Every Francis Ford Coppola Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Coming out the same year as Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider, Coppola's The Rain People has spent much of its shelf life compared to the revolutionary road drama, despite being in its own right daring journey through American culture.

The film follows Natalie (Shirley Knight), a pregnant and unhappily married woman desperate to break free from the confines of her life. Natalie spends the film aimlessly wandering, wondering where she's going or if some kind of freedom is possible in a society so obsessed with gender conformity and maintaining its own fabricated image.

Knight is a revelation in the lead role, controlling the film with a performance that is as tough as it is tragic, as Natalie's aimless journey takes her across America and she begins to contemplate the trajectory of her life. James Caan and Robert Duvall turn up in two of their best performances, too, and Coppola carries everything home with some of the most affecting scenes of his storied career.