Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Powerful, restrained and a delight to watch

First things first - pictures! At getty images you can see four photos of Jennifer Ehle at the TIFF Portrait Session for Before the Rains. (Search for "Jennifer Ehle")

And now on to some reviews:
  • Screen Daily has published a positive review of the film (even if they did repeatedly refer to it as Beyond the Rains. Jeesh.) Here is what they have to say about Jennifer Ehle specifically:
    [...] Linus Roache astutely conveys the blithe charm and moral weakness of his character whilst an underemployed Jennifer Ehle is allowed a few precious moments to assert the decency and concerns of a woman who might otherwise be confined to the roles of loyal wife and mother. [...]
    She still has a knack for turning small roles into something special!
  • Alikhan of The Original Concept recorded his thoughts about the movie, giving it 4.5/5 stars. Here is an excerpt of his review:
    [...] It is a moving film - with powerful performances by the entire cast - and truly a “diamond in the rough”. Roache, as a faulted man - plays his role with honesty and a sense of sensitivity. Bose, as quoted before, is truly the heart of the enterprise - he carries the show on his able shoulders. Das -as the Maid Sajani - once again outdoes herself. Jennifer Ehle is powerful, restrained and a delight to watch on the screen.
    While it is tough to rank this film amongst the others at the Film Festival - it is a powerful film on moral base that deserves a very bright future, whether it be film that lands on Indian Soil, or stays within the Western world. [...]
  • Jen at Dose.ca's TIFF blog thought the film was "pretty good" and was surprised to discover that Jennifer Ehle is not British:
    [...] I went to Before the Rain, which was pretty good, though not a knockout. Set in India in the '30s, it follows a maid who's having an affair with an Englishman, but he tosses her aside once his wife returns from Britain, with drastic results. The strangest part of it was during the Q&A afterwards, when Jennifer Ehle started talking and I realized she's not actually British. Hell, it was just weird seeing her without a corset. [...]
  • Finally, at News Post India, there is an article about Indian cinema at TIFF. Here is the bit about Before the Rains:
    [...] Rahul Bose is representing Sivan's English-language film 'Before The Rains', about a British planter in colonial India who wants to build a road to the hills to commercially tap the spices grown there. He is equally delighted by the response to the Indian film in general and his film in particular. 'Santosh and I got a standing ovation after the first screening of 'Before The Rains'. This was the first time that I was watching the film. And I must say I seldom feel so happy about my films and especially my performance. Fortunately, the feeling is shared here in Toronto,' said Rahul. Writing about Rahul's performance, Canadian
    critic Cameron Bailey said, 'Rahul is the heart of the film'.Commenting on the appreciation that his film is receiving, Sivan said: 'Actually I'm here in Toronto with two films. 'Before The Rains' and also my AIDS film 'Prarambha', which is part of a four-film bouquet. All the four AIDS films have been very well received. As for 'Before The Rains', Rahul, Nandita Das and I are enjoying the attention.' [...]

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