In the Summer Rain Review: A Contemplative Cinema!

November 4, 2025November 18, 2025 Surya Komal 0 Comments English Movies, Hollywood, Hollywood Movie Reviews, Hollywood Movies, In the Summer Rain, Joel Austin, Leah Schiman, Lianna Perry Fountain, Nathan Quick, Pearl Mei Lam

In the Summer Rain unfolds as a tender and introspective LGBTQ+ drama that weaves two tales of love, loss, and rediscovery across time. Set in the misty landscapes of Seattle, the film moves between two stories that mirror one another in surprising and emotional ways. Written and directed by Nathan Quick, it carries a quiet confidence in its storytelling, favoring emotional resonance over spectacle.

The film follows Jimmy (Joel Austin), a television actor returning to Seattle to learn about the daughter he never knew — a daughter whose life and death stir up questions of identity and belonging. Meanwhile, in a parallel story, Kimberly (Pearl Mei Lam), a high school senior, discovers first love with Bethany (Leah Schiman), the pastor’s daughter. Their relationship blossoms in secrecy, surrounded by the quiet judgment of a conservative community. As the film progresses, these two seemingly unrelated narratives begin to echo each other in tone, emotion, and even imagery — suggesting that love, guilt, and longing transcend generations.

I thought the themes Quick set out to explore — queer love, religious conditioning, shame, guilt, and the desire for freedom — were executed decently. His aim, as he noted, was to evoke feeling rather than explain it, and the film succeeds in doing just that. Scenes of Kimberly’s hesitant affection toward Bethany are handled with tenderness, portraying the fragile courage of first love.

At the same time, Jimmy’s storyline captures a different kind of vulnerability — the aching regret of someone confronting a past shaped by silence. The film allows both stories to exist not as cause and effect but as emotional reflections of each other. This structure feels deliberate and poetic, showing how love and fear ripple through time like rain falling on different windows. Quick’s direction and Kaley Joss’ camera work in harmony to express these themes visually, using soft light and still frames that make the emotions almost tactile. Each frame feels like a quiet confession, each moment a small release of something unspoken.

The performances, too, were strong across the board, grounding In the Summer Rain in a sense of emotional truth. Pearl Mei Lam delivers a quietly affecting turn as Kimberly, balancing youthful naivety with the weight of unspoken longing. Leah Schiman, as Bethany, conveys the internal tug-of-war between faith and desire with nuance and empathy, making their scenes together feel deeply lived-in. Joel Austin brings a different energy as Jimmy, portraying a man haunted by regret yet softened by the possibility of redemption.

However, at 2h 9m, the film’s pacing becomes its greatest obstacle. It’s a slow, meditative story filled with deep, introspective themes, but it requires patience to fully absorb. While that isn’t necessarily a flaw for viewers drawn to reflective cinema, the narrative’s stillness occasionally turns into stagnation. Some stretches feel prolonged, and a tighter 90-minute runtime might have preserved its emotional essence without testing endurance. Still, the climax involving Jimmy’s character delivers one of the film’s most moving moments — a quiet emotional reckoning that lingers well after the credits.

In conclusion, In the Summer Rain is a contemplative cinema — imperfect, but heartfelt. Nathan Quick’s exploration of queer love, shame, and spiritual liberation feels both personal and purposeful, even if the pacing demands patience. The film’s emotional honesty and visual gentleness make it worth experiencing, especially for those drawn to character-driven storytelling. It may not engage everyone equally, but for viewers willing to sit with its silences and subtleties, In the Summer Rain offers a deeply human reflection on how love endures — across time, belief, and memory.