Plot Summary
When David Conrad and his newlywed wife receive word that David’s father is close to dying, they are forced to return to David’s hometown to put things in order, even though David and his father are not on speaking terms. David refuses to see his father as he tries to get the house ready to sell and figure out what to do with the adopted brother he never knew he had. While David wallows in his anger and drinking, his wife decides to get to the bottom of the family secrets and begins her own investigation into the matter. What she finds is pain and hurt, yet she believes that God’s forgiveness and grace can mend the brokenness.
Production Quality (2 points)
As Silverwave Entertainment’s first major production, He Sends Rain starts off a little bit rough with some poor lighting and other shortcuts. Editing is also choppy at first and the soundtrack too loud at times, yet as the movie goes on, the production gradually improves and becomes quite respectable. While there are still a lot of drawn out scenes, video quality and camera work are totally nailed. Sets, locations, and props are realistic and appropriate. Audio quality improves as it goes. By the end of the film, there are not many errors to speak of, thus making this production above average. In the end, it is understandable to wrestle with some production elements early on, so the good thing is that improvement is shown over time. This shows great potential for the future.
Plot and Storyline Quality (1 point)
Though on its face He Sends Rain looks like a stereotypical return-to-small-town plot, it is not what you might think. It takes a good, honest look at unfortunately realistically broken family systems and why they are broken. Though things are slow to develop at first, the story improves as it goes. The characters are realistic and accessible, but we feel like they could have been developed a little further. A little more complexity and plot and character deepening, as well as some flashbacks, would have really made this film soar. The happenings therein are realistic, even though the ending is a bit too rushed and easily patched up. This storyline really shows a lot of potential for the future, especially since it demonstrates insight into the lives of real people, which is one of the biggest things we look for in films. Once this creativity is fully harnessed, this creative team will be going places.
Acting Quality (2 points)
Like other elements to this film, though the acting starts out somewhat half-hearted, it definitely improves as the movie progresses. Emotions become more realistic as cast members appear to become more comfortable in their characters. Line delivery is almost always on point. Even though this is a slightly ‘unknown’ cast, it is refreshing to see a job well done.
Conclusion
It’s possible that He Sends Rain would have worked better as a series that allowed for deeper character and story development, but we realize the budgetary constraints of independent Christian entertainment. The good news is that freshman and sophomore films from Christian film makers are overall improving, which is raising the market standards. Once the Silverwave Entertainment team works out some of the minor production kinks and deepens their plots, they are really going to leave their mark on the industry. We can’t wait to see what they have planned next.
Final Rating: 5 out of 10 points
Box Office Revolution 