Heavy Rain

I chose to make an article about Heavy Rain because this is the first movie I saw almost twenty times though I usually never watch a film I already viewed. It's funny, isn't it ? But no, I'm not hooked on a film. So, why did I see this movie so many times ? That is the question. You can't guess ? All right, so...I'm going to answer before people think that I'm totally crazy. Actually, Heavy Rain is not a simple movie, it is a PS3 game too but not whatever video game : this is an interactive drama in this the player follows the story of four characters. And the player is not a simple passive witness. He makes choices to lead the characters onto the path he wants and change the ending. Indeed, there are eighteen endings and few variations. That the reason I said that I saw it about twenty times, I saw all of the possible endings.

Hmm...now you know this is a great amazing interactive film, by my advice...So what about the game ? It was developed by a French studio : quantic dream. The scenario filled with more than 2500 pages was written by David Cage...

The story : the action takes place on 2011, during the fall, in a city located in the East coast of the USA is panic-taken because of a serial killer named by the journalists the Origami Killer. Young boys disappears suddenly in a public place then some days after they are found recently dead with a n origami in their hand and an orchid left on their chest. All of the children seems to have been drowned in rainwater but not wounded.

The protagonists :

-Ethan Mars : a father
-Norman Jayden : hired to a profiler by the FBI, to investigate on the case of the Origami Killer
-Scott Shelby : ancient lieutenant in the police, now a private who investigates about the Origami Killer for the victims' families

-Madison Paige : insomniac journalist haunted by the nightmares of her own past

Ethan Mars, an architect, was sunbathing in happiness, showered by two children and a loving wife. But, all of sudden, he lost his elder son in a tragic accident of car and trying to save him he went into coma because of a serious severe head injury. When he woke up from his coma, he learnt the instant death of his son while the car bumped into him. He thinks he is responsible and became depressive. Then his wife left him. He is now alone in an old dirty slum in this he is down in the dumps. His other son is his only reason to live but he doesn't know how make him happy.

Norman Jayden helps the investigation going ahead but he doesn't get along with the lieutenant Carter Blake, a bad cop who prefers using force to find the culprit. Besides, Norman is totally hooked on a new drug : the triptocaine. He uses a new technology to performing the analysis of the clues and the files linked to the investigation : the ARI (Above Reality Interface) .

Scott Shelby questions all the families about the disappearance of their children to try to find a lead toward the serial killer during the ninth child was kidnapped : Shaun Mars. Through his investigation the gamer follows the plot and discovers inch by inch the true murderer's nature. Thanks to him, the player knows more than the characters, victims of the drama.

Madison Paige try to unveil the truth too and helps Ethan to save his son though in the beginning she thinks above all to write a book about the Origami Killer.

The opus : this is a true tragedy that begins in tears and finishes by the death of a protagonist . I loved this concept of game because the player can watch the ending he wants, anyway. The characters seem to be overtaken by the events that they don't understand. Indeed, each character will be confronted with the question : "What would you do to save someone you love ?", especially Ethan Mars. This is especially true in this video game because this the player who makes choices instead of them.

A video that presents the game on this web site: http://www.quanticdream.com/
Jean Thomas. L 2nde C