In Garth Davis’ Foe, a sci-fi drama that takes place on a farm that’s been dried out by climate change, there are two moments when it rains. Since the movie starring Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan is so dry, dusty and desolate, when water falls from the sky it’s noticeable and almost jarring. So, when I got the chance to chat with the movie’s cinematographer, Mátyás Erdély, I had to ask about the rain, and he explained the deeper meaning behind it.
As the movie unfolds, we watch a couple break apart after they find out one of them has been chosen for a space mission. It’s then revealed at the end of Foe that Mescal’s character Jr. has been at the space station for the majority of the movie, while his wife, Hen (Ronan), has been living with the AI version of him.
Throughout the film, there are flashbacks of Jr. and Hen’s relationship in the earlier days, and it includes their wedding day. While the Earth is dying, and it hardly ever rains, it did on the day they decided to get married. Serendipitously, it also rained on the day their relationship died after the human Jr. returned to the planet. Thinking about this juxtaposition in the book-to-screen adaption of Iain Reid's novel, Erdély told me this:
That's the whole idea that this is a dying Earth and there is no rain, there are no crops, you know, it's like nature itself is revolting against humanity. The whole idea is that this farm is no longer alive. This is a dying world, and the farm is dying in it.
Rain can give life, and it can easily take it away, and in Foe’s case, it signifies both. Erdély continued to speak about the two moments of rain, and what they individually represented in the film. He said:
There are two moments of rain. One is a flashback, which is the moment of them getting married. And it's pouring, pouring rain, which I found it super beautiful. It's like the opposite of what you want on the day of your marriage. But I found it super beautiful. And then there is this big relief when we think it can turn around, and Hen’s character has had this chance of like, ‘let's try to make this relationship work.’ And that's the moment when there's the lightning and thunder, and then rain starts and they go out to celebrate the rain.
At the end of Foe, Jr.’s return feels like a relief at first, because it means all the trauma caused by Hen’s time with the AI version of him can come to an end. However, we’re quickly reminded that the human version of her husband is a toxic man, who does not want to grow. Therefore, he does not want the rain, and he walks out of it, literally. Meanwhile, Hen is excited about it, she’s curious, and she wants to stay in it and evolve past this farm. Their reactions to the rain the second time show how they’ve changed and grown apart.
The movie shows both how rain can nourish as well as how chaotic it can be, and the damage it can cause. Thinking about all of this, and what the rain signifies both universally and for this couple, Mátyás Erdély said:
So it's connected with new beginnings or the hope of new beginnings and the hope of life. And then, you know, you can see the rest of the movie. It's not that optimistic, until the very end where it is.
Overall, the rain in Foe helps us understand the state of Jr. and Hen’s marriage, it also signifies the birth and death of their relationship after this traumatizing event in their lives. To unpack this symbolism for yourself, and to see Foe in its entirety, you can watch it in theaters now and it’s expected to be available through a Prime Video subscription after its theatrical run.
