A wonderfully photographed film

On the eve of the British Before the Rains release, Time Out (London) are definitely mixed, but call the film 'solid'. There is no specific mention of Jennifer Ehle, but they consider Linus Roache 'understretched'. They go on to say:

[...] The film’s main strength lies in the relationships between its characters – each make terrible but understandable decisions that lead to tragedy, but none ever appears as an outright villain. Only towards the end does this careful balance become unstuck [...]

Similarly, at Vue Weekly the reception is mixed, but they also pick out strengths:

[...] Before the Rains is a traditionally constructed, competently acted and wonderfully photographed film. It’s a Merchant-Ivory production, and like most Merchant-Ivory films of yore, it’s conventionally beautiful filmmaking, chock-full of verdant jungles and sun-dappled colonial towns. ... And there are some genuine moments of suspense and tragedy. The melodrama rarely overplays itself, and the symbolism, while a little pat, gets the jobs done. [...]

Meanwhile, at the Guardian, Santosh Sivan repeats thoughts about his childhood and his approach to the film.

It also appears that The Russell Girl is now available for rental in the UK. The Daily Express corroborates this claim of a previous article, describing the programme as a 'classy tearjearker'.

Elsewhere, just a couple of thoughts have surfaced in the blogosphere:

FilmNotes considered Before the Rains 'beautifully shot,' adding that it was 'lovely to see Linus in such a key role'. The overall conclusion arrived at was that the film was 'good but not perfect'.

A Wired New York visitor said of Pride and Glory:

[...] It's set to release in October, which I think is better for the film as it looks to have major Oscar potential. ... The people behind it have been working on it for a long time and were given rare access inside the NYPD. [...]

Finally, there is brief mention of John Ehle's effect on author Robert Morgan in the Asheville Citizen-Times:

[...] John Ehle's novel, "The Road" (the 2005 Together We Read pick) "influenced me especially," Morgan said. Ehle was among the first to universalize local material and portray the people fairly and with dignity. [...]