"Rider on the Rain" is a slowly-paced and occasionally confusing mystery from French director René Clément with disappointing passages but a shrewd sense of time and place, and a keen eye for detail. Plot involves a young woman who has killed her rapist and disposed of the body, later meeting a shifty stranger who somehow knows her secret. Vividly-rendered film stays in the mind, with pungent dialogue and incredible, moody atmospherics, though the story does take a few wrong turns. If you can get passed this, you'll find an exceptional, arty thriller, one with a terrific finale. Good cast headed by Charles Bronson, in one of his best early roles. **1/2 from ****
