A Reason to Believe (1995)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Douglas Tirola

Writer:

Douglas Tirola (writer)

Release Date:

27 October 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Sometimes the people you know the best are the ones you can trust the least.

Plot:

A popular girl on campus, Charlotte, attends a wild party while her boyfriend Wesley is out of town...

Plot Keywords:

Rape | Female Nudity | Topless | Independent Film

Cast

Jay Underwood	...	Jim Curran
Allison Smith	...	Charlotte Byrne
Danny Quinn	...	Wesley
Georgia Emelin	...	Linda Perryman
Kim Walker	...	Judith
Keith Coogan	...	Potto
Christopher Birt	...	Gary
Lisa Lawrence	...	Alison
Obba Babatundé	...	Prof. Thurman
Mark Metcalf	...	Dean Kirby
Robin Riker	...	Constance
Holly Marie Combs	...	Sharon
Afton Smith	...	Becky
Joe Flanigan	...	Eric Sayles
David Overlund	...	Freddy

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality and language, substance abuse and a rape.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Company:

Pioneer Pictures Corporation

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During a sex scene involving Sharon, she can be seen putting a condom on what is clearly a prop of some sort (piece of wood, possibly). This error is only visible in some prints of the film including the full-screen VHS version. Other prints crop this out.

Sadly Candid

Unlike many viewers, I did not seek this film out simply to catch a glimpse at Holly Marie Combs' breasts.

I thought that the way the movie portrayed the feelings of loneliness, confusion, isolation, and guilt that rape victims go through was very well done. The film did a great job showing the rape from a predominantly impartial standpoint and the way that it showed both sides of the story was very impressive. The rapist was not a one-dimensional creep and the girl was not a completely innocent victim. They were both depicted as fallible and human. This was a huge relief to me. I was growing increasingly tired of seeing rape cases depicted as black and white. The movie, though fairly anonymous, did a great job at depicting the multiplicity of emotions and actions that occur doing a tragedy like that. Unfortunatlely, the movie lacks classic Hollywood exaggeration and some might find it a bit dull. In its quest for authenticity the movie comes across as a bit too slow-paced. Overall though, its very nicely done.

BTW - Holly Marie Combs did a superb job in the small part that she had. Her character served as a great foil to the protagonist. Her main monologue was simply fabulous. She did a great job. Too bad, the movie could have benefited with more screen time from her.