Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Who'll Stop the Rain? (1978)

"In a world where elephants are pursued by flying men, people are just naturally going to want to get high" John Converse

I have eagerly pursued seeing this film since I read Macresarf1's review here on this site. I finally got a hold of the MGM DVD and want to share my thoughts with you. Alex, buddy, this one's for you!

The film opens with a confused battle scene with ordnance (napalm) falling short on US positions. We hear a voice over from John Converse (Michael Moriarty), composing a letter to his wife, from which I abstracted the introductory quote above. This oratory sets up the plot: transportation of two keys of pure, uncut heroin from Vietnam to California.

Trouble is, Moriarty, a Marine veteran, is now a war correspondent, besides being a strung out milquetoast, so he believes he cannot carry the drugs back himself without getting caught. He therefore enlists the aid of his pal Ray Hicks (Nick Nolte), also a former Marine, now working in Vietnam as a merchant marine. As I've always heard, there are plenty of places to hide contraband aboard ship. Nolte reluctantly agrees, more from a perverse loyalty than a profit motive.

Nolte makes it back, smuggles the package out of the port, but when he goes to deliver it to Moriarty's wife, Tuesday Weld, he finds a welcoming committee. The thugs are played by Richard Masur and Ray Sharkey. Using his formidable combat skills, Nolte neutralizes the pair, leaving them bound in their own handcuffs. No longer just a delivery boy, he is a hunted man. He needs to escape and protect the woman, based on his internal code of honor. Just after their flight, Moriarty comes home. The story from here on out only gets worse for the protagonists. I've waited all my life to screw up this badly," is how Moriarty puts it...

When Nolte makes his decision to run, there is no turning back, although Tuesday Weld, a pill addict, tells him to just throw the smack away. "All my life I've been taking $h!t from inferior people. No more." is Nolte's response, reflecting an admirable but fatal sense of righteousness. He digs up some ordnance he had hidden at a remote site, including an M16 rifle and some rifle grenades, probably smuggled back during his merchant marine days. They head for an abandoned hippie commune in the high desert where the final act plays out. On the way, Weld's pills give out, and yep, you guessed it, he eases her pain with the 99 and 44/100% pure heroin.

Who'll Stop the Rain? is based on the National Book Award winning novel "Dog Soldiers" by Robert Stone. The subject is one that would have interested director Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch), as it concerned themes he often explored; honor, loyalty, changing times, and friendship. As it was, it was directed by Karel Reisz, a Czech-born director who also made "The French Lieutenant's Woman."

Most of the cinematography is dark, befitting the dark subject matter, and is a paean to the loss of innocence that we all experienced subsequent to the assassination of President Kennedy and our increasing involvement in Southeast Asia, a war we still do not fully understand to this day.

The film score is sparse, most music being provided by ambient sources like juke boxes and car radios a la The Last Picture Show. The music that does punctuate the film runs heavy to Creedence Clearwater Revival and the title song occurs at least three times throughout the running time. I feel that changing the title from "Dog Soldiers" was probably a marketing decision to capitalize on the popularity of CCR, but the original title suits the story better. Dog Soldiers were members of an elite military society among plains Indians, in other words, warriors of special renown. This suits the themes of bravery, honor, and loyalty exhibited by Nick Nolte's character, and to a lesser extent that of Moriarty, but I digress.

The acting is without reproach among the ensemble cast, with Nick Nolte (48 HRs) a superb leading man. Anthony Zerbe (Papillon) an effective rogue CIA agent, heading the thug team of Ray Sharkey (No Mercy) and Richard Masur (The Thing), who also provide comic relief in addition to a large helping of menace. Tuesday Weld is an effective femme fatale who falls in love with Nolte between fixes, while Michael Moriarty makes a quirky recurring character, with an ironic sense of honor himself. Charles Haid (Hill Street Blues) as a stateside drug dealer steals the show every time he appears. He should have done more movies.

The final scene of the film is one I want to see for yourself, however, it is worth your time to see the whole movie as it has things that will resonate with people of many different points of view.

The MGM DVD is presented in 1.85:1 theatrical format and is in color. As with most MGM products, the extras are thin, including only the trailer and a couple foreign language subtitles (no English) and a foreign language audio choice or two.

Who'll Stop the Rain will give you a more personal view of the effects of the Vietnam experience than any other war movie I'm aware of.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy a good film tonight!

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening