Character Relationship Map: Rain Without Thunder

Characters

• Beverly Goldring (played by Betty Buckley) — protagonist

  Allison's mother who supports her decision to travel abroad for a pregnancy termination. She is prosecuted under a new law classifying the act as fetal kidnapping. The film suggests she had a signific...

• Jonathan Garson (played by Jeff Daniels) — supporting

  The Goldring family's defense attorney. He represents Allison and Beverly during the prosecution. He questions District Attorney Murdoch's motivations, suggesting she is seeking higher political offic...

• Allison Goldring (played by Ali Thomas) — supporting

  An upper-class college student who becomes pregnant and decides to travel abroad to terminate the pregnancy. She confesses to the act during her trial without remorse. Later, a Swedish clinic discover...

• Jeremy Tanner (played by Steve Zahn) — supporting

  Allison's boyfriend and the father of the unborn child. He initially supports her decision to travel abroad for a termination, but later denies this support, although the narrative suggests his denial...

• Andrea Murdoch (played by Iona Morris) — minor

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Allison Goldring → Jonathan Garson (Professional Defense Counsel) — Their legal relationship is strained by Allison's decision to take the stand.

  Garson represents Allison and Beverly, and he becomes frustrated when Allison decides to confess during the trial.

• Beverly Goldring → Jonathan Garson (Professional Defense Counsel) — Garson defends Beverly against the fetal-kidnapping prosecution.

  Jonathan Garson is identified as the Goldring family's defense attorney and represents Beverly during the prosecution.

• Beverly Goldring → Allison Goldring (Family Mother) — A supportive mother-daughter relationship shaped by legal danger and conflicting decisions.

  Beverly is explicitly identified as Allison's mother and supports Allison's decision to travel abroad for a pregnancy termination.

• Allison Goldring → Jeremy Tanner (Romantic Boyfriend) — Their romantic relationship is tested by pregnancy, legal pressure, and Jeremy's later denial.

  Allison becomes pregnant from her boyfriend Jeremy Tanner, and the two discuss her options.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Jonathan Garson → Andrea Murdoch (Conflict Adversarial Legal Counterpart) — The defense attorney directly challenges the prosecutor's motives while not disputing her ethics.

  During the case, Garson questions Murdoch's motivations and suggests that she may be seeking higher political office.

• Andrea Murdoch → Allison Goldring (Conflict Prosecutor) — Murdoch continues pursuing Allison even after the original charge fails.

  Murdoch prosecutes the Goldrings, and after their release she declares an intention to prosecute them for attempted fetal kidnapping.

• Andrea Murdoch → Beverly Goldring (Conflict Prosecutor) — Murdoch is Beverly's principal legal opponent throughout the prosecution.

  Andrea Murdoch discovers what the Goldrings have done and prosecutes them under New York's fetal-kidnapping law.

• Beverly Goldring → Jeremy Tanner (Alliance Co-Decision Participant) — Beverly and Jeremy are connected through their involvement in Allison's termination decision.

  Allison discusses her options with both Jeremy Tanner and her family, and Beverly says that everyone, including Tanner, supported the decision.

Story Analysis

A family confronts an authoritarian legal system that criminalizes reproductive decisions while exposing unequal enforcement.

Plot Progression

1. A Choice Under Prohibition — Allison becomes pregnant and discusses termination with Jeremy and her family. She decides to travel abroad despite the increasingly restrictive legal environment.
2. The Legal Regime Tightens — Interviews trace the gradual erosion of civil liberties and the expansion of abortion criminalization. Constitutional personhood and attacks on feminism create the conditions for prosecution.
3. Selective Enforcement — Walker Point interviews expose dangerous enforcement against poor minority women. New York then classifies abortion travel as fetal kidnapping, placing the Goldrings at risk.
4. Truth In The Courtroom — Murdoch prosecutes the Goldrings while Garson challenges the legal process and her possible political motives. Allison's confession intensifies the danger for both women.
5. A Release Without Closure — A Swedish pathology report shows that the fetus had already died before the procedure, leading to the Goldrings' release. Murdoch immediately threatens an attempted-kidnapping case.