MovieChat Forums > Shannon's Rainbow (2013) Discussion > Missteps and could-beens...

Missteps and could-beens...


I had such high hopes for this film at the beginning. By the end, I was cringing so much that I needed to see a chiropractor.

So many false notes. So much straining to be dramatic. To be thoughtful and meaningful and all kinds of other 'ful's.

-Going from 'Sure, let's give it a try!' to beeyatch all within the space of two minutes' screen time en route to Christine's place.

-"Were you riding when you were told?" (About her father's death.) "So was she! Christine was riding when they told her about you. She didn't ride again for eight years." Umm... Wait, what?!? They told Christine while she was riding that her daughter she'd just given birth to had died? WTF? That makes no sense.

-Putting Rainbow in a claims race. Come on! Nobody's that dense!

-Ah, yes, Max. The 'Magic Negro'. Can always count on his/her appearance in a 'message/transformation' flick. Thanks, Mr. Gossett, Jr. Everything having to do with Max torpedoes the film. Whereas most everything before his appearance rings true (mostly; see above), his bit rings hollow and false. Bad script decisions made here. And then bad directorial ones follow them.

-The whole 'Joe' bit: Huh?

I get that this film was based on a true story. What I would have appreciated all the more would have been if a great story had been told on the screen. But this didn't happen, and what could have been a really nice film left a really bad taste in my mouth.

What a waste.

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