A cross between My Big Fat Greek Wedding, A Wedding and Monsoon Wedding, this is an emotionally charged US indie dealing with love, hate and grief with a huge hip and happening circus of a wedding as it’s backdrop.
Rachel is from an intellectual and dysfunctional American family who have for many years been living under the crushing shadow of grief.
Central to the film is the poignant but tense relationship between Rachel and her younger sister Kim (Anne Hathaway – tipped for an Oscar), fresh out of rehab. Handheld camera work adds to the intimacy.
Despite having all the potential ingredients of a blockbuster chick flick this film is so much more. Demme captures raw emotion from his excellent cast with scenes that are intensely moving but never saccharine.
With sold out performances at the London Film Festival, this is tipped to be a crowd pleaser and one of the big independent titles of the winter.