I can finally say that I have seen a film this awards season that really got everything right. Jonathan Demme’s Rachel Getting Married is a verité masterpiece about a family coping with loss and addiction. This is how handheld should be done. There is plenty of drama for the over the shoulder camera to witness as opposed to the Mungiu/Van Sant set the camera in the corner and let time pass technique. Here we feel like a true observer in the room – just another guest at the wedding – yet we stay engaged and entertained (it’s like The Celebration but fun) . Brilliant touches like fully diagetic music add to the effect, heightening the drama of the few scenes where we find a character actually alone.

The film is already leading in noms after today’s IndySpirit announcements and Anne Hathaway will most certainly see more noms for her performance. The other women also received supporting noms but I was just as impressed, if not more, by the subtle but strong supporting roles of Mather Zickel and Tunde Adebimpe (the two pic’d above). I know very little about writer Jenny Lumet except this is her first produced script and it is fantastic. I am interested to hear more and about how much her script evolved through working with such an accomplished director as Demme. Everything really came together for him here, and with strong awards contenders looking thinner and thinner as we enter the home stretch, this film looks like it might be pretty hard to beat – at least in the “oughtta win” column.