|
RAIN Send This Review to a Friend
The adults are the ones precipitating the action in "Rain," a feature debut by Christine Jeffs, a talented filmmaker from New Zealand, but it is a 13-year-old girl who bears the psychological brunt of what happens by the time the moody, brooding story reaches its climax. The focus of the film, which Jeffs adapted from Kirsty Gunn's novel, is largely on young Janey (Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki), who comes up against adult desires and needs during a 1972 summer when she, her parents and her little brother are on holiday at the sea in a photogenic part of New Zealand.
Janey is going through a sensitive period of growing up, made more difficult by the obvious marital difficulties her boozing parents are having. But what upsets her particularly is her mother Kate's attraction for a photographer (Marton Csokas), with whom she is having a fling. Janey finds the man attractive herself. Her anger at her mother (Sarah Peirse) feeds into her own sexuality and she strikes back by attempting to seduce the photographer with all of the wiles she can summon at her age.
She is supposed to be watching her brother (Aaron Murphy) at the beach. You don't need a peek at the screenplay to expect trouble. Jeffs works assuredly in building the atmosphere, and there are good performances all around. But the film is basically too predictable for good drama and the adult characters are not especially interesting. A Fireworks Pictures release.
|