"A Wedding" begins with a rather dull wedding ceremony, director Robert Altman introducing us to his bride, groom and their respective family members. As a priest proceeds to wed this couple, a documentary crew frantically begins to film the event. This documentary crew, which will be pop up countless times throughout the picture, encapsulates Altman's own approach to film-making. Though bound to a single space or event, his camera restlessly jumps from character to character, eavesdropping on his large cast as he attempts to tease out individual character arcs.
After the wedding ceremony, Altman's cast is chauffeured over to an elaborate after-party held at a beautiful mansion. It is here where the fun begins, "A Wedding" suddenly revealing itself to be the precursor to Altman's own "Gosford Park". We watch as maids, assistants and security personnel bumble about this large house, performing chores and tending to business as they attempt to keep the party underway. We watch the various families mingle, chat, dance, search for bathrooms, bedrooms, wine and dine and pose for photos. Everyone is up to something, and Altman has fun chartering their petty moments, movements and conversations.
An hour into the picture, though, and we start to realise just how mean spirited the film actually is. What began as a gentle comedy becomes a rather cynical attack on manners, marriage, family customs and social traditions. Altman's attacks are perfectly valid, of course, but the film's caustic shift in tone catches us completely off guard.
And so when Altman reveals that the groom got the bride's mentally ill sister pregnant, things take a progressively darker turn. Suddenly we realise that seemingly happily married couples are really busy having affairs or plotting sexual rendezvous. We realise that the father of the groom, far from the suave gentleman he appears to be, is really a wealthy criminal in hiding. Seemingly normal characters then begin to reveal their neuroses, whilst others have homosexual encounters in showers, smoke marijuana or discuss abortions. To top it all off, there's a dead woman in a room upstairs and the film ends with the only truly open and honest young couple in the picture, dying in a road accident.
By the time the credits roll, Altman has succeeded in sucking all the joy out of what began as a happy ceremony. His bride and groom leave the party with a sense of disillusionment, both families drawn further apart by their very proximity.
7.9/10 – Though not as ambitious as "Gosford Park", this little farce is still a lot of fun. Its only flaws are a slow initial 15 minutes, a rather one dimensional mode of cynicism, and Altman's style itself, which can be rather off-putting if you're not familiar with it. Worth one viewing.
After the wedding ceremony, Altman's cast is chauffeured over to an elaborate after-party held at a beautiful mansion. It is here where the fun begins, "A Wedding" suddenly revealing itself to be the precursor to Altman's own "Gosford Park". We watch as maids, assistants and security personnel bumble about this large house, performing chores and tending to business as they attempt to keep the party underway. We watch the various families mingle, chat, dance, search for bathrooms, bedrooms, wine and dine and pose for photos. Everyone is up to something, and Altman has fun chartering their petty moments, movements and conversations.
An hour into the picture, though, and we start to realise just how mean spirited the film actually is. What began as a gentle comedy becomes a rather cynical attack on manners, marriage, family customs and social traditions. Altman's attacks are perfectly valid, of course, but the film's caustic shift in tone catches us completely off guard.
And so when Altman reveals that the groom got the bride's mentally ill sister pregnant, things take a progressively darker turn. Suddenly we realise that seemingly happily married couples are really busy having affairs or plotting sexual rendezvous. We realise that the father of the groom, far from the suave gentleman he appears to be, is really a wealthy criminal in hiding. Seemingly normal characters then begin to reveal their neuroses, whilst others have homosexual encounters in showers, smoke marijuana or discuss abortions. To top it all off, there's a dead woman in a room upstairs and the film ends with the only truly open and honest young couple in the picture, dying in a road accident.
By the time the credits roll, Altman has succeeded in sucking all the joy out of what began as a happy ceremony. His bride and groom leave the party with a sense of disillusionment, both families drawn further apart by their very proximity.
7.9/10 – Though not as ambitious as "Gosford Park", this little farce is still a lot of fun. Its only flaws are a slow initial 15 minutes, a rather one dimensional mode of cynicism, and Altman's style itself, which can be rather off-putting if you're not familiar with it. Worth one viewing.