Janey, the 13-year-old protagonist and occasional narrator in "Rain," tells us her family's summer home was right on the
beach -- well, with just a small patch between it and the beach. Also, "it was sunny ... mostly." In other words, things were nearly perfect, but not quite. But close! In fact, things are bad and getting worse in this evocative, moody drama from first-time New Zealand director Christine Jeffs. Janey, played with extraordinary perception and sensitivity by new-comer Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki, is caught between childhood and adulthood, romping in the surf with her little brother Jim (Aaron Murphy) one minute, serving drinks (and taking swigs herself) at her parents' party the next. It is set in the '70s, which one gathers was quite a swingin' time in New Zealand. The parents, Kate (Sarah Peirse) and Ed (Alistair Browning), have a failing marriage fueled by Kate's alcoholism and her flirting with Cady (Marton Csokas), a nearby boat-owner/photographer. One suspects the many, many beach parties are to distract Mom and Dad from their problems, and from each other.
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