MERCHANT-Ivory productions are usually visual delights, and “Before the Rains” is no exception. Pity that the direction and narrative lack passion. If there’s anything a story of interracial adultery needs, it’s passion.
It’s the late 1930s in rural India, and a British spice merchant, Henry Moores (Linus Roache), is trying to get the OK for a new road that would increase his business.
His dainty wife and young son are back in England while Moores works, works, works. But all work and no play would make Henry dull, so he carries on a hot affair with his Indian maid (exotic Nandita Das).
She, too, is married – and to a big guy who gets violent when he gets jealous. Life gets more complicated for all concerned when Moores’ wife and kid show up in India.
There seems to be a lot of potential in that yarn, but director Santosh Sivan chooses to proceed in by-the-numbers fashion, doing little to make “Before the Rains” stand out from similar films.
His failure is especially sad in light of his directing debut, “The Terrorist,” a riveting 1999 portrait of a 19-year-old female suicide bomber.
In Malayalam and English, with subtitles. Running time: 98 minutes. Rated PG-13 (sexuality, violence). At the Sunshine and the Paris.