The Merchant Ivory film, Before the Rains (2007), is a wonderland of rich scenery.  Set in India, it was photographed by its director, Santosh Sivan.  Too bad a second-rate story, with the character of a British colonialist in 1937 given short shrift, wrecks the enterprise.  In fact, a whole lotta hogwash is here.

Linus Roache supplies a little too much on-the-surface acting as the colonialist, but is passable.  Rahul Bose is largely uninteresting as an Indian right-hand man.  The women, Nandita Das and Jennifer Ehle, however, have their hearts in it and never make a false move.  Put another way, no surface stuff.  If you’re drawn at all to this film, see it for these two performances.

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