It Can't Rain All the Time

A passionate analysis of the ill-fated 1994 film starring the late Brandon Lee and its long-lasting influence on action movies, cinematic grief, and emotional masculinity
Released in 1994, The Crow first drew in audiences thanks to the well-publicized tragedy that loomed over the film: lead actor Brandon Lee had died on set due to a mishandled prop gun. But it soon became clear that The Crow was more than just an accumulation of its tragic parts. The celebrated critic Roger Ebert wrote that Lee's performance was "more of a screen achievement than any of the films of his father, Bruce Lee."
In It Can't Rain All the Time, Alisha Mughal argues that The Crow has transcended Brandon Lee's death by exposing the most challenging human emotions in all their dark, dramatic, and visceral glory, so much so that it has spawned three sequels, a remake, and an intense fandom. Eric, our back-from-the-dead, grieving protagonist, shows us that there is no solution to depression or loss, there is only our own internal, messy work. By the end of the movie, we realize that Eric has presented us with a vast range of emotions and that masculinity doesn't need to be hard and impenetrable.
Through her memories of seeking solace in the film during her own grieving period, Alisha brilliantly shows that, for all its gothic sadness, The Crow is, surprisingly and touchingly, a movie about redemption and hope.
About the Pop Classics Series
Short books that pack a big punch, Pop Classics offer intelligent, fun, and accessible arguments about why a particular pop phenomenon matters. Near the completion of filming The Crow, the star was killed in a shooting accident on set. Mughal argues against the criticism that the tragedy overshadows the quality of the film and shows readers that The Crow - which explores gender, grief, and love - is a work of art that ended up birthing and transcending tragedy.
Alisha Mughal is a culture writer based in Toronto. She is a journalist and film critic who has written for Film Daze, Exclaim!, RogerEbert.com, and Catapult.
"This book is a sheer, dark gem that glints and pulses at the very intersection of life and death. Alisha Mughal writes with searing intelligence, exactitude, and soul about heartbreak as a generative force and art as a site of resurrection. Through the prismatic lens of a cult film and its dead star, Mughal finds her own hard-won salvation. Daring, gory, and radiant, It Can't Rain All the Time is ultimately that rarest of offerings: an act of faith and a testament to hope." - Claudia Dey, author of Daughter
"Meticulously researched and brilliantly presented, Mughal unpacks The Crow's raw beauty and aching grief - themes that resonate at the core of both James O'Barr's graphic novel and the iconic 1994 film adaptation. This is more than analysis; it's a tribute to the emotional weight and artistic legacy that The Crow continues to carry." - Carleigh Baker, author of Last Woman
"It Can't Rain All the Time is criticism, history, memoir, and poetry: a work of art about a work of art." - Matt Zoller Seitz, author of The Wes Anderson Collection
"Alisha Mughal writes beautifully, vulnerably, and viscerally. It Can't Rain All the Time is a powerful reminder that the most powerful art reminds us how to feel." - Anne T. Donahue, author of Nobody Cares
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• A FRESH CRITIQUE: The editor of the Pop Classics series had been on the hunt for a proposal that was a little more niche and had a unique perspective. Alisha Mughal leans into the emo/goth/grunge vibe of The Crow, meeting the film where it's at rather than judging it by clinical critical standards. Mughal offers a frank discussion on mental health, grief and loss, and the ways in which we just try to feel better. For her, feeling better meant watching The Crow and being submerged in its dark, moody, broken heart.