Prim young miss from New York arrives in Rio de Janeiro, ostensibly to escape her wealthy, overpowering parents, yet there's something else going on with her: she's bristles with tension every time a man comes near her. This frigid Gidget meets her match in a brooding American architect-turned-draftsman still grieving the car-related death of his fiancée. Seems he's a somewhat-elective mute hiding out from civilization (with his telephone hidden in a desk drawer!) and communicates with the girl using "his eyes and his hands". Despite the boastful credit that the film was produced entirely in Brazil, all we really get of Rio are Viewmaster-like shots of the landmarks, a pretty waterfall and rainbow combination, also some beaches crowded with overly-tanned bodies. Glossy-lipped, strawberry-blonde Lynda Day (who looks a bit like Joey Heatherton) is obviously not a skilled dramatic actress, but she's passable here; she manages well with some inane dialogue including a silly, lengthy monologue about why her recently-annulled marriage was never consummated. Christopher George (a ringer for Paul Burke, and later Day's real-life husband) has a more intricate problem: he's terribly miscast as a sensitive outcast, turning silent anguish and conflicted emotions into constipation. A highlight of their affair is a playful scene where he pulls Day into the bathtub with him--there's also a good dramatic moment at a party where he longs to sing with the guests--but George is too granite-solid and "macho" for a tortured role like this. The music by Luiz Bonfa and Eumir Deodato is pretty, if repetitive, and the pacing is quick enough. Still, only die-hard romanticists will fall for this sudsy plot--and even they should balk at the ending, which is terribly unfair to the audience. ** from ****
Review of The Gentle Rain
