2008 / Jonathan Demme > As I watched the Oscars, my quiet, secret hope for a coup lay in Anne Hathaway. Our princess with a diary who created havoc while breaking mountains had somehow ended up at her sister’s wedding, half-broken, trying to be resilient and drawing attention to herself in an effort to not do so. Hathaway plays the role with such tact. Her character isn’t particularly likable, yet by the end, it’s nearly impossible not to feel some level of empathy, because we’ve all been in situations where we’ve been misunderstood, been misguided or simply didn’t know better. Along with Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt (the Rachel in question) and Bill Irwin (their father) hold up their own ends with simply excellent performances that puts Rachel Getting Married near the top of best ensembles of the year.

For Demme, this is a nice, flowing, rhythmic piece, and arguably his finest since 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs. (Yes, it’s been that long.) The direction seems so hands off, with organic angles, lively dialogue and an actual band being cast to provide the music for the film, some sort of homage to Dogme 95. To top it off, TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe plays the groom and even has a bit of a vocal solo that fits in seamlessly.

This is the kind of family drama that is completely hit or miss for most viewers. Some will find it cynical, contrived and downright boring, but many, like myself, found it true-to-life uplifting. (Sure, the actual wedding is a bit new age, but the family troubles are as bread and butter as they come.) But let me be fair: This is not the kind of uplifting that makes you think you can go and conquer the world. It’s more about hope in people, and that family can work even with a few very large kinks.