Tamal Kundu
In Amazon Studios’ ‘The People We Hate at the Wedding,’ the story follows Donna (Allison Janney), the matriarch of her family, and her three children — Eloise (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), Paul (Ben Platt), and Alice (Kristen Bell). They have grown estranged over the years, with Paul disliking his mother for the perceived ill-treatment of his late father and his memories, and Alice and Paul growing apart from Eloise for their drastically different upbringing and various other reasons. When Eloise invites the rest of the family to her wedding in the UK, all anger and resentment resurface.
‘The People We Hate at the Wedding’ has a pretty linear narrative, but it still has a narrator who guides the audience through the plot. If you are wondering about their identity, here is what you need to know.
The Voice Behind the Narrative: Adam Godley
The narrative of ‘The People We Hate at the Wedding’ is structured like a fairytale, and that’s where the narrator plays their role. They introduce the audience to the setting, the characters, and the plot at the start of the film. They inform us how Donna met Eloise’s father, Henrique, in the UK and how they separated after Henrique cheated on Donna with the babysitter. The narrator then speaks about Donna’s return to Indianapolis, meeting a man named Bill, getting married, and having Ben and Alice.
By all indications, Bill and Donna’s marriage appears to have been a good one until his death. However, it is later revealed that there were darker aspects of it that Donna never told her children about to ensure that they wouldn’t have to carry the burden.
Just as the narrator introduces us to the narrative at the film’s start, they guide us in our departure from it toward the end. They remind us that there is no happily ever after because we all are destined to become worm food before telling us that the characters go on to lead happy lives and the world keeps on spinning. It is as perfect of an ending to a modern fairytale as it can get.
The narrator is not one of the characters in the film. English actor Adam Godley is the voice of the narrator in ‘The People We Hate at the Wedding.’ Originally from Amersham, Buckinghamshire, Godley spent his childhood near Watford, Hertfordshire, and was a student at Rickmansworth School.
When he was only nine years old, Godley made his acting debut in a radio play version of Ernest Hemingway’s short story ‘My Old Man.’ Growing up, he did extensive theater work, and he is active on stage even today. He made his screen debut in the 1977 TV movie ‘The Ballad of Saloman Pavey’ and has since gone on to play important roles in various big and small screen projects, including ‘Love Actually’ (2003), ‘Nanny McPhee’ (2005), ‘A Young Doctor’s Notebook.’ He lends his voice to Phinneus Pogo in Netflix’s ‘The Umbrella Academy’ and stars as the Archbishop in Hulu’s ‘The Great.’
Read More: Is The People We Hate at the Wedding Based on a True Story?
