Weddings are supposed to be happy occasions full of celebration, love, family and friends, but in “Cheerful Weather for the Wedding,” the ceremony is not as bright as one would expect. Dolly Thatcham (Felicity Jones), a young woman with conflicted feelings toward her former lover Joseph (Luke Treadaway) and her fiancé Owen (James Norton), holes herself up in her room the morning before the ceremony.
First-time feature director Donald Rice handles the camera with ease. The film is full of intriguing long shots of landscape and of meaningful close-ups that place the viewer in the characters’ shoes. The writing, however, is not as solid. Although the main story is told concisely, Joseph and Dolly’s back story is muddled and confusing. Not until the end of the film is their relationship fully explained. While several flashbacks show them in the romantic and blissful moments of their last summer together, the viewer is never able to understand what these scenes mean or how they should be understood.
Jones and Treadaway do not impress in their leading roles as bride and former lover. Although Jones’ character is supposed to be struggling with an attachment to a past love, such an expression is never shown on her face. There is hardly any emotional deepening in the characters, making Dolly and Joseph come off as distant and unreadable.
The most lovable and amusing characters in the cast are by far David and Nancy Dakin (Mackenzie Crook and Fenella Woolgar). Not only do they get the wittiest lines, but they also deliver them with such style that one cannot help but sympathize with them. Their performances rival those of the lead actors, making them the true stars of the show.
The cloudiness of England is one of the few lovely aspects of “Wedding.” The placement of the quaint little house in the English countryside makes the film more inviting, encouraging the viewers to pay attention to the glorious and rare English sun — when it appears — as well as the cozy living spaces of the house.
Ultimately, the film arrives at a rather shocking conclusion, leaving the viewer perplexed and angry. “Cheerful Weather for the Wedding” does not manage to deliver the story of a young woman struggling to make the right decision in love, but it does provide a strong setting and a couple of clever supporting characters — which at least makes it more entertaining than most real weddings.
A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, Dec. 4 print edition. Laura Wolford is a staff writer. Email her at [email protected].
