2 hours ago
London noir is simply a uncommon subgenre — and an particularly difficult 1 to propulsion disconnected — but Michele Fiascaris’s debut Rain Catcher is simply a satisfying, seductively atmospheric summation to nan canon that will support moreover nan astir jaded of viewers connected nan alert. The mostly unfamiliar formed lend an aerial of unpredictability that serves nan cardinal enigma well, while nan metropolis itself — nan bulk of nan events return spot successful nan brutalist confines of nan Barbican Estate — plays an admirable supporting role. Important, too, is nan truth that Fiascaris’s movie besides touches connected immoderate absorbing issues too, principally nan progressively dehumanizing side-effects of societal media.
The pseudonymous ‘Rain Catcher’ who gives nan movie its title is nan change ego of Miles (Dudley O’Shaughnessy), a thoroughfare photographer who cruises nan streets astatine nighttime taking compromising pictures of group who don’t cognize they’re being seen, fto unsocial photographed. His cardinal Instagram followers deliberation of him arsenic nan 2nd coming of Banksy, but plentifulness much deliberation of him arsenic a peeping Tom, a voyeuristic intruder who insinuates himself into backstage spaces.
Miles’s ambivalence astir this is laid retired successful nan opening sequence, successful which, while moonlighting for a tabloid newspaper, he manipulates his singer-songwriter woman Cassie (Iris Law) into taking portion successful a sting aimed to expose a seedy grounds shaper called Nico. While snapping distant pinch a long-lens camera from a adjacent rooftop, Nico watches arsenic Nico tries to flatter her (“Our caller Norah Jones!”) but nevertheless insists she audition for him (“I request to cognize if you’re bully enough”). Since Cassie is already connected edge, nan capacity goes badly. Nico offers cocaine to calm her nerves and crudely propositions her, astatine which constituent Cassie raises nan siren and blows Miles’s cover.
Miles escapes, but nan events of that nighttime will travel backmost large time. In nan meantime, haunted by his actions, he tries to immerse himself successful his work, becoming obsessed pinch a nationalist creation title pinch a apical prize of £30,000, much than capable to salary his backmost rent and support his landlord from banging connected his door. Unable to interaction Cassie, Miles becomes fascinated by Yumi (Jessie Mei Li), who lives successful nan artifact opposite, and nan brace onslaught up an unexpected romance, moreover aft she discovers he’s been spying connected her.
At nan aforesaid time, Miles starts to announcement a beingness successful his pictures, a female successful a raincoat (Kate Dickie) staring intently into nan camera. Shortly afterwards, personification attempts to retired him, by hacking his Instagram floor plan and posting pictures of his existent look successful spot of his cryptic avatar. There follows a leafletting campaign, accusing him of being a pervert and a threat to children. To find who’s doing each of this, Miles traces nan enigma female to an apartment, which he breaks into nether screen of night, accidentally sidesplitting nan caretaker successful nan process and making his ain prospects for redemption abruptly very bleak indeed.
It sounds a batch to return successful and it is, particularly pinch a moving clip that is somewhat excessively agelong for a movie that takes rather a fewer risks pinch its communicative logic. The script, likewise, is often a small connected nan nose, often saying retired large what ought to beryllium subtext and undercutting nan rich | consciousness of enigma that envelops nan movie correct up until nan large reveal. And nan uncover itself? It’s difficult to opportunity really it each lands without spoiling nan full thing, since it is simply a very, very circumstantial subset of nan horror-fantasy genre (a mild comparison would Omer Fast’s trippy 2015 psychodrama Remainder). It’s a small far-fetched, but it does work, and it wholly upends everything you were reasoning astir nan plotting, nan acting, and nan truth that, erstwhile again, you under-estimated Kate Dickie’s incredibly subtle range.
Smart streamers mightiness want to see Rain Catcher arsenic a bid — deliberation Slow Horses meets The Fugitive — but Fiascaris’s movie stands up perfectly good arsenic a one-off. Genre enthusiasts will find tons to for illustration here, from its rich | saturated nighttime ambience to nan moody, cine-techno people by Aeph. It’s a movie astir what happens successful nan shadows, and its clip successful nan spotlight starts now.
Title: Rain Catcher
Festival: Karlovy Vary (Proxima Competition)
Director: Michele Fiascaris
Screenwriters: Filippo Polesel, Michele Fiascaris, Alba Moyano
Cast: Dudley O’Shaughnessy, Jessie Mei Li, Iris Law, Kate Dickie, Youssef Kerkour,
Lorenzo Richelmy
Running time: 1 hr 51 mins
