Rain

Boston Globe Loren King

Affecting, troubling, dazzling film.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

The visual beauty of the film, rather than distracting from the troubling story, makes it more troubling still.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

All about undertones, obliqueness and expectancy, about the scent, if you will, of something no one can stop

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Moves way past the predictable into the shocking. Indeed, the film is so expertly structured and paced that its denouement knocks you off your feet.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Through exquisite details, evocative music and bold dramatic strokes -- including a tragedy that transcends the melodrama it might have been -- Rain renders this family's life in its full dimensions.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Rain is a quiet, disquieting triumph.

Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan

Quiet, sexual, disturbing, often beautifully melancholic, Rain, as seen through the eyes of a precocious girl, recalls a parental split-up with sobering accuracy. It reminds us why so many teen-agers go through a sullen phase -- and sometimes never shake it off.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

A character who triumphs over a clumsy story line is a very rare creature. It takes a smart director and a sensitive actor to bring him to life, and to keep him breathing all the way through.

Chicago Tribune Mark Caro

What lingers are the unsettling feelings, inexplicably potent images and realization that some of life's key crossroads are visible only in the rearview mirror.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak

Gorgeously evocative visually.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Movies about the dawning of female sexuality and its links to mother-daughter competition are tough to pull off, but Rain is a splendid example of how to get it right.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

The cast of Rain is first-rate, especially Wierzbicki and Peirse, whose tense relationship is as loving as it is competitive.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Jeffs is an unusually gifted director, but her screenplay (based on Kirsty Gunn's novel) never quite gets a firm grip or a fresh perspective on its coming-of-age subject matter.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

Some of the visual flourishes are a little too obvious, but restrained and subtle storytelling, and fine performances make this delicate coming-of-age tale a treat.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Adapted from Kirsty Gunn's acclaimed novel, New Zealand director Christine Jeff's debut feature is a small masterpiece of atmosphere.

LA Weekly Manohla Dargis

Jeffs' meticulous framing nicely counterpoints all the messy turmoil, and her screenplay flows with the cadences of life -- its awkward eruptions and long, hurtful silences -- but she never pulls you deep enough into her characters.

New Times (L.A.) Gregory Weinkauf

Heavy with mood and Finn's fine music, Jeffs' debut feature merely moistens us when we should be soaked. Maybe next time she'll let it all come down.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

As it moves from the drizzly to the overly stormy, Rain freights a young girl's self-destructive eagerness to lose her virginity with so much danger and even horror that it's as if the events were trying to make up for the film's previous lack of drama.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Rain lays so much portent on every scene that it becomes ungenerous and morally forbidding, as if each bummed cigarette or leisurely cocktail will lead the family that much closer to oblivion. In this case, the punishment is far greater than the crime.

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

Sexual curiosity is a very dangerous thing in Rain, a dazzling mood piece from New Zealand filmmaker Christine Jeffs.

Village Voice Jessica Winter

The visual subtleties don't come to bear on the storytelling, unfortunately -- the dialogue is cumbersome, the simpering soundtrack and editing more so.