The Rain People

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Isa B I love this film! It is shot in a cimena verite style. There is something to be desired in the editing at times. It is a well acted, truly unique and interesting film made by a filmmaker who would soon come into his own. James Caan and Robert Duvall are awesome in this. The Rain People is a great film, and I definitely recommend it. 91/100 Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/03/25 Full Review CodyZamboni Road trip movie where two people try to find purpose in life, and find an emotional bond with each other, despite some severe limitations, Movie's strengths are the first rate performances by Shirley Knight and James Caan, as damaged, empathetic, original characters. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/02/23 Full Review Steve D I can't believe this talent made this bad of a film. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Francis Ford Coppola has directed some of the greatest motion pictures of all time and while this is not one of them it is still a great little film and shows the innate talent that would make Coppola such an incredible creative force. You also get to see relatively young Robert Duvall and James Caan display their abilities early in their career along with Shirley Knight of Sweet Bird of Youth (1962) fame. What the film boasts other than being a sign of better things to come is a genuinely interesting story that is told sensitively by the director of the film and portrayed with vivacity by the cast. Stressed pregnant housewife Natalie Ravenna, Shirley Knight, runs away from her husband and heads out on the road alone in an attempt to find herself. She encounters former football player with mental issues, Jimmy "Killer" Kilgannon, James Caan, along the way and strikes up a friendship with him before attempting to ditch him when she discovers his tragic past. She flirts with police officer Gordon, Robert Duvall, who attempts to have a sexual experience with her but it is interrupted by his mischievous daughter and his memories of his wife and her traumatic death. When Natalie attempts to leave she finds that he becomes too aggressive and cocks a gun at him before Killer arrives and is shot by Gordon's daughter after a tussle. In 1969 it was obviously a far more novel idea that a woman could be an independent free spirit who has sexual affairs with multiple men but this film does transport you back to that time period as you see her speaking in hushed tones to her husband and bearing the consternation of her parents. Her ambivalence about her future and the consequences she eventually has to face for her irresponsible actions feel very in line with a lot of other films coming out in the late 1960s like The Graduate (1967) and Easy Rider (1969) but this film felt more contemplative. Yes, we see fairly graphic sexual content and violence towards the end of the film but this woman travels in a plain looking car instead of on a motor cycle and flirts with taking advantage of Killer before trying to offload him onto someone else. I appreciated seeing a film that didn't feel it needed loud music or elaborate direction to convey it's main points and this sort of film should still be being made today just with updated social values. The relationship between Natalie and Gordon was one of the most interesting things in the film because we only really see him in the last 30 minutes of screen time and yet you feel like this is exactly the sort of man a woman like this would be attracted to. He initially seems very stable and yet when we return to his trailer and find his brassiere wearing daughter causing trouble as he attempts to have sex with a woman he barely knows in the same room we understand that he is a broken man. He seems broken in a fairly realistic way though which feeds into the film's portrayal of middle America and Duvall's sympathetic performance makes us understand the character even as he takes questionable action. You want to see this man succeed in a way as you learn about his grief and guilt while you also sense the fact that he may be dangerous to a woman that we want to see have fun and flirt with danger while not being drawn into such terrible trauma. The climax of the film leaves us stunned as we are unaware of where the story is going to go next but I would have loved to have found out. In terms of performances I would say that three main cast members all do a very good job with Knight being reminiscent of Barbara Loden in Wanda (1970). Caan is sweet as the mentally struggling ex football player and we are devastated by his death but he is matched by Duvall who is dark and authoritative in just a small amount of screen time. If you want to watch a film that features great work from these actors this is it. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Surprised that Danny Peary, in his book Cult movies, only considers Natalie's story/women's representation. I think if that piece wasn't balanced by Killer's story and the America of the film, it would have been much poorer. His points are no less valid, or interesting. -feminist criticisms of the film. Would feminists still take issue with Natalie's promiscuous goals? Peary defends them as a realistic character choice and not just creepy male gaze stuff. -Coppola's success at this woman-centred film before going on to a very male-dominated oeuvre. -Coppola's - and Peary's! - sympathy for Natalie are charming: she's just not ready now, she needs her space, and it's possible for those to be true AND natalie to still love her husband. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member 7.7/10, my review: http://wp.me/p1eXom-2k4 Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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