, and very quickly, hanging out with these people. You get sucked right in. The groom’s mother make’s the statement at the rehearsal dinner, that “This is what heaven will be like, and we are glad to practice it now.” It’s a beautiful sentiment, and it resonates with overall mood of the film.

At the center of this story is Rachael, the bride’s family. Kym (Hathaway) is the younger sister, freshly back from rehab. She’s used to getting all the attention, which doesn’t play well when you’re not the bride. What is so engrossing, is to see this family celebrate, grieve, fight, and somewhat resolve, all throughout the festivities. These emotionally packed scenes, tracing through very difficult family history, do not derail the big event at all. They seem to be a necessary part of the celebration. There are many unpleasant issues, and difficulties for this family, but as they deal with them, in very natural ways, the catharsis makes the celebration that much more full and vibrant.

This speaks to an idea that seems to be rattling around in my brain lately. It is that perhaps, in some way, pain is a natural component of beauty? I have disliked, for a long time, the notion that you need “bad times” to appreciate the good. But as re-evaluate that a bit more, I wonder if there is not something going on a bit more, under the surface of that idea. I wonder, if Man had not strayed from God’s original plan, and left that infernal fruit on the tree, what would our lives really be like. Would childbirth not produce pain? Would we literally have to do almost nothing to harvest our food and produce our shelter? I believe that we now have knowledge (of good and evil) without a complete wisdom as God does. We see and experience pain, but without omnipotence, we can’t see the whole picture, and we miss the point a lot of the time. We do not see the necessity of the pain and labor, as a part of a larger picture of beauty. We sometimes catch a glimpse of this, in the satisfaction after a hard days labor, a physical challenge completed, a relationship mended, etc. It is difficult however, to often see that perhaps pain is an integral component to beauty. I think of some of the flavors that captivate my palette. Dark chocolate, dry red wine, single malt scotch, sushi, etc. These things require a little more of you to enjoy them, then say, Mountain Dew and a Snickers Bar (Which I also enjoy, thank you very much!). The prior flavors tell you a story, where they have been, what they are made of. The later produces a sugary sweet rush of instant gratification, with no real lasting reward. Often a dash of bitterness, intensifies the sweetness, making it more robust and satisfying. I think this is true of many things in life.

So, this is all to say that I really enjoyed this movie. It has stayed with me. It feels like I actually attended this event and have fond memories of it. Technically, and creatively, it was also very engaging. Much of it was shot handheld, giving it a very intimate, and almost documentary feel. The entire score is comprised of music being played by musicians whose characters are there at the house over the weekend rehearsing and playing for the wedding. It was all recorded live, simultaneously with the actors and their dialog. This movie is what I would call a “Slice of Life” movie. You drop in on the characters for a few days of their lives. We witness a momentous event, but nothing outside the scope of ordinary life. And then it is over. But through these ordinary events, we are able to examine some of the deep truths of life.