Who'll Stop The Rain (1978) - Karel Reisz

Karel Reisz's 'Who'll Stop the Rain' follows Ray Hicks (Nick Nolte) a merchant marine, whom after some convincing, reluctantly agrees to smuggle two kilos of heroin into the United States as a favor for one of his friends (Michael Morairty).  When Ray Hicks arrives in the United States with the drugs, he begins to suspect that he is in fact being followed, by who exactly remains a mystery.  This forces Ray to go on the run, fearing for both is freedom and potentially his life.   'Who'll Stop The Rain' is a bleak, post Vietnam-era thriller which perfectly captures the type of social climate which existed after the end of the Vietnam war.  Nick Nolte is at his absolute best as the aforementioned, Ray Hicks, a man with a good soul, who seems to be constantly plagued by the environment around him.  The film plays like a chse movies, as most of the film follows Ray Hicks and his friend's wife, as they attempt to stay one step ahead of a corrupt federal agent, who is trying to hijack the Heroin for his own gains.   The film is unflinching in its approach, never shying away from showing what type of affect the Vietnam War had on so many men's souls; though doing so in a subtle way.  I would be hard pressed to think of another film which captures the emotion and feeling around a specific time period in United States history and with a superbly poetic ending, 'Who'll Stop the Rain' deserves to be mentioned among other great post-vietnam era films.  

9.25/10

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