Robert Graham My initial thoughts whilst watching Christine Jeffs debut film 'Rain', were that the narrative crawled along at a pace far too slow for enjoyment. For a 92 minute film, there weren't a lot of obvious plot advances to keep me transfixed to the screen, or even that interested at all. The one thing that kept me watching was the beautiful cinematography of John Toon, and the stunning landscapes of New Zealand. The repeated use of photographically perfect sunsets and shots of the sea for most of the establishing shots throughout the film kept me wanting the current scene to end just so I could watch the next establishing shot.However, I was glad that I kept watching because I began to notice the more subtle side to the narrative, which I had at first, thought was missing altogether. Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki's performance as the troubled 13 year old Janey starts off as a little unsure, but she seems to grow into the role throughout the film, until she becomes a character we can really feel connected to. Her portrayal of a young teenage girl struggling to cope with her journey into adolescence and new found sexual energy is incredibly moving, especially at the end when it leads to the death of her younger brother Jim. The performances of the rest of the cast I found to be not so powerful, but still effective in more subtle ways. Janey's dad, played by Alistair Browning, show's his feelings towards the breakdown of his marriage through small and relatively unnoticeable acts such as when he say's to his children 'because families do things together', whilst his wife is at home with a hangover.Another of this film's defining features is its careful use of non- diegetic music which really manages to capture the mood of each scene. The piano music that accompanies Kate's walk across the beach to Cady's boat starts off quite slow and relaxed, but builds up the closer she gets, like a mirror to Kate's emotions as she gets closer and closer to cheating on her husband. The acoustic song played over the scene where Janey finds Jim dead on the beach, is another example of just how useful getting the right song is, as it encapsulates most of the film into this one defining moment. It is that moment that, in my opinion, where this film crosses over the boundary of a simple coming of age film, into something else completely. In one instant, all the worries about Janey growing up and seducing Cady, Kate's affair with Cady, and the general breakdown of Kate and Ed's marriage, are put into a harsh perspective. Throughout the film, Jim plays a backseat role, not really impacting on the story significantly, and the rest of the characters end up neglecting him. We are reminded just how small and insignificant in the overall scheme of things that such worries are, and how when people get so caught up in their own lives and problems, that the little things, often the more important ones, can be overlooked, with tragic consequences.

zolaaar Visually and acting wise masterly, the coming-of-age-story of a teenage girl unfolds an atmospheric undertow which solidifies through the parenthetical film music and the non-involved voice from the off of the young protagonist. It's shot mainly in sepia which in its dim alignment contributes to the mysterious beauty of the film. Convincing ensemble: Sarah Peirse personifies Kate with a restless and lascivious sensuality. The performances of Alistair Browning and Marton Csokas require a much more subtlety than their "Lord of the Rings" parts. But the true heart of the film are the wonderful performances of the young artists: the 15 years old Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki who got the New Zealand Film Award as Best Young Talent, and the honestly adorable Aaron Murphy, playing the young, cute brother Jim. "Cinema of Unease", beautiful and uncomfortable at the same time, dangerously calm with subtly accentuated shots of a dusky landscape, the story tells the chronicle of an announced death.

Jeremy Bristol Like most of the other posters here, I loved Rain for most of the movie--no, it's nothing earth-shattering, but then, most coming-of-age stories aren't. The young lead does a great job portraying a somewhat cliched character (young girl who "seduces" older man because she feels boys her age are immature), giving her an amount of vehemence that is startling at times.Unfortunately, there's the ending which has already been mentioned, so I won't spoil it again. However, I will say that, with the current ending, it pretty much negates any importance the movie would have had. If the filmmaker's were adamant about keeping that part of the story, if that's what they thought was important, then I feel that the whole movie could have been done in ten minutes. In fact, I've seen several movies that begin where this movie leaves off. 2.5 out of 5 stars

mmh-4 This film was delicious to watch. Some of the cinematography was really striking, as were some of the cinematographic choices, such as the sparing use of very brief black-and-white shots. I also liked the depictions of children at play (one moment in particular: when Jim cavorts in the dimly lit front yard at dusk in semi-slow-mo in a dracula cape, in a sort of scene-change-sideshow-distraction, innocently echoing the ominous tone of the previous scene). The play really rang true, reminding me of my own interactions with my siblings. The relationship between the two children was endearing and a welcome relief from the other very draining relationships in the movie.I spent most of the film wondering whether a particular event was going to happen, and I felt that the few moments after it did happen near the end were the best of the film, UP UNTIL something else happened that I felt was a little over the top. The former event brought together the relationships that Janey, the young protagonist, had with all of the other characters in such rich, complex, achingly painful ways, it really left me in awe. It was a very strange experience, then, to have the second, over the top event happen not a minute later. I really felt this last event was unnecessary, and it cut me off from fully appreciating the best moment of the film.So, the first 94 minutes or so were really great, and the last three, while they did cut me off from my greatest moment of admiration, did not detract from the overall greatness of the film.