Rain Without Thunder

Last updated
Rain Without Thunder
RainWIthoutThunderPoster.jpg
Rain Without Thunder Theatrical Poster
Directed byGary O. Bennett
Written byGary O. Bennett
Produced by
  • Gary Sorensen
  • Nanette Sorensen
Starring
CinematographyKarl Kases
Edited by
  • Mallory Gottlieb
  • Suzanne Pillsbury
Music by
  • Allen Lynch
  • Randall Lynch
Distributed by Orion Classics
Release date
  • February 5, 1993 (1993-02-05)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$5000 (US) [1]

Rain Without Thunder is a 1993 American science fiction film directed by Gary O. Bennett, and starring Betty Buckley and Jeff Daniels. The film is set fifty years in the future from the time of production. Although the Planned Parenthood v. Casey case is not mentioned by name, the decision took place in the same year as the film was made and many characteristics of the society portrayed are clearly a reaction to the growing possibilities of restricting abortion rights at the time of production.[ original research? ] The film is presented as a documentary about the Goldring case, a mother and daughter imprisoned at the Walker Point Center for seeking an abortion outside of the United States. Although Beverly (Betty Buckley) and Allison (Ali Thomas) are the main focus, the journalist (Carolyn McCormick) also interviews numerous people with varying viewpoints discussing the ramifications of the Goldring case and abortion in general in 2042 society.

Contents

Plot

Allison Goldring, an upper-class, white college student, becomes pregnant from her boyfriend Jeremy Tanner. After discussing her options with both Tanner and her family, she makes the decision to travel abroad to terminate the pregnancy, as abortion is prosecuted as "fetal murder" in the United States. According to Allison and her mother Beverley, everyone – including Tanner – supported her decision. Tanner later denies this, though the film makes his denial seem improbable. Allison's father and grandmother are interviewed and openly support both Allison and Beverly. Allison's father says that he originally intended to go along with them and that the choice to prosecute Beverly is arbitrary; ultimately, Beverly is perceived to have a greater influence on Allison.

Later interviews give further background on the society: civil liberties are slowly and methodically curtailed over time in order fight "hypercrime". In the early twenty-first century, restrictions on warrants are loosened, and several states pass laws criminalizing abortion. At first, only abortionists are targeted by the laws, and complacent feminists dismiss the idea that the situation will get worse. When the Roman Catholic Church accepts barrier contraception, feminism becomes further weakened, and a wave of anti-abortion legislation is passed, culminating in a new amendment to the United States Constitution that defines personhood at conception. Following that, laws are enacted that target women seeking abortions, and feminism becomes not only politically incorrect but also subject to historical revisionism that denies its impact.

The state of New York has recently passed a law that classifies going abroad to seek a termination as "fetal kidnapping". Beverly admits to being aware of the change but assumed it would be some time before it would be enforced. It is not clear how aware Allison and Jeremy were of the legal change. The law is a reaction to a lawsuit aimed at overturning fetal murder statutes because they are enforced almost exclusively against poor minority women. Examples of such women are interviewed at Walker Point. One had used some abortifacient called a "baby bomb". She was arrested as she bled out after improperly administering the drug. The other was initially arrested on suspicion of having a termination, but is convicted of using an IUD, which is also illegal. Her descriptions of how she obtained the "uudee" suggest that she was also in a potentially dangerous medical situation.

African American district attorney Andrea Murdoch discovers what the Goldrings have done and prosecutes them under the new law, in large part because they are exactly the type of women targeted by the law. The criminal procedures show that doctor-patient confidentiality is no longer guaranteed. Murdoch's motivations are questioned by Jonathan Garson, the Goldrings' attorney, who suggests she is seeking higher office, although he doesn't question her ethics. Murdoch's own statements suggest that she is angered by the racial and class disparities in enforcement, but she does not question the propriety of fetal murder law.

During the trial, Allison decides to take the stand and confesses to what she did. She does not express remorse at the time nor does she express any regret later. She says that she felt relieved to get everything out. Beverly and Garson are frustrated by her decision, since it condemns both Allison and Beverly to prison. At the end of the film, the Swedish clinic checks their pathology reports on Allison and determines that the fetus had been dead for almost three weeks prior to the procedure. The Goldrings are released, but Murdoch declares her intention to prosecute them on attempted fetal kidnapping, on the grounds that they had intended to commit the crime even if they had not been able to commit it.

Cast

ActorRole
Betty Buckley Beverly Goldring
Katharine Crost Walker Point Guard #1
Jeff Daniels Jonathan Garson
Frederic Forrest Warden
Graham Greene Author on History
Linda Hunt Atwood Society Director
Robert Earl Jones Old Lawyer
Carolyn McCormick Reporter
Ming-Na Wen 'Uudie' Prisoner (as Ming-Na Wen)
Iona Morris Andrea Murdoch
Austin Pendleton Catholic Priest
Ethan Phillips Gynecologist
Ali Thomas Allison Goldring
Steve Zahn Jeremy Tanner
Alyssa Rallo Bennett Max Sinclair
Heather Lilly Micka Goldring

Production

Writer and director Gary Bennett began writing Rain Without Thunder in 1988 after he became frustrated with pro-choice acquaintances who voted for conservative Republicans due to their economic policies. He wanted to avoid overt science fiction themes to keep the film relevant, and he included arguments for the opposing side to avoid creating a one-sided message. [2]

Rain Without Thunder was budgeted at under two million dollars. [3]

Release

Orion Classics released Rain Without Thunder on February 5, 1993, in Los Angeles. [4] It was released on video in 1995. [5]

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 50% of six surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 5.7/10. [6] Roger Ebert rated the film 1/4 stars and called it "the longest 85-minute movie I have ever seen." [7] Janet Maslin of The New York Times called it "a dreary, nondramatic tract" with "a drab parade of earnest talking heads". [8] Hal Hinson of The Washington Post described it as a "brilliant, haunting mock-documentary" that invokes Nineteen Eighty-Four . [9] Desmond Ryan of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that the film "reduces an intensely emotional and politically volatile issue to a sterile debate" by an "endless succession of talking heads". [10] Melissa Pierson of Entertainment Weekly rated it C− and called it a "dreary fantasy" that is too unpleasant to sell even to those who agree with its message. [5] Johanna Steinmetz of the Chicago Tribune wrote, "This movie is rain without thunder, not to mention drama without tension, acting without reacting, and thought without passion. It is entirely talking heads, if nothing else a provocative test of the medium's preference for action." [11] Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times wrote the film is "thought-provoking" yet spends all its time preaching to the converted, explaining in-universe history to people who already know it, and setting up questionable class prejudice. [12] David Sterritt of The Christian Science Monitor called it a thoughtful, balanced film that is too ambitious. [13] Jay Boyar of the Orlando Sentinel called it "intellectually stimulating" but lacking in action and faith in its ability to convince viewers without manipulation. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unborn Victims of Violence Act</span> Law that recognizes an embryo or fetus as a legal victim

The Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004 is a United States law that recognizes an embryo or fetus in utero as a legal victim, if they are injured or killed during the commission of any of over 60 listed federal crimes of violence. The law defines "child in utero" as "a member of the species Homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abortion law</span> Laws that allow, prohibit, or regulate abortion

Abortion laws vary widely among countries and territories, and have changed over time. Such laws range from abortion being freely available on request, to regulation or restrictions of various kinds, to outright prohibition in all circumstances. Many countries and territories that allow abortion have gestational limits for the procedure depending on the reason; with the majority being up to 12 weeks for abortion on request, up to 24 weeks for rape, incest, or socioeconomic reasons, and more for fetal impairment or risk to the woman's health or life. As of 2022, countries that legally allow abortion on request or for socioeconomic reasons comprise about 60% of the world's population. In 2024, France became the first country to explicitly protect abortion rights in its constitution, while Yugoslavia implicitly inscribed abortion rights to its constitution in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gianna Jessen</span> American anti-abortion activist

Gianna Jessen is an American anti-abortion activist. She was born during a failed instillation abortion attempt. The 2011 film October Baby is loosely based on Jessen's life.

<i>Gas Food Lodging</i> 1992 American drama film

Gas Food Lodging is a 1992 American drama film written and directed by Allison Anders, based on the novel Don't Look and It Won't Hurt by Richard Peck. Starring Brooke Adams, Ione Skye, and Fairuza Balk, the film follows a waitress trying to find romance while raising two daughters in a trailer park in a small desert town in New Mexico.

<i>Untamed Heart</i> 1993 film

Untamed Heart is a 1993 American romantic drama film directed by Tony Bill, written by Tom Sierchio, and starring Christian Slater and Marisa Tomei. It tells the story of an unlikely romance between a young woman unlucky in love and a shy young man who has a heart defect. The original music score was composed by Cliff Eidelman, and includes a classical arrangement of "Nature Boy". A remix of the 1987 Suzanne Vega song "Tom's Diner" is featured in the opening scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecilia Fire Thunder</span> Native American activist, former leader of the Oglala Sioux

Cecilia Fire Thunder is a nurse, community health planner and tribal leader of the Oglala Sioux. On November 2, 2004, she was the first woman elected as president of the Tribe. She served until being impeached on June 29, 2006, several months short of the two-year term. The major controversy was over her effort to build a Planned Parenthood clinic on the reservation after the South Dakota legislature banned most abortions throughout the state. The tribal council impeached her for proceeding without gaining their consensus.

Fetal rights are the moral rights or legal rights of the human fetus under natural and civil law. The term fetal rights came into wide usage after Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case that legalized abortion in the United States and was essentially overturned in 2022. The concept of fetal rights has evolved to include the issues of maternal substance use disorders, including alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder. Most international human rights charters "clearly reject claims that human rights should attach from conception or any time before birth." While most international human rights instruments lack a universal inclusion of the fetus as a person for the purposes of human rights, the fetus is granted various rights in the constitutions and civil codes of some countries.

<i>Dramatic School</i> (film) 1938 film directed by Robert B. Sinclair

Dramatic School is a 1938 American romantic drama film directed by Robert B. Sinclair and starring Luise Rainer, Paulette Goddard, Alan Marshal, Lana Turner, and Gale Sondergaard. Based on the play School of Drama by Hans Székely and Zoltan Egyed, the screenplay was written by Ernest Vajda and Mary C. McCall. The film was produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

In pregnancy terms, quickening is the moment in pregnancy when the pregnant woman starts to feel the fetus's movement in the uterus. It was believed that the quickening marked the moment that a soul entered the fetus, termed ensoulment.

Foeticide, or feticide, is the act of killing a fetus, or causing a miscarriage. Definitions differ between legal and medical applications, whereas in law, feticide frequently refers to a criminal offense, in medicine the term generally refers to a part of an abortion procedure in which a provider intentionally induces fetal demise to avoid the chance of an unintended live birth, or as a standalone procedure in the case of selective reduction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-abortion movements</span> Movement that believes abortion should be illegal

Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in response to the legalization of elective abortions.

A six-week abortion ban, also called a "fetal heartbeat bill" by proponents, is a law in the United States which makes abortion illegal as early as six weeks gestational age, which is when proponents claim that a "fetal heartbeat" can be detected. Medical and reproductive health experts, including the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, say that the reference to a fetal heartbeat is medically inaccurate and misleading, for a conceptus is not called a fetus until eight weeks after fertilization, as well as that at four weeks after fertilization, the embryo has no heart, only a group of cells which will become a heart. Medical professionals advise that a true fetal heartbeat cannot be detected until around 17 to 20 weeks of gestation when the chambers of the heart have become sufficiently developed.

<i>Desire Me</i> 1947 American film with no credited director

Desire Me is a 1947 American romantic drama film starring Robert Mitchum and Greer Garson. It had a troubled production that included numerous directors and rewrites, and was released without a credited director.

Abortion in Alabama is illegal. Historically, Alabama's abortion laws have evolved from strict regulations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to a period of liberalization following the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide. However, Alabama has consistently enacted legislation aimed at restricting access to abortion.

Abortion in Massachusetts is legal, although terminations after the 24th week can only be performed if a physician determines it to be medically necessary. Modern Massachusetts is considered to be one of the most pro-abortion rights states in the country; a 2014 Pew Research poll found that 74% of residents supported the right to an abortion in all or most cases, a higher percentage than any other state in 2014. Marches supporting abortion rights took place as part of the #StoptheBans movement in May 2019. The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 78% of people from Massachusetts said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Abortion in Mississippi is illegal. The new law took effect on July 7, 2022, after Mississippi State Attorney General Lynn Fitch certified on June 27, the Supreme Court decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24 of that year. State Attorney General Lynn Fitch's certification made Mississippi's 2007 'trigger law' go into effect and ban all abortions in the state, “except in the case where necessary for the preservation of the mother's life or where the pregnancy was caused by rape".

Abortion in North Dakota is technically legal, but with no current providers. The state's sole abortion clinic, the Red River Women's Clinic, relocated to Minnesota.

Abortion in Ohio is legal up to the point of fetal viability as a result of abortion rights being placed into the Ohio State Constitution by November 2023 Ohio Issue 1.

Abortion in Tennessee is illegal from fertilization and provides no exceptions for rape, incest or the health of the pregnant individual. Tennessee's abortion legislation provides no explicit exceptions for the pregnant patient’s health. It makes an exception for an “affirmative defense” for emergencies, but the vagueness of what constitutes an emergency means that physicians hesitate to provide abortions even when the pregnant individual's life is in jeopardy. Attempts to codify the exceptions into law have been rejected by Republican politicians in Tennesse. Tennessee is among the four states which forbid abortion access through their state constitution; alongside Alabama, Louisiana, and West Virginia.

Abortion in Wyoming is currently legal due to a temporary court injunction.

References

  1. ↑ "Rain Without Thunder". The Numbers . Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  2. ↑ Terry, Clifford (1993-02-14). "Getting The Message". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  3. ↑ Ayscough, Susan (1992-12-07). "Orion Classics picks up first release, 'Thunder'". Variety . Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  4. ↑ "Short Takes". Variety . 1993-01-27. Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  5. 1 2 Pierson, Melissa (1995-10-27). "Rain Without Thunder (1995)". Entertainment Weekly . No. 298. Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  6. ↑ "Rain Without Thunder (1993)". Rotten Tomatoes . Flixster . Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  7. ↑ Ebert, Roger (1993-02-15). "Rain Without Thunder". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  8. ↑ Maslin, Janet (1993-02-05). "Rain Without Thunder (1993)". The New York Times . Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  9. ↑ Hinson, Hal (1993-02-09). "'Rain Without Thunder' (PG-13)". The Washington Post . Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  10. ↑ Ryan, Desmond (1993-02-12). "An Abortion Drama Set In The Future That Ignores Realities Of The Present". Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  11. ↑ Steinmetz, Johanna (1993-02-12). "'Rain Without Thunder' Also Without Drama". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  12. ↑ Wilmington, Michael (1993-02-05). "MOVIE REVIEWS: 'Rain' Has Seen Future and It Doesn't Work". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  13. ↑ Steritt, David (1993-02-12). "Drama on Abortion Deftly Balances Debate". The Christian Science Monitor . Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  14. ↑ Boyar, Jay (1993-05-31). "'Rain Without Thunder' Raises Questions About Abortion's Future". Orlando Sentinel . Retrieved 2014-02-10.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.