User Reviews

"Pray for Rain" is an American 90-minute movie that is still very new and fresh as it is a release from this year (2017). the director is French filmmaker Alex Ranarivelo, while the script is by prolific actress Christina Moore, her second writing credit according to IMDb. If you take a look at the film's poster, you may think that this film focuses on Jane Seymour, a former Bond girl and in my opinion actually the most attractive Bond girl of all times, and even in her mid-60s today she still looks really stunning. And she is also first credit here, but in the center of it all is the character played by Annabelle Stephenson, a young lawyer who returns to her home town and finds out about the consequences that lack of water in that area has caused for humans and also greedy corporations. And with the character's legal background that adds a completely new dimension to it. Death and violence also are a consequence to an extent eventually where you wonder if this is really something that could happen in today's America. The answer you will need to find for yourself. I personally would say that yes it is a bit generic in terms of the exact drama and the plot with the investigative actions by the central character in terms of finding out about corruption and what is really happening to the water is a bit shoddy and the parallel between farmers who need the money and a specific fish colony who does is mediocre to say the least. But the film is solid in terms of guessing what may happen next and I found myself actually fairly curious about that. The biggest strength of the movie is probably the "back to the roots" aspect because the way the protagonist takes a journey into her own past again was nicely done in my opinion. Plus Stephenson is not just incredibly easy on the eye, but also gives a performance that would not only have deserved first credit, but also her being included on the poster, even if she may not have a big name like Seymour. And that comes from a Jane Seymout fan as you can see from my comments early on. As a whole, it's not a groundbreaking film or anything you'd consider top5 of the year, but a pretty decent way to spend 1.5 hours. I recommend checking it out.

I can not remember a film when I was so aware of the actors acting everything was so stilted, I say acting I have wooden furniture which can show a greater range of emotions than the leading actress. Netflix must be hoovering up content because this is a made for afternoon TV. There are more plot holes than Swiss cheese at one point when she enters the environmentalists office a woman thanks her for saving her, I will be honest it hardly kept my full attention but I could not recall the scene, I take it, it ended up on the editors floor where the rest of this film should have ended up. There was so much to dislike in the film but what was going on with the colour? watching it you discover what being colour blind feels like, everything seems dulled down. So it was funded by a corporation which wanted to present plucky chiselled chinned farmers against evil environmentalists. So gangs of blokes are allowed to burn, kill, threaten rape, use intimidation to force money or sell up and the local sheriff never thinks I need help to the lightbulb moment and he calls the FBI. At the end the reporter working in a vibrant job in New York gives up to live in a dust bowl. Dross is being kind and so is 1 star.

Hollywood is often accused of being too "pro environment" but this film took the opposite turn, telling major lies about the root causes of drought in overpopulated California, including a scene where someone claims the Delta Smelt is more plentiful (it's actually facing extinction) and they only want a small percentage of the water held back for it.

The bigger picture is that the Smelt is an indicator species for overall delta water health. not just "some fish," and California has long been a semi-desert where crops should not be grown in many places. As the human population gets bigger, things just worsen (basic math). Framing environmental protection for fish as an evil cover for developers is a mindless plot device.

The decent looking lead actress is the main thing worth watching here.

In fist 5 minutes you see a man halfway under a tractor wheel. May be disturbing to some viewers.