Review of Rain

Introduction

As a teenager I lived vicariously through John Hughes` over the top angst driven teen movies and still put them on from time-to-time. Some kind of Wonderful, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller`s Day off are favourites that I can count on. Pace, resonating storylines, timing, comedy and characters worked for me in that time.

Then there are different coming of age films and Rain is one of those different ones. It revolves around Janey`s yearly family beach excursions and with it boredom and curiosity; we see the world through her eyes. The film is adapted from the well-received book by Kirsty Gunn.

Video

Presented with a 1.78:1 letterbox video transfer, Rain doesn`t appear too shabby. The colours are bright, though a little over saturated at times, and contrast is higher than expected. Sadly this means there`s some edge enhancement in the transfer too. There are some nicely composed scenes that it`s a shame it wasn`t widescreen enhanced. Grain is kept to a minimum, but if you zoom the image to fit a widescreen space, it becomes more obvious.

Audio

A stereo soundtrack is the best this DVD can offer and it performs well enough. Dialogue is steered between the front speakers and it sounds clear, though some of the New Zealand accents taint words that are difficult to make out at times.

Features

Easy to navigate menus with a few extras:

• Trailer (2:16) - The usual trailer fare.

• Biographies for Director Christine Jeffs, Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki (Janey), Marton Csokas (Cady), Sarah Peirse (Katy). Just text scrolling up the screen for those that want to know more.

• Photo Gallery - A pointless extra of stills from the film.

• Booklet - This is more a leaflet with the same bio for Director Christine Jeffs that`s on the disc, as well as an advert for other titles in the C`est la Vie range.

The back of the box states the Special Features Content as Trailers (there`s only one), Scene Selection, Colour Booklet (a leaflet!), Moving Menu (!) and Feature - Original Aspect Ratio (?). Talk about looking for ways to fill the space on the box.

There are no subtitles with this film.

Conclusion

Rain uses some very nice New Zealand landscapes to enhance its storytelling, but its slow deliberating pace can`t make up for the lack of anything truly substantial on screen. It`s a story about a 13-year old girl`s awakening perception but it happens too slowly for my liking.

The problem with the story, as I see it, is that it`s too casual and plays it safe by hovering on the surface. The snail like storytelling here offers no new insights, or fresh perspectives and instead sees fit to meander on the mundane. I don`t have any problems with the cast or the beautiful locations, which leaves me to wonder if I`m unable to empathise with a 13-year old girl; I don`t feel connected to this film.

There`s the relationship between Janey and her little brother, the tired marriage between her parents and the affair between her mother (Sarah Peirse) and rugged photographer Cady (Marton Csokas). There is also the suggestion of sex between Janey and Cady in the forest, which finishes with a symbolic shot of the girl lying naked, followed by something tragic and totally downbeat with Janey feeling guilty.

Despite these beats, this summer beach holiday just doesn`t involve me enough. The characters are all so laid back with the grown ups are on the verge of being alcoholics the way they knock back the drink. I get the impression of domestic monotony, in real time. It`s ironic that one of the elements of the film, the boredom of a teenager, is the reason why I felt this way about watching it.

For all the plaudits that New Zealander director Christine Jeffs (she also directed Gwyneth Paltrow in Sylvia) received for her feature debut, I can`t help but feel it`s misplaced; there are few comic, interesting or poignant moments in this 86-minute film.