âÄúRACHEL GETTING MARRIEDâÄù Starring: Anne Hathaway, Tunde Adebimpe Rated: R Playing at: Uptown Theater When Anne Hathaway is first seen onscreen in her new film âÄúRachel Getting Married,âÄù sheâÄôs madly sucking on a cigarette, the first of many she frenetically consumes during the course of the movie. As Kym, a recovering drug addict out of a prolonged rehab stint for her older sisterâÄôs wedding, the usually glamorous Hathaway is vulnerable and raw, with those formidable lips as swollen as her oft-crying eyes. Her hair is hacked-off, shorn and uneven, her eyes hide in puddles of black eyeliner, and a cigarette dangles from her mouth. Her Kym is selfish, flawed, blunt and unlikable, but this is precisely why the film has the ability to grasp at the heartstrings and pull on them hard. The plot of âÄúRachel Getting MarriedâÄù sounds as trite as all âÄúdysfunctional familyâÄù dramas: The black sheep comes back into the family fold, buried secrets come to light and sooner or later everyone makes (or attempts to make) peace with their demons. But the movie manages to avoid being nothing but a Kleenex-soaking cliché due to its collective of talented, subtle actors (including TV on the RadioâÄôs Tunde Adebimpe as RachelâÄôs fiancée Sidney,) and gorgeous direction. âÄúRachel Getting MarriedâÄù is an emotional rollercoaster, hitting its tear-stained peak about an hour into the film. There are scenes that strike a serious nerve, including one between Kym and her distant mother (Debra Winger) that had the audience gasping. Because of its weighty content and the pain these characters are enduring, âÄúRachel Getting MarriedâÄù is a tense film. ItâÄôs heavy even in its few moments of lightheartedness. Director Jonathan Demme (âÄúPhiladelphia,âÄù âÄúSilence of the LambsâÄù) shoots the film almost documentary-style, so up close and personal with his actors that even as a member of the audience, the viewer feels intimately involved with the action. The rehearsal dinner party comes alive through DemmeâÄôs eyes, the clinking of silverware and the low murmurs of guests appear as vivid as if the audience was seated to HathawayâÄôs left. He focuses in sharply, lavishing attention on the most overlooked of details, like the slow, heavy blink of HathawayâÄôs eyelashes, and these tiniest glimpses are beautiful and affecting. More stunning is the music and the set design of the film. The wedding, a mishmash of cultures soundtracked by Adebimpe and an orchestra of sitars, guitars, eerie violins and smoky saxophones, plays out in a rainbow of Indian-inspired color and sound. Its lack of a conventional soundtrack is a major strength. There are no sentimental pop songs here, and with a film as weighty as this, that was a wise decision. ThatâÄôs not to say, though, that âÄúRachel Getting MarriedâÄù is a flawless film; there are scenes that lag and meander, sort of like an actual home wedding video manned by a relative who doesnâÄôt quite know when to stop. However, because âÄúRachel Getting MarriedâÄù is so pleasing to the eyes, a few drawn-out scenes are easy to look past. At its heart, âÄúRachel Getting MarriedâÄù is a movie about healing, and the quiet tone and pace of DemmeâÄôs film much more eloquently deal with that subject than any weepy sap-fest.