Rain on the Roof (1980)
Another of Dennis Potter's "visitation dramas": Adultery by John disturbs Janet, so she flirts with the simple, mistreated Billy during the middle of giving him a reading lesson. Unfortunately, it triggers aggressive behavior in Billy which he directs toward John.
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Surprisingly incoherent and boring
Excellent but underrated film
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Dennis Potter was an acclaimed dramatist, but if this is typical of his work, that acclaim was sorely misplaced. The only bright thing about "Rain On The Roof" is the stunningly attractive Cheryl Campbell who plays the female lead. Alas, her character is nowhere near as attractive as the lady herself, a bored, childless housewife living extremely comfortably who is teaching the village idiot to read.What would you expect in a play like this of a woman who invites a simpleton into her home? The guy misreads her kindness, and rapes her? No, fortunately, although something far worse happens eventually. Janet believes her husband is playing away,and lets him know it, deciding sauce for the gander...They are not averse to throwing plates and things at each other, and when he catches her trying it on with her student, he gives her a black eye. Petty, spiteful and nasty all round.What is the point of "Rain On The Roof", one might ask? To show how people who have everything can end up throwing it all away for no good reason?