Cady's Take:

Things Behind The Sun is the story of Shelly McGrale (Kim Dickens), a rock singer whose best-known song is the story of her rape. Every year for the past three years Sherry has been arrested, drunk and disorderly, on the same day, on the lawn of a Florida house. In grueling flashbacks, we learn that this place of the trespassing is where McGrale was gang raped.

When Sherry is arrested, Owen (Gabriel Mann) who works for a music magazine decides to do a story on her. We soon find out that Owen knows the rapist's identity, in fact, he knows more than that.

As a woman, it is always difficult to see a movie involving rape. Especially when the footage is so direct and brutal. But, this film addresses the subject with great honesty and potency even though it becomes almost depressingly unwatchable.

Great performances by Eric Stoltz (the perpetrator of the crime), and especially from Don Cheadle who plays Chuck, Shelly's manager and ex-lover, a decent man who loves Sherry ferociously and wants to save her from herself.

I must mention that for a movie that tries so hard to be delicate about the traumas of sexual encounters, the elongated sex scene between Owen and a female reporter feels extremely out of place.

"Things Behind The Sun" provided me with three pleasant surprises: Don Cheadle, Eric Stoltz, and Patricia Arquette. My reason for adding this to my Netflix queue was a general buzz I had heard about the director, Allison Anders. "Things Behind The Sun" is sort of an "Almost Famous" meets "The Accused". No, not in the Jodie Foster as key witness sense, but we are presented with a main character who is dealing with the emotional trauma of a rape.

When Sherry (Kim Dickens) writes a song that starts climbing the college charts, a writer from a music magazine takes notice, and not just because the song is good. Owen (Gabriel Mann) travels to Florida to meet Sherry and we are steered through her cycle of pain and drinking and self-destructive behavior. The performances are edgy, although one has to wonder why - if Sherry acts this way, and knows why - she never feels like she needs help. Her relationships suffer, especially the one with her boyfriend of five years, Chuck (Don Cheadle). Owen's relationship to Sherry, and to past events, slowly unfolds. Anders has a sure eye for her story, and she keeps us interested by giving us the perfect amount of information in every scene.

"Things Behind The Sun" boasts a strong script, a great cast, and excellent performances; a solid rental for anyone interested in a movie that is just off the beaten path.