April Showers: Rachel Getting Married
Friday, April 10, 2015 at 11:00PM April Showers - some nights at 11. Here's new contributor Sebastian on a TFE favorite...
a shower scene from one of my favorite films
Jonatham Demme's Rachel Getting Married (2008) takes place over the weekend of Rachel's (Rosemarie DeWitt) wedding, and follows her sister, Kym (Anne Hathaway, earning her first Oscar nomination), on leave from rehab and struggling to navigate the highly stressful family reunion. Though the film is a celebration, it's about loss, too. As a teenager, Kym, intoxicated, caused an accident that led to the tragic death of her little brother, Ethan. His absence is felt throughout the film, through words and images, through an empty room or, most painfully, on his father's (Bill Irwin) face after happening upon a plate with Ethan's name on it.
Ethan is part of the sisters' closest moment together, too, which comes right on the heels of their biggest clash, when Kym returns to the house after wrecking her car in the woods the night before. Physically and emotionally bruised, she goes straight to Rachel, who immediately knows what to do...
Come here."
In a mostly wordless scene, Rachel helps Kym clean up and get ready for the impending ceremony. The shower, as they tend to be in movies, is cleansing in more ways than one. In her commentary track on the Rachel Getting Married blu-ray, Rosemarie DeWitt calls the act a "baby step towards forgiveness."
While washing Kym's hair, Rachel's hand comes across the tattoo on her shoulder, inscribed "Ethan." She carefully frames her brother's name between her fingers.
As we hear the band practice "Here Comes the Bride" downstairs, Rachel tends to Kym's injuries. For the first time in the film there is no tension between the two, no underlying conflict.
Kym is at her most vulnerable, and through those big, haunting eyes, looks to her big sister, not necessarily for forgiveness, but, in this moment at least, comfort.
The scene ends with Rachel leaning in, embracing Kym and whispering, barely audible:
I'm so happy you're home."
Reader Comments (14)
Amazing movie and everyone in the cast is just fantastic!
i m a huge fan of that movie as well. And your writing about it. Brought a tear to my eye. I forgive Anne her miserables. Rachel getting married was heaven. And Rosemary Dewitt should have gotten many many more accolades for a very delicate and exquisite performance
I LOVE both this movie and RABBIT HOLE!
both are great movies about loss and how people cope with it, which shockingly ONLY received Oscar noms for their leading actresses and also eerily mirror each other.
plus Debra Winger and Dianne Weist as the mothers are just sublime.
Damn, Rosemarie DeWitt was sooooo good in this!
I don't know if this is a conscious nod to National Siblings Day or not, but either way it's appreciated
How I love this movie! Hathaway and DeWitt are superb!
I wish there was a like button because I'd double like this article and all of the comments as well. So much beautiful reverence to family dynamics.
Thank you so much for your kind comments, everybody!
fadhil: I also love Rabbit Hole a lot. There are a handful of films dealing with grief that are very important to me and have helped me to process it in my own life, too. Maybe I'll write about them in more detail in the future.
This is a great movie and Hathaway is simply amazing here. Love your breakdown of the cleansing scene. Great work.
I just love Anne's confrontartion scene with Winger,Winger really sells the loss and blame in that scene,silly oscars.
I'd forgotten this scene even though I really loved this movie (my #1 of that year, I think). Thanks for helping me remember!
Such a great scene in the movie. Hathaway really should have won the Oscar for this one :\
Yes, Courtney. This is the role for which Anne Hathaway should have won.
Whatever happened to Debra Winger? I miss her.