{"id":16261,"date":"2011-03-14T10:56:16","date_gmt":"2011-03-14T17:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=16261"},"modified":"2024-06-08T20:28:03","modified_gmt":"2024-06-09T03:28:03","slug":"wholl-stop-the-rain-1978","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=16261","title":{"rendered":"Who&#8217;ll Stop the Rain? (1978)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been waiting all my life to fuck up like this.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholll-Stop-the-Rain-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholll-Stop-the-Rain-Poster-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-16262\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholll-Stop-the-Rain-Poster-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholll-Stop-the-Rain-Poster-86x128.jpg 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholll-Stop-the-Rain-Poster.jpg 226w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA cynical Vietnam vet (Michael Moriarty) convinces his buddy (Nick Nolte) to smuggle heroin back to his wife (Tuesday Weld) in the United States &#8212; but two hitmen (Ray Sharkey and Richard Masur) working for a crooked cop (Anthony Zerbe) are soon on their tail, forcing Nolte and Weld to flee.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Drug Dealers<\/li>\n<li>Fugitives<\/li>\n<li>Karel Reisz Films<\/li>\n<li>Michael Moriarty Films<\/li>\n<li>Nick Nolte Films<\/li>\n<li>Tuesday Weld Films<\/li>\n<li>Veterans<\/li>\n<li>Vietnam War<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary notes that while Karel Reisz&#8217;s adaptation of Robert Stone&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dog_Soldiers_%28novel%29\">1974 novel <em>Dog Soldiers<\/em><\/a> may &#8220;not [be] as <em>sordid<\/em> in its depiction of Vietnam-U.S. drug trafficking&#8221;, it &#8220;still packs a wallop&#8221; in its portrayal of a &#8220;fascinating true-to-life storyline that other directors wouldn&#8217;t touch because there is no &#8216;hero&#8217; fighting for what we&#8217;d think is a worthy cause.&#8221; He notes that while it&#8217;s &#8220;<em>not<\/em> for the squeamish&#8221;, given that the &#8220;characters are extremely brutal&#8221; and the &#8220;action scenes are frightening&#8221;, it nonetheless possesses many strengths, given that the &#8220;characters are memorable, casting is perfect, dialogue is sharp, and direction of actors strong&#8221;. The final shoot-out in the hills of New Mexico (reminiscent of a western) is particularly exciting, and makes creative use of sound and music. (As Peary notes, the &#8220;picture has an excellent, eclectic score&#8221;.)<\/p>\n<p>While it&#8217;s essentially a crime thriller, <em>Who&#8217;ll Stop the Rain?<\/em> is heavily driven by a core set of noteworthy performances. Nolte, &#8220;looking fit, is an action hero to rival Rambo&#8221;, and is eminently believable in his role &#8212; though one can&#8217;t help wishing a bit more of his personality was revealed or explained; at one point he&#8217;s referred to as a psychopath, but, despite his propensity towards violence, this clearly isn&#8217;t an accurate assessment. Meanwhile, Moriarty (who Peary notes it&#8217;s nice to see &#8220;in a non-neurotic role&#8221;) perfectly captures the quiet, jaded cynicism of a man who has seen far too much violence and &#8220;lunacy&#8221; during the war to remain idealistic; and Weld&#8217;s portrayal as his wife &#8212; a seemingly milquetoast bookstore employee and mother who becomes addicted to heroin during her nightmarish ordeal &#8212; is both brave and memorable (though again, one wishes the screenplay provided a bit more insight into who she is and what makes her tick). Another minor quibble: while Masur and Sharkey are appropriately menacing as the two thugs chasing after Nolte and Weld, they somehow come across a bit cartoonish at times; however, this is easy enough to overlook, as the story continues to propel us towards its bleak, violence-ridden finale. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Nick Nolte as Ray<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Nolte.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Nolte-1024x640.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-16268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Nolte-1024x640.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Nolte-128x80.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Nolte-300x187.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Nolte.png 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Tuesday Weld as Marge<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Weld.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Weld-1024x640.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-16265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Weld-1024x640.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Weld-128x80.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Weld-300x187.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Weld.png 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Michael Moriarty as John<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Moriarty.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Moriarty-1024x640.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-16266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Moriarty-1024x640.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Moriarty-128x80.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Moriarty-300x187.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Moriarty.png 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The exciting final shoot-out<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Shootout.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Shootout-1024x640.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-16267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Shootout-1024x640.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Shootout-128x80.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Shootout-300x187.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Wholl-Stop-Rain-Shootout.png 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for the fine performances throughout.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0078490\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/wholl-stop-the-rain\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been waiting all my life to fuck up like this.&#8221; Synopsis: A cynical Vietnam vet (Michael Moriarty) convinces his buddy (Nick Nolte) to smuggle heroin back to his wife (Tuesday Weld) in the United States &#8212; but two hitmen (Ray Sharkey and Richard Masur) working for a crooked cop (Anthony Zerbe) are soon on their tail, forcing Nolte and Weld to flee. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Drug Dealers Fugitives Karel Reisz Films Michael Moriarty Films Nick Nolte Films&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=16261\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16261"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97454,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16261\/revisions\/97454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}