psa: I teared up at this scene! I was actually going to write this later in the series but the use of silence here is a really good follow-up to that of the star wars one in the previous post!
The song is our emotional build-up - the singer croons into the mike, we feel the romance like it’s actually in the air around us. It’s actually incredibly atmospheric, and a really really good job done in editing, in the timing of the cuts from the singer to the audience to Rachel and Nick and the groom. Before, in Star Wars TLJ, the silence was like the space between heartbeats, the destruction ripping through those ships in empty space, slowed down till it’s a thing of beauty. Here, silence is the space between breaths, the utterly romanticised ideal when a groom first lays his eyes on his bride walking down the aisle and can’t breathe for her beauty - this is what a perfect wedding should be like. Time stops; we take in the atmosphere again in a wide shot; cut to the water, the pews forming leading lines that point to the church doors; one more wide shot, the audience stands, waits, holds their breaths just as we do; cut to the groom’s reaction, he takes a breath; and like an exhale the music floats back in, just as his wife-to-be steps onto the aisle; and goosebumps break out on your arms because it’s just beautifully done
And also! in terms of editing this was effective in showcasing all of its characters’ reactions parallel to one another, handling its large cast with a lot of grace. This movie isn’t only about Rachel and Nick, it’s also about Rachel and Nick’s mom, Astrid and her husband, about Araminta and Charlie, and the camera visits each and every one of the characters in a really natural way, and doesn’t make it feel like they’re just listing out each character’s reaction to the scene. This actually manages to convey a lot of significance even if the characters are only limited to meeting each others’ gazes or looking at each other. For example, we get a short cut of Nick breaking into a smile, cut to the flower girls and boy walking in, cut to Rachel looking at Nick smiling and then smiling herself, and somehow just from that, we know that they’re thinking of making a family, of having kids and taking care of them, and we know their love is real and deep. Even within this sequence we get cuts to Astrid and Eleanor (Nick’s mom) and we know that these people, though divided and disagreeable on some things, truly and genuinely treasure family.
Another sequence: after the water flows in the aisle, we cut to Nick, cut to Rachel, and her eyes flick upwards, following really naturally to cut to a wide shot of the church as the lights dim. Just that one flick of her gaze effectively directs our attention upwards, to see what she sees, and makes the cut to a wide shot really quite good. One more time: after Araminta reaches Charlie, we get a cut to Nick and Rachel, transferring the romantic atmosphere already created by the wedding to their interaction, and then a cut to Eleanor, who watches Rachel with an inscrutable look, so we know something is amiss. Then the bride and groom kiss, Rachel smiles, and cut to Astrid, hiding a sob with a smile. And even just with that, we understand that Astrid, despite her happiness for the couple, can’t help but be reminded of her own relationship problems, and we feel a surge of sympathy for her as she watches others enter into a happy marriage she no longer has.
Also, irrelevant to this scene but CRA actually uses a cover of Coldplay’s Yellow, but written in Mandarin? to end the movie. And like say what you want about the meaning or significance of it but like. i just wanted to make the point that it’s really an effective choice of music. On a marketing level CRA was supposed to hit both the english-speaking market and the chinese one, and using an english song with chinese lyrics really really appeals to both. Because if this Coldplay song isn’t familiar to Chinese audiences, the chinese lyrics carry the meaning for them, and English speakers would probably know the song, even the lyrics, and hear the meaning even without English lyrics. Yes, so I thought that was quite strategic and well-chosen. Also “Yellow” is a derogatory term for Asians too? So that makes the choice even more interesting !! p cool stuff
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