The Scent of Rain & Lightning (2018)

Billy Croyle is being commuted from prison for the crime of murder. The reason is given as "something to do with his son." Don't dwell on it. He was found guilty of killing a Linder couple. Jody Linder, the surviving daughter is upset. However we quickly discover, as does Jody, that Billy may be innocent. Billy is an uncouth drunk who everyone says belongs in jail, and "some folks" claim he is innocent, although jail is a good place for him. Jody Linder puts on her Nancy Drew persona and digs into the past in a film filled with flashbacks that are sometimes confusing. The film is not "Winterbone" but has plot similarities. Worth a view if you think you would like a western mystery. BTW that scent is ozone.Guide: F-word. Brief sex and brief nudity.

Scent of Rain and Lightning (an adaptation of the novel by Nancy Pickard) upends expectations at every twisted turn. Anchored by a strong script from RUDDERLESS writers Casey Twenter and Jeff Robison, the film refuses to comply with the usual genre rules. Styled as a Western, flirting at the edges of a who-don-it, the film ultimately questions if we can truly know the truths of our personal histories...let alone understand them. Director Blake Robbins's extreme close-ups create a feeling of confusion and claustrophobia while a stellar cast hints at unseen histories. Watch for Maggie Grace's enigmatic portrayal of the headstrong, paradoxical Laurie.

The Scent of Rain and Lightning made some interesting decisions: a non-linear story line, understated colors, and a list of characters that you both related to and suspected of murder. By the time the main character unravels the story of her parents' deaths, she realizes that no one is all good or bad, that people make mistakes and that some of those choices lead to dire consequences. This is no old-time western where the bad guy rides in with his black hat so you know who "done" it. The story unravels, going back and forth from past to present, keeping you engaged and guessing. I think this choice by the director was brilliant, and it keeps the audience in a semi-state of uncertainty--as soon as you think you've figured it out, guess again. I saw this movie with my husband, who normally likes easy and entertaining, but he found it as intriguing as I did, and I prefer movies that leave me with something to chew on afterwards. The casting had depth and allowed for the whole movie to work instead of revolving around a few major characters; it definitely felt like an ensemble. If you liked Hell or High Water, you'll like this film.

I saw this at the Cleveland Film Festival yesterday and was disappointed with it. In the first scene you see a young woman, Jody Linder, in bed with a guy in the second floor bedroom of a nice old house when pickup trucks pull up outside the house. The men in the pickup trucks are her older male relatives who warn her that the man who was convicted of killing her parents has been released from prison. Why Jody is living in this house clearly decorated in a style a much older person would have chosen or what she does for a living are never revealed. The oldest of the men who arrive at the house is her grandfather and the owner of a ranch that employs most of the characters in the movie, including the guy Jody was sleeping with. Shortly thereafter, she is confronted by the son of the convicted killer who tells her he knew that his father never left the house during the time of the murder but that he lied to the police by telling them he wasn't sure because he wanted his father to go to prison. Though she isn't receptive to hearing what the son has to say, Jody begins to question the verdict and for the rest of the movie she pursues the truth about her parents' murder.I wish there had been more exposition at the beginning to give the audience an idea of Jody's normal life and her relationship to her grandparents, relatives and ranch employees before she's given the news about the release of the convicted killer. I couldn't keep track of the characters, many of whom wore hats and had lots of facial hair. If there had been more scenes at the beginning showing their individual personalities it would have been easier to keep track of who's who. Another problem I had with the film is the unnecessary sepia filter that gives the entire film a dreary look and hides some the distinguishing characteristics of some of the similar looking characters. The sepia look might have been OK for the events from the past if they were from a long time ago but they appear to be less than 10 years prior, maybe as few as 6 or 7 based on the appearance of some of the characters.Towards the end of the movie someone is shot in a bedroom of a house and Jody arrives at the bed of this person who has just been shot and tells him/her to hang on but I didn't know who it was because the director wouldn't clearly show their face. I never figured out who that was (I don't think it mattered much) and that wasn't the only confusing scene. There were a number of scenes that caused me to ask the people beside me, "who's that?". Pay close attention to the physical characteristics of the men in the film if you decide to watch it and you may find the film more satisfying than I did. I believe I know how Jody's parents actually were killed and by whom and it wasn't interesting or satisfying because the characters hadn't been developed well enough for me to care, which I believe is the main problem with the film. Prior to the film, the director asked the audience how many people were seeing it for the second time. No one raised their hand. He then asked if anyone was at the screening who talked to someone who had seen a previous screening and a couple people raised their hand. This is NOT the kind of film that people are going to watch over and over to figure out what's going on. The director had the opportunity to make the storytelling more coherent and spend more time on character development but he chose not to and there's no payoff for the audience to justify that decision.I kept waiting for Bonnie Bedelia to have a big scene but it never happened. Maika Monroe is bland in the lead role unfortunately.