Last week I decided to treat myself to a double feature: Mike Leigh's "Happy-Go-Lucky" and Jonathan Demme's "Rachel Getting Married" and after viewing them both I felt so happy to feel alive again at the movies. Recently I've been watching somewhat entertaining films such as "Zack and Miri Make a Porn", but I don't remember the last film I went to that really moved and had a lasting effect on me, how refreshing it is to have that happen.
A few months ago I talked about the Emotional Connection towards movies and I mentioned recent films such as "Once" and "A Prairie Home Companion" which have had that effect on me, where going to the movies wasn't just for entertainment purposes but touches you in a really profound and deeply moving way, to me these are the best movies and when I experience that feeling at the movies it sort of revitalizes me.
"Rachel Getting Married" is a fictional though documentary-felt film of Kym (Anne Hathaway never better) who is taken out of rehab in order to attend her sister Rachel's (Rosemarie Dewitt) wedding. When Kym gets there, her trainwreck ways pretty much take the attention away from Rachel's wedding and puts them squarely on her. The film is full of intense family moments involving unresolved issues that are yet to be worked out. In the end you get the feeling all of the issues are not worked out but there has been a lot of healing throughout. There were many times I thought "Rachel Getting Married" could've gone the depressing route, but it instead takes the highroad and becomes a film full of grace. Jonathan Demme has always been somewhat of an underrated director who's career has been eclipsed by the success of his "Silence of the Lambs". Thankfully this film seems to remind people that this guy isn't just a one-trick pony. Anne Hathaway has always been an actress who I've enjoyed watching even in the most terrible films, and in this film she pulls off a performance that many including myself knew she had in her to pull off. It's one of the great performances of the year and is sure to garner her a Best Actress spot. But this is not just a one woman show, Rosemarie Dewitt who plays the title character is every bit Hathaway's equal, and I began to sympathize with her situation more than with Kym's. Another person who should be getting awards attention is Bill Irwin as the father who is just trying to please everybody and trying to make peace with the family. Irwin is the kind of actor who you may recognize and is always good in everything he does, but this time Demme gives him a much bigger role where he's able just to show how good he could be. I hope the Academy doesn't forget him. All in all "Rachel Getting Married" was just a good movie to feel something. All the way through I felt like I was going through what this family was and even though it wasn't always pleasant I became more emotionally involved. At times Demme shoots the film like an amateur cameraman you would see at a real wedding and it just brings us more closer to what this family was about.
"Happy-Go-Lucky" was probably the more pleasing film to see simply because it doesn't deal with the kind of hard issues like "Rachel Getting Married" and tries to put a smile on your face. It deals with Poppy (Sally Hawkins) who is brave enough to go through life with a smile on her face, and tries to effect the people she runs into with the same philosophy. She doesn't always succeed but her biggest challenge comes from a driving instructor named Scott (Eddie Marsan) who is sort of Poppy's polar opposite and resists everytime to crack. For some reason people were under the impression that Poppy was going to come off as annoying, and I never felt that. Poppy is the kind of character that fits in nicely in the world of movies, she seems too good to be true, and Mike Leigh adds such a lighthearted sense of whimsy to the whole film. Perhaps the most poignant scene in the film and one that can only be done in the movies is when Poppy approaches a homeless person who seems to be schizophrenic. This shows off Poppy's bravery by approaching this men, even she herself asks why she was doing this, but it's that act of kindness and bravery that makes us look at our own lives and consider how far we will go to make someone happy. Perhaps I was more personally invested in this movie as I've known people like Poppy and have also known people like Scott, and the final scene between the two of them spoke volumes and you know it couldn't have ended any other way. Sally Hawkins is a wonder to behold in this film, I loved her and admired her and if she is not at least nominated for an Oscar, that would make the whole ceremony seem more hollow than usual. I would also give some love for Eddie Marsan as Scott who works so well off of Hawkins and the two seem to feed off eachother masterfully.
The reason I wanted to focus on "Rachel Getting Married" and "Happy-Go-Lucky" isn't because I think they are two of the best films of the year (although they are) it's because they represent what's most important to me when I go to the movies and that is I get to feel something, it's not just for a few laughs or an excuse to go out on a Saturday night, but they actually reach for something more meaningful. I learned something about myself after watching these two films, and even if it was a simple thing like loving your family or having a positive attitude, it was very life affirming, and I love it when movies do that.
Rachel Getting Married: 4 stars out of 4
Happy-Go-Lucky: 4 stars out of 4
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