The film’s constant mood of melancholy and its unhurried narrative are masterfully controlled. But … in trying to capture the novel’s deeper intimate resonances, the film has – ironically - distanced us from the characters.
Rain (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 57
Fresh: 48
Rotten:9
Average Rating: 7/10
Theatrical Release: Apr 26, 2002 Limited
Box Office: $283,615
Synopsis: The debut film by director Christine Jeffs, RAIN, records with charm the confusion of coming of age amidst domestic disintegration. In Far North New Zealand in 1972, Janey (Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki) has traveled to the beach for a long... The debut film by director Christine Jeffs, RAIN, records with charm the confusion of coming of age amidst domestic disintegration. In Far North New Zealand in 1972, Janey (Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki) has traveled to the beach for a long lazy summer with her family. As the days get longer, Janey teaches her little brother, Jim (Aaron Murphy), to swim while their Scotch-sedated parents ignore each other, wallowing in their messy marriage. From hungover days to beach party nights, they fake their way through parenting. It is late into one such night, while party music plays loudly, that Janey's mother, Kate (Sarah Peirse), lulls photographer Cady (Marton Csokas) into a swirling secret embrace. Though Janey detests the drunken dramatics, her mother's boozing and flirting symbolize the freedoms of adulthood, so Janey steals sips and smokes, and kisses the neighbor kid. But he's just a boy, and Janey's becoming a woman, so she sets her sights instead on her mother's pick, Cady. As the title suggests, the oceanic climate of New Zealand leads to dramatic changes of weather, and also reflect RAIN's mid-film change of heart. RAIN first sparkles like the bright blue sea and warm summer nights in the glow of fairy lights, then crumbles under bruised bourbon-colored skies. With a superb musical score, the Split Enz' Neil Finn band provides retro-styled melancholia indebted to the Brothers Gibb. [More]
Starring: Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki, Aaron Murphy, Sarah Peirse, Marton Csokas
Starring: Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki, Aaron Murphy, Sarah Peirse, Marton Csokas, Alistair Browning
Director: Christine Jeffs
Director: Christine Jeffs
Screenwriter: Christine Jeffs
Producer: Philippa Campbell
Composer: Neil Finn, Edmund McWilliams
Studio: IDP Distribution
DVD Info
Reviews for Rain
First-time writer-director Christine Jeffs captures the destruction of a family with a blunt accuracy that never precludes a gift for the occasionally lyrical moment.
Fulford-Wierzbicki in particular turns in a performance well beyond her years as Janey.
Before it rains, clouds cover the sky and hint at the coming storm. Jeffs fully captures that feeling of anticipation.
Treats a potentially explosive set-up with adult reflection and thoughtfulness.
Far from the first female coming-of-age movie, but it's one of the most vivid.
The symbolism may be a little thick at times ... but overall it’s a remarkably strong debut that marks Jeffs as a director to watch.
Rain is so slight that it almost isn't there, but these performers deftly approximate the sensation of having a craving for someone.
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