‘Rain Reign’ Review: Paul Rudd And Jeremy Sisto In Tribeca Premiere

Rose is a neurodivergent middle schooler living in a rural town with Wesley, a single father just barely hanging on but trying to do everything he can to raise her alone. He told her at a very young age that her mother abandoned the family, but that turns out to be not quite the truth in this tender coming-of-age story about a girl who thrives on having every detail of her life neatly tied up in rules, routine and familiarity. When Wesley comes upon a stray dog out in the rain he brings her home as a gift to his daughter with a hope this older pooch can keep her company and give her more purpose. She names her Rain.

Director-screenwriter Erika Burke Rossa adapts Ann M. Martin’s Newberry-winning novel and gives this authentic and moving story the feel of a young person’s classic like Winter’s Bone, Sounder and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. Movies like this one centered on a young girl who isn’t in the middle of a horror film are rare. Instead, it is a genuine tale of family, growing up, finding your place, and hanging on. It had its world premiere this week at the Tribeca Festival, and if there is any justice this sweet little gem of a movie will find a distributor to give it the tender loving care it deserves.

Wesley (Jeremy Sisto) is a man whose life was torn apart with the loss of his wife, and his own inability to tell his very young daughter, a person with emotional issues, the truth. When Rain comes into her life, she lights up, even taking Rain to show her off to her class at school. This dog, in many ways like Rose (Felice Kakaletris), is content to live a quiet ordered life and has just wandered into one. Wesley has a hard time keeping up, and quite frankly is on the precipice of losing his job at the garage. He finds it hard to make ends meet and be the father he really can’t seem to be. That is evident too in his relationship with his brother, Weldon (Paul Rudd), a sterling example of a great uncle to Rose, a warm influence despite friction with Wesley.

With a major storm, maybe a hurricane, predicted, Wesley has to prepare for damage he can ill afford, and indeed it does come. But worse than that, he let Rain out to do her thing and when Rose awakens she finds her missing. This sets off a frantic search and Rain’s eventually discovered at a local shelter; it turns out Rain had been outfitted with a microchip containing her real owner’s name. Rose may have to make some very hard decisions.

Rossa was bound and determined to cast a neurodivergent actress in the key role of Rose, and with Kakaletris she found a winner with the help of ace casting director Avy Kaufman. Kakaletris is remarkable and never hits a false note. Sisto also breaks your heart as this distraught father is looking at the loss of his job, his house, and his daughter. A fine actor always, he is excellent in a difficult role. Rudd, after a dynamite performance in the current Power Ballad, continues to show real dramatic chops in a part far from the comedies we have seen him do more often than not. Gretchen Mol offers a nice humane touch as the woman running the shelter and doing everything to help keep Rose and Rain together.

If you can find it, Rain Reign is a special film experience you should see.

Producers are Nikki Silver and Julie Rudd.

Title: Rain Reign
Festival: Tribeca (Spotlight Narrative)
Director-screenwriter: Erika Burke Rossa
Cast: Felice Kakaletris, Jeremy Sisto, Paul Rudd , Gretchen Mol, Mary Stuart Masterson
Sales agent: UTA
Running time: 1 hr 40 mins