Thoughts on Rachel Getting Married

[Jose Figueroa Baez]

I was just watching Rachel Getting Married and I thought it was a really great piece. Te audacity of the filmmakers involved really surprised me. The film is shot on a Sony HDW-F900R in a sort of documentary style. You dont feel like you're watching a movie. They use things like a wedding rehearsal dinner, where there are usually people with camcorders, to blatantly show the cameras that are shooting the scene. I thought it was a really interesting way to approach a scene. Also the way the shots flow, its a combination of reality tv with documentary filmmaking that works amazingly with the story. You are there, these are your neighbors or your distant family perhaps. Instead of being as lazy as something like Cloverfield, this one you can actually watch without barfing, yet attains the same feel of rough, amateurish filmmaking. I just thougt that this is an example of a very well planned small movie that doesnt necesarily have the big budget production value that many cinematographers enjoy. It proves it is alright to bend the rules every once in a while, of course when the script calls for it.

[Guest Stephen Murphy]

I thought this was one of the most pretentious films ive ever seen. And the photography was so intrusive. Sorry:-) I would have thought the majority was shot on something like a Sony Z7 or similar - certainly didnt look like F900 or HDcam to me.

[Jose Figueroa Baez]

I thought this was one of the most pretentious films ive ever seen. And the photography was so intrusive. Sorry:-) I would have thought the majority was shot on something like a Sony Z7 or similar - certainly didnt look like F900 or HDcam to me.

 

I actually thought the film was shot on HDV witht he canon xah1's you can see spotted through the film, I had to go find out on IMDb-Pro that it was shot on an F900. The thing is, I think that was the point, to be intrusive, to put you in the moment, I thought it was daring. Although if you notice, most of the close ups were shot from affar zooming in. This of course gives you better DOP but, its not like the camera was right in the actor's faces, even though the shots were.

[Peter Moretti]

I just finished watching this. I found it to be a beautiful film that captures the imperfections of its characters through shots that feel unplanned and documentary in their style.

 

The acting is simply brilliant, and makes me remember how good Deborah Winger was/is.

 

My only complaint is with the sound. At times it was just hard to decipher what was being said and it sounded like they used outdoor/soundstage mics in indoor locations, which will cause a lot of room reverb.

 

But this film is exellent, IMHO.

[Joe Giambrone]

Thought is looked like shite. The acting was shite. And I stopped watching after 5 minutes.

 

Perhaps it improved later.

[Paul Bruening]

I genuinely feel the format, direction and performances were an appropriate expression of the ideas presented. I wouldn't have made those choices myself if given the project. But, that won't keep me from admitting that I found it a legitimate presentation and very well considered.