3 Days of Rain

Plot

Writer/director Michael Meredith's ambitious first feature, Three Days of Rain, weaves together a large number of tales, loosely based on short stories by Anton Chekhov, and set in present-day Cleveland. Thunder (Michael Santoro) is a struggling tile-maker, an artisan whose leaky roof threatens to destroy his business and his life. Denis (Joey Bilow) is a mentally impaired railroad worker who finds his job in jeopardy when a co-worker, Jim (Chuck Cooper), questions his competence. Tess (Merle Kennedy) is a drug-addled young woman who performs sexual favors for a sleazy judge in order to visit the young daughter of whom she's lost custody. Waldo (Peter Falk) is an old rummy who repeatedly manipulates his caring son, Michael (Bill Stockton, who also produced the film), and then apologizes for doing so. Alex (Erick Avari of The Mummy) begins to question everything about his life after an encounter with a homeless veteran. A cab driver, John (Don Meredith), tells everyone who will listen about the recent death of his son. Through it all runs the commentary of a disc jockey (Lyle Lovett), who plays the smooth jazz that comprises the film's soundtrack. Three Days of Rain came to the attention of Wim Wenders through an editor on the project, Peter Przygodda, and Wenders, impressed with Meredith's work, became involved with the film. Three Days of Rain was shown in competition at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival. The film features cameos by Blythe Danner, Jason Patric, Max Perlich, Wayne Rogers (of M*A*S*H fame), and avant-garde filmmaker George Kuchar. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Review

Three Days of Rain is a wonderfully entertaining and thought-provoking film about modern urban life. Finding the basis for his multiple plotlines in the short stories of Anton Chekhov, writer/director Michael Meredith has fashioned a fascinating portrait of present-day Cleveland that is both sardonically funny and genuinely moving. Each character is a mess, in his or her own way, but Meredith sketches them with compassion and humor. In addition, Meredith has composed striking images of rain-swept Cleveland that allow his film to transcend being a talkfest. Peter Falk gives a phenomenal performance as Waldo, an elderly boozehound who can't stop mooching off his kindhearted son, Michael (Bill Stockton). What makes Waldo such a memorable and sometimes hilarious character is his painful self-awareness. When Michael insists on seeing the senior center where he lives, Waldo shamefacedly explains his reticence about introducing his son to his cohabitants: "I assume the part of an abused father sometimes." Joey Bilow, a mentally disabled actor, is very good as Denis, a railroad worker who's not quite the harmless innocent he seems. Erick Avari is very sympathetic in a complex role as a wealthy man struggling with his conscience. Don Meredith's cab driver character is unnecessarily opaque, and the plotline involving Tess (Merle Kennedy), the heroin addict who's lost custody of her daughter, is the closest the film comes to devolving into Todd Solondz-style misanthropy. But overall, Three Days of Rain is a lovely low-concept drama that exemplifies the best of American independent cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Cast

• Don Meredith - John
• Peter Falk - Waldo
• Merle Kennedy - Tess
• Erick Avari - Alex
• Lyle Lovett - DJ

Michael Santoro - Thunder; Joey Bilow - Denis; Penny Allen; Chuck Cooper - Jim; Maggie Walker; Brenda Wehle; Bill Stockton - Michael; Heather Kafka

Credit

Christina King - Associate Producer, Suzanne Unrein - Associate Producer, Bobby Brewer-Wallin - Costume Designer, Michael Meredith - Director, Peter Przygodda - Editor, Sabine Hoffman - Editor, Henry Herzing - Executive Producer, Roger St. Cyr - Executive Producer, Philip S. Bligh - Executive Producer, Brad Hilkstrom - Executive Producer, Bruce Randolph Tizes - Executive Producer, Bob Belden - Composer (Music Score), Scott Wittmer - Production Designer, Cynthia Pusheck - Cinematographer, Robert Casserly - Producer, Bill Stockton - Producer, Dave Ellinwood - Sound/Sound Designer, Douglas Roberts - Sound Editor, Michael Meredith - Screenwriter, Anton Chekhov - Short Story Author

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