Jonathan Demme directs Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt and Bill Irwin in this drama where a young woman who has been in and out of rehab for the past ten years returns home for the weekend for her sister’s wedding.

I didn’t love this. The rich hipster garden party wedding would be insufferable to attend. Would drive me to self destructive levels of drink. Even if the music is good. Too much love, not enough resigned boredom. Maybe that’s a point. The dynamic here is claustrophobic and cyclical. A pressure cooker with only one outcome for the most vulnerable guest. Hathaway makes these occasional stabs at becoming the next Close or Streep but she is more a Pfeiffer. A star who is on her very best form in mainstream product. Adding class, glamour and understated acting into studio releases. The big showy thespian swings are never as satisfying as a Devil Wears Prada, a Les Mis or an Interstellar. The movie certainly didn’t leave me cold. I liked what Bill Irwin (cyclops reunion!) and Debra Winger were doing as the imperfect parents. Just found the whole vibe draining. I’d steal a car and hit that off-licence too. In Britain this is perfectly normalised behaviour during a long weekend with your immediate family. The sheer diversity of guests feels very much in conversation with Demme’s career. Every previous movie is seemingly represented by a background player.

5

Perfect Double Bill: A Wedding (1978)