Featured Audience Ratings

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic][color=red]"Things Behind the Sun" is an autobiographical movie from Allison Anders(Grace of My Heart; Gas Food Lodging) that was first shown on Showtime. It starts out in Cocoa Beach, Fl with Sherry McGrale(Kim Dickens, in a brave, great performance)… More
  [font=Century Gothic][color=red]"Things Behind the Sun" is an autobiographical movie from Allison Anders(Grace of My Heart; Gas Food Lodging) that was first shown on Showtime. It starts out in Cocoa Beach, Fl with Sherry McGrale(Kim Dickens, in a brave, great performance) making an annual drunken odyssey to a house. Now she is on probation under the watchful eyes of her caring manager(Don Cheadle, yet another typically excellent performance). Sherry has written a song about being raped as a young girl which is making the rounds of college radio stations.(This reminded me of Tori Amos' song "Me and a Gun.") Meanwhile, Owen(Gabriel Mann), a journalist for Vinyl Fetish Magazine in Los Angeles, claims to know who raped Sherry and returns to Florida.[/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000][/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000]"Things Behind the Sun" is a very powerful movie about rape and how it negatively effects everybody involved, even years down the road. I especially liked the fact that it does not shy away from some of the more unpleasant parts of the story, thus keeping the story even more real. It does falter a bit towards the end, though. Allison Anders makes a better use of music here than she did in "Grace of My Heart". Eric Stoltz is extremely good in a short role, playing a convict.(And I apologize if I insinuated that he could not handle a serious dramatic role in my review of "House of Mirth." Apparently he can...) And it's nice to see Patsy Kensit in anything.[/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000] [/color][/font]

• Eduardo C

  
  This is a very brave, honest look at the long term effects of rape, both on the victim and on an unwilling victimizer. The fact it chooses to explore both angles is impressive, but there is much more to be found here as this is not at all a 'message' film. For example,… More
  This is a very brave, honest look at the long term effects of rape, both on the victim and on an unwilling victimizer. The fact it chooses to explore both angles is impressive, but there is much more to be found here as this is not at all a 'message' film. For example, I'd be hard pressed to name a film that is more in love with music, both specific songs and of it, the creative process behind it, the act of composing, the finished product, everything. This is the kind of film that understands how a song can, in a few minutes, often express much more than all the dialogue in the world, how the right music can have such a long lasting effect on a person. This film is remarkably powerful, with scenes of such searing honesty that they cut right to the bone of the viewer. The ending is as 'uplifting' as the circumstances allow, presenting the characters with the opportunity to grow from their experiences and look to a brighter future, but the last song is heartbreaking, reminding the audience of just how much these characters lost that one night, and how much they can never regain.