RAIN DOWN: The Story Behind the Story

The Rain Down screenplay was written by the film’s Executive Producer, Alyson Drysdale. While Alyson has had  an active 20+ year career working in the film industry, this is the first feature film she has produced based on a script which she authored and, as such, this project is near and dear to her heart. 

Growing up in the East Kootenay district of British Columbia, Alyson is no stranger to the ranching lifestyle.  Her love for the land and the hard working resolute people who work it is evident throughout the script. In fact, her own grandfather’s gorgeous well used saddle stands proudly in the entrance to her home in Vancouver. She is particularly  proud of the observation of one script reader that "...the minimalism and often stoic characterizations are reminiscent of the novels of Cormac McCarthy, and to some extent the films based on those works."

RAIN DOWN: The Story

Storm clouds gather over a ranch in the arid interior near Cache Creek, British Columbia as Carla Springer, 28, lean, tanned and taciturn, closes up her ranch house to protect it from the coming tempest. In the aftermath of a divorce Carla is struggling to keep her ranch in the face of bankruptcy and an expropriation attempt by the government. 

Meanwhile, Carla’s 5 year old niece, Willow, left alone most days and many nights to fend for herself in the small bungalow she shares with her mother, Barbara, makes her way to the safety of the only other place she knows – Carla’s ranch. Unwilling and unable to get wholly involved, Carla returns Willow time and again to what is an increasingly abusive situation – one that Carla suspects but cannot see.

When Carla’s felonious ex-husband Darren, just released from prison, shows up at the ranch wanting to reconnect, Carla has more emotional turmoil than she can withstand and something has to give. 

One morning Willow shows up with bruises all over her small body. Carla hides Willow when Barbara and her psycho boyfriend, Craig, come looking for her. A confrontation ensues with Darren, leading to his arrest and return to prison. Willow goes back to Barbara whose own life is spiraling into drug abuse and prostitution, and Carla receives a restraining order barring her from further contact. Carla’s emotions are shattered and she retreats to her singular insulated life.

Then comes some unexpected news: Carla wins her expropriation battle with the government. She has about one minute to savour her triumph before being told Willow has been hospitalized with severe injuries. Victory over the government is hollow and meaningless, when what really matters is one little girl’s need to grow up in a safe and nurturing environment. 

Carla finally takes control of her destiny. She enlists Darren’s unique brand of help from his prison cell and embarks on a dangerous journey of deliverance for herself and Willow. Rain Down is a story about shaping one’s destiny with one’s own hands, about sacrificing material gains for the greater human good, and about facing the past and shedding its traces in order to embrace a meaningful future.