Rachel Getting Married
Upon arriving at the Buchanan household, Kym and Rachels father, Paul is divorced from their mother Abby and is currently married to Carol. Kyms arrival indicated that all is still not well with the family as the tensions resurfaced although everyone tried to remain civil in the midst of the wedding preparations which will take place in the Buchanans yard. Kym still senses mistrust and bitterness among her family as evidenced by her fathers seeming concern for her and the fact Rachel did not choose her to be the maid of honor and rather chose her friend. It was exacerbated when Kym suddenly spoke out, invoking the twelve-step program drilled into her at her rehabilitation which calls for her to apologize for her sins which she openly did during the rehearsals for Rachel and her fianc Sidneys wedding dinner.
It is later revealed that the Buchanans had an issue that was the root of the familys dysfunctionality. This occurred at the death of the Buchanans youngest child Ethan in a drowning accident and it happened at the time of Kyms addiction. His death was a very bitter thing to accept in the family and it showed in one scene where Paul and Sidney were having a contest in organizing dishes when he suddenly stopped when he saw Ethans plate and left the room choking up. Another scene increased the tensions between the sisters when Kym told a story of Rachel being anorexic which was later found not to be true. Kym went to her mother Abbys house but could not find solace there as she and her mother fought prompting her to leave anew and figured in an accident where she was unharmed though slightly bruised after crashing her car against a huge rock. She was taken back home after passing a sobriety test and was warmly received by Paul and later Rachel who forgot about their fight and went out of her way to prepare Kym for her role as maid of honor by cleaning her up. The wedding came off without a hitch but despite the joyous atmosphere of the occasion, Kym felt uneasy despite reconciling with Rachel. The film ends with the scene of Kym returning to rehab to continue the program and Rachel sent her off by embracing her.
The film did not exactly end happily ever after. This was because there was only one unresolved issue that was left that way and that was Kyms relationship with Abby. It was clear that there are still issues remaining to be resolved between them. It can be inferred here that this stemmed from Ethans death and Abby could not forgive Kym for it which was made worse on account of her addiction. The same can be said of Abbys relationship with Paul which was apparent as they are divorced. Kym initially felt ostracized in her family when she saw Rachel getting all the attention which was made worse when it was later discovered she is pregnant thereby being showered with more love and with Kym blurting out how unfair it is (Demme, 2008). It appears as though the family still carried that grudge or bitterness towards her over Ethans death and this was also shown when she interprets Pauls concern for her as mistrust in the sense that she is not yet capable of making decisions on her own. On the other hand, it is Rachel who resents Pauls affection for Kym and this caused an unseen rift between the two sisters besides Ethans death. Rachel is somehow selfish, a trait she inherited from Abby who is more concerned for herself than her children which explains the divorce.
In family therapy, it is apparent that Paul and Abby are differentiated and not in a good way. They became highly fused and the result is a family with the same characteristics. Such (nuclear) family is unstable and seeks ways to reduce tension and maintain some semblance of stability. One now wonders why Kym became addicted. It is the result this apparent dysfunctionality. When Ethan died, it appeared that she became the scapegoat and only Abby is the one who shows it even though Paul and Rachel tried to put it behind them yet the bitterness was still there (Goldenberg and Goldenberg, 2008).
If one were to assess this case categorically, the Buchanans faired poorly in the aspect of resolving their problems and interaction. The mere fact Paul and Abby are divorced underscores that failure to resolve their marital problems though Paul is happily married to Carol. It is later revealed that Abby is very selfish and cares for her own needs and interests instead of their children making them feel they grew up without a mother. Each one has their own way of dealing with stress though for some like Kym, it leaves a lot to be desired. Paul seems to be carrying on well moving on as well as Rachel and her impending wedding would somehow put the tragedy behind. In terms of communication, apparently, Kym is the proverbial black sheep and has been out of the loop since going into rehab.
There appears to be no structure here. Paul and Abbys divorce did not somehow enable Kym to change for the better despite Paul remarrying. The space among the members of the family are too wide. Rachel being more mature seems to get more responsibilities as well as power and control and this made Kym somewhat resentful though Rachel feels the same way towards Kym when Paul dotes on her too much despite what she has been through in the past.
With regards to being feeling part of the family, Kym and Abby are the ones feeling left out though the circumstances differ between the two. Kym on the account of her addiction which has radically affected her personality making her more acerbic and rebellious and Carols apparent selfishness. These made them feel detached or separated from the family and set them on different paths. Later in the film, one can see some semblance of reconciliation setting in as shown when Rachel took in Kym and cleaned her up in preparation for her role as maid of honor. It appears to be that Rachel has finally made peace with Kym which made her very receptive later on when Kym returned home. This was shown again when the two sisters hugged as Kym was returning to the rehab center. Closure has somehow been reached among the Buchanans although it has fallen short of bringing Abby closer with Kym.
By way of conclusion, families are complex emotional systems and a balance has to be struck to maintain harmony. How families conduct it would classify them as either enabled or disabled systems. The inability of the Buchanans, particularly Paul and Abby to provide enough love and care, not to mention Abbys selfishness, led to the rather unstable integrity of the family (Goldenberg and Goldenberg, 2008).
By way of treatment, counseling is in order to address this problem. The goal is to restore the harmony and lines communication among members of the family. This may involve a combination of individual and group sessions such as interviews or counseling. It may even be possible to do role plays. It would also be a good idea to involve people outside the family who are close. In applying it to the movie, it may appear obvious that Kym may be in need for this sort of treatment but it is quite apparent that the rest of the family need it. This is in order to expel the bitterness they may have been carrying in their hearts and the pent-up anger and resentment which was very apparent after all those years since Ethans death. This is to enable a coordination of the treatment of the family on the road to reconciliation.
Categories:
0 comments:
Post a Comment