Scent of Rain and Lightning, The (2017)
Padraig Cotter
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Starring Maika Monroe, Will Patton, Aaron Poole, Brad Carter
Directed by Blake Robbins
Distributed by No Coast Entertainment
When the man who murdered her parents is released from prison a young woman decides to dig into the past, and discovers what she’s been told about that night doesn’t quite add up. She soon starts to suspect members of her family of withholding the truth, and the more she investigates, the uglier it gets.
The Scent of Rain and Lightning is one of those movies that kind of sneaks up out of nowhere; it’s a Southern Gothic thriller with a top-notch cast, an absorbing mystery and an air of impending doom. The story is split between two timelines; one where Jody (Maika Monroe) investigates what happened the night of the murders, while the other flashes back to her parents (Maggie Grace, Justin Chatwin) in their final days, who were definitely not the happy couple Jody’s family have painted them as.
The story requires viewers to pay attention from the beginning, and it doesn’t do much handholding. The Scent of Rain and Lightning tosses you into the middle of the narrative and rarely spells things out. While this might confuse some viewers it suits the style of the film perfectly, where everything looks and feels hazy, and character motives are constantly shifting.
Director Robbins has assembled a great cast for the film, with lead Maika Monroe following up on her genre hot streak of The Guest and It Follows (let’s ignore Independence Day: Resurgence). Her character is determined to find the truth, but seemingly also afraid of what she’ll uncover. She makes for a compelling lead, but it’s Brad Carter – as supposed killer Billy Coyle – who leaves the biggest impression. Carter’s intense turn adds real menace to every scene he appears in, with the first confrontation between him and Jody crackling with tension. Despite being a loudmouth dick with a violent temper he’s also oddly sympathetic, which is another credit to Carter’s performance.
The ever reliable Will Patton also leaves a mark as Jody’s grizzled grandfather, but some of the supporting players – like The Void’s Aaron Poole or Bonnie “Holly McClane” Bedelia – could have used more fleshing out. The movie builds up a compelling mystery, but it’s more concerned with examining the main characters, and perception versus reality. Jody has been brought up to believe her parents were simply great, but her own blurry recollections and flashbacks reveal things were much more complex, and that her relatives are more comfortable living with their version of events than the truth. The blinders they’ve built up gradually come down throughout the story, and the tension cranks higher as a result.
While the final twist isn’t a major revelation, it does help paint the story in a new light. The handheld camerawork and use of natural light lend the film a nice dreamy vibe, though a few key scenes – such as a major showdown with Coyle – feel frustratingly staged. Again, the intentional lack of clarity and slow pace may turn some viewers off The Scent of Rain and Lightning, but if you give the film a chance you’ll find a well acted, nail-bitingly tense thriller.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
