Rain (2001)

NEUTRAL

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88%

2001, Drama, 1h 32m

RT Critics’ Score: 85% (UNBIASED)
RT Audience Score: 84%
Awards & Nominations: Won 4 Oscars
26 wins & 23 nominations total

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Critics Consensus

Rain is a coming-of-age film that explores the complexities of family dynamics and the tumultuous journey of adolescence. Christine Jeffs’ direction is meticulous, capturing the lush atmosphere of desire and approaching chaos. The screenplay flows with the cadences of life, and the performances are well beyond their years, particularly Sarah Fulford-Wierzbicki’s sulky, calculating Lolita turn. The film treats a potentially explosive set-up with adult reflection and thoughtfulness, delivering a bona fide shocker in the last reel. Rain is a vivid and occasionally lyrical portrayal of the destruction of a family, and it is neither good nor bad but something that feels as if it has the weight of the inevitable, much like the weather.

Audience Consensus

Rain is a coming-of-age movie that’s as unpredictable as the weather. Critics have praised the film for its thoughtfulness, vividness, and accuracy in capturing the destruction of a family. But what they failed to mention is how spooky and sulky Ms. Fulford-Wierzbicki is in her Lolita turn. She’s almost like a walking, talking rain cloud that’s about to burst with teenage angst. And when the storm finally hits, it’s a bona fide shocker that will leave you soaked in emotion. So grab your umbrella and get ready for a wild ride.

Storyline

Charles Sanford “Charlie” Babbit is a self-centered Los Angeles-based automobile dealer/hustler/bookie who is at war with his own life. Charlie, as a young teenager, used his father’s 1949 Buick convertible without permission and as a result, he went to jail for two days on account that his father reported it stolen. It is then that Charlie learns that his estranged father died and left him from his last will and testament a huge bed of roses and the car while the remainder will of $3 Million goes into a trust fund to be distributed to someone. Charlie seemed pretty angry by this and decides to look into this matter. It seems as if that “someone” is Raymond, Charlie’s unknown brother, an autistic savant who lives in a world of his own, resides at the Walbrook Institute. Charlie then kidnaps Raymond and decides to take him on a lust for life trip to the west coast as a threat to get the $3 Million inheritance. Raymond’s acts and nagging, including repeated talks of “Abbott & Costello”, “Four minutes till Wapner” and refusal to fly on an airline except Qantas drives Charlie insane… and out of his selfish world into a cross-country trek of pure love and understanding that these two both have.

Production Company(ies)
O2 Filmes, Video Filmes, Globo Filmes,

Distributor
Miramax Films

Release Type

Filming Location(s)
Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center – 1000 E. Santa Ana Boulevard, Santa Ana, California, USA

MPAA / Certificate
R

Year of Release
1988

Technical Specs

Color:

Color
Sound mix:

Dolby Stereo
Aspect ratio:

1.85 : 1
Runtime:

1h 32m
Language(s):

English, Italian
Country of origin:

United States
Release date:

Release Date (Theaters): Apr 26, 2002 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 29, 2007

Genre(s)
Drama

Keyword(s)
Rain, drama, family, New Zealand, vacation, coming-of-age, teenage girl, parents, affair, boat captain, neglect, alcoholism, sibling relationship, directed by Christine Jeffs, written by Kirsty Gunn and Christine Jeffs, starring Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki, Sarah Peirse, Marton Csokas, Alistair Browning, Aaron Murphy, produced by Philippa Campbell, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Roger Moore, Mark Caro, Michael O’Sullivan, Manohla Dargis, Edward Guthmann, Jane Sumner, Eric D Snider, Mark Halverson, Bruce Feld, Emanuel Levy, Michael Dequina, MPAA rating, Miramax Films, surround sound, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Dolby Stereo

Box Office Details

Worldwide gross: $354,825,435
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $908,509,700
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 116
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 99,074,122

US/Canada gross: $172,825,435
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $442,509,382
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 96
US/Canada opening weekend: $7,005,719
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $17,937,732
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 708

Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $25,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $64,011,033
Production budget ranking: 647
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $34,469,941
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $810,028,726
ROI to date (est.): 823%
ROI ranking: 160

Cast & Crew

Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki

Sarah Peirse

Marton Csokas

Alistair Browning

Aaron Murphy

Janey

Kate

Cady

Jim

Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki – Janey
Sarah Peirse – Kate
Marton Csokas – Cady
Alistair Browning – Ed
Aaron Murphy – Jim
Chris Sherwood – Ron

Christine Jeffs

Kirsty Gunn

Philippa Campbell

Director

Writer

Producer

Director(s)
Christine Jeffs

Writer(s)
Kirsty Gunn, Christine Jeffs

Producer(s)
Philippa Campbell

Film Festivals

Awards & Nominations
Won 4 Oscars
26 wins & 23 nominations total

Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Roger Moore

Mark Caro

Michael O’Sullivan

Manohla Dargis

Edward Guthmann

Orlando Sentinel

Chicago Tribune

Washington Post

L.A. Weekly

San Francisco Chronicle

RAIN
All Critics (59) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (50) | Rotten (9)
Treats a potentially explosive set-up with adult reflection and thoughtfulness.

July 25, 2002 | Rating: 4/5

Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Far from the first female coming-of-age movie, but it’s one of the most vivid.

July 20, 2002 | Rating: 3/4

Mark Caro
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
It is, like weather, what it is, neither good nor bad but something that feels as if it has the weight of the inevitable.

June 14, 2002 | Rating: 4.5/5

Michael O’Sullivan
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Jeffs’ meticulous framing nicely counterpoints all the messy turmoil, and her screenplay flows with the cadences of life.

June 1, 2002

Manohla Dargis
L.A. Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Jeffs creates a lush atmosphere of desire and approaching chaos, and delivers a bona fide shocker in the last reel.

May 31, 2002 | Rating: 3/4

Edward Guthmann
San Francisco Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Ms. Fulford-Wierzbicki is almost spooky in her sulky, calculating Lolita turn.

May 30, 2002 | Rating: B-

Jane Sumner
Dallas Morning News
TOP CRITIC
January 13, 2012 | Rating: 3/5

Eric D. Snider
eFilmCritic.com
August 7, 2008 | Rating: 4/5

Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review
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.

March 1, 2007

Bruce Feld
Film Journal International
August 20, 2005 | Rating: 2/5

Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
December 5, 2004 | Rating: 4/5

Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com
Fulford-Wierzbicki in particular turns in a performance well beyond her years as Janey.

December 8, 2002 | Rating: 3/5

Merle Bertrand
Film Threat…

Plot
Charles Sanford “Charlie” Babbit is a self-centered Los Angeles-based automobile dealer/hustler/bookie who is at war with his own life. Charlie, as a young teenager, used his father’s 1949 Buick convertible without permission and as a result, he went to jail for two days on account that his father reported it stolen. It is then that Charlie learns that his estranged father died and left him from his last will and testament a huge bed of roses and the car while the remainder will of $3 Million goes into a trust fund to be distributed to someone. Charlie seemed pretty angry by this and decides to look into this matter. It seems as if that “someone” is Raymond, Charlie’s unknown brother, an autistic savant who lives in a world of his own, resides at the Walbrook Institute. Charlie then kidnaps Raymond and decides to take him on a lust for life trip to the west coast as a threat to get the $3 Million inheritance. Raymond’s acts and nagging, including repeated talks of “Abbott & Costello”, “Four minutes till Wapner” and refusal to fly on an airline except Qantas drives Charlie insane… and out of his selfish world into a cross-country trek of pure love and understanding that these two both have.

Trivia