Never talked about, but utterly satisfying, anyone looking for a real sleeper need look no further. Wrapping up with an ambiguous ending, the film concludes on a fitting note. It's a delicate balance, but one that's fully achieved.
Really, despite the run down locations, despite the macabre nature of the proceedings, the entire film has an underlying beauty radiating throughout it. A lovely example of creativity through subtlety. I didn't realize what I was seeing at first, but once it became clear, I had to go back and watch the scene again. One scene is a real stunner, as we bear witness to the force of an unseen explosion. Under his direction, everything comes together beautifully. Hodges peppers his film with many themes, a key one clearly being the human need for assurance. Ah, good ol' human nature! This leads to Arquette tearing into her final audience with a speech about the affirmation of their own lives through the afterlife. The same woman was more than happy to take part in her showings when they were reassuring, but the moment she foresees something bad, the woman does a 180 and puts her down. At one point in the film, Martha is branded a witch due to one of her predictions. Tom Hulce is the cocky reporter, and I recognized the mechanic from The Night Flier as Ted Silas. Jason Robards plays her father, a louse of a man using his daughter as a cash cow while deriding her every step of the way. Emotionally worn and hardened by the existence that's been forced on her, Martha lives an empty life giving hope to others while keeping none for herself. She vividly conveys the essence of the character, a woman who turns to sporadic bouts of nymphomania for her only form of gratification. I don't think she's ever looked more stunning, and likewise, I don't think she's ever given a better performance than the one delivered here. As Martha, Rosanna Arquette is intensely ethereal. In a film like this, the characters have to be well-drawn. Low key and mysterious, the film is laced with atmosphere that, while often dreary, in reality is quite hypnotic. Whether it is or not, the image she uses to describe her connection to the afterlife, that of a rainbow, is about to become very blackened indeed. Before she begins foretelling deaths, we never are clearly sure if Martha's gift is all an act. Directed by Mike Hodges, the film is equal parts horror yarn, crime thriller and chastising of fake mediums. Black Rainbow is a grimy, slow-burning little southern Gothic. Word spreads, and soon skeptical reporter Gary Wallace is on her trail, as is the hit-man responsible for the killing. He soon is though, killed just the way Martha had envisioned. One night, however, Martha receives a message from a man who's wife claims he isn't dead. Having pushed her into this way of life, her alcoholic father is more than happy to be making (and blowing) the money her shows bring about. A traveling medium who "performs" in front of large audiences, Martha Travis relays messages from deceased loved ones to their relatives in attendance.
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