Rachel Is…

Charlotte Glynn's observational documentary takes an unsentimental look at the changes occurring in the life of her mentally-disabled 21-year-old sister, particularly focusing on Rachel's fiercely adversarial relationship with their beleaguered mother, Jane. It's not easy for viewers to warm up to Rachel's tirade-prone personality; even the most routine parent-child activity here—whether it's packing a suitcase or ordering soup at a restaurant—ends in a tense standoff. Jane puts up a steely front toward her daughter's handicap, as she desperately tries to find a “life-sharing” teacher to look after Rachel, who is self-aware enough to yearn for an independent life, but unlikely to achieve self-sufficiency given her mental state. Charlotte's view of her sibling is even more unsympathetic than Jane's: she admits in a voiceover that she barely sees Rachel as human and just thinks she's “annoying,” but Charlotte remains mostly an inconspicuous presence, staying behind the camera. Ultimately, however, it's hard to say what the director wants to say to viewers; much like its unfinished-sentence title, Rachel Is… feels like an incomplete thought. Worth considering for academic psychology collections, this is optional elsewhere. Aud: C, P. (M. Sandlin)