Friday, March 03, 2023

My Review of Rain Man (1988)

 


Written by Barry Morrow And Ronald Bass
Directed by Barry Levinson

Charlie (re Raymond): "What you have to understand is, four days ago he was only my brother in name and this morning we had pancakes."

This year alone, I want to try and review more classic movies, either after watching them or catching through more old fashioned methods. Last night BBC4 aired this particular movie and it's been a long time since I've watched this particular one. It still holds up.

Tom Cruise has had a good few career defining roles, even more so in recent years and with this movie, he delivered one of his best performances in his lengthy career. The role of a rather selfish wheeler dealer named Charlie Babbitt, whose father died and with that, a large fortune instead of going to Charlie went to a brother who, he didn't know even existed until now.

The brother in question, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), an autistic savant was quite the surprise for Charlie, who upon learning about his brother's existence decided to take him out of the institution he had been living in. This was also while realising that his brother's unique way at looking at things and penchant for counting cards and complex calculations could work to his advantage and be something of a means to clear off some debts.

Needless to say the way Charlie initially treated his older brother and the dismissive attitude he had towards Raymond's various routines (bed by 11pm, no travelling during the rain, etc) did alienate Charlie from his own girlfriend, Susanna (Valeria Golino), although the latter would resurface towards the end of the movie, just around the same time Charlie would develop a real bond with Raymond. It's a bond that's gradually shown as the movie progressed.

There's a natural brotherly chemistry between both Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman as Charlie did seem to be resentful over Raymond over inheriting their father's fortune while the more time passed between the siblings, the more Charlie realised that he just wanted to have his brother in his life. 

The film's ending was more of a bittersweet one though. Raymond was still unable to decide for himself and returned to the institution but a much improved Charlie wanted to continue to get to know his brother and turned down money to stay away from him. To see Charlie chose his brother over money definitely highlighted the progression he had made during the events of the movie.

- The film was somewhat inspired by Barry Morrow's real life knowing of savant Kim Peek as well as his friendship with Bill Sackter, the subject of the 1981 film, Bill. 
- Director Barry Levinson also had a role as a doctor in this movie as well.
- Standout music: This movie was one if Hans Zimmer's earliest and he does a modest score for it here.
- Chronology: I'm assuming it's set in 1988 and this film was the highest grossing movie of that year.

Rain Man undoubtedly has earned it's legacy as a classic movie. A brilliant script, an affecting look at a relationship between two brothers just getting to know each and career defining performances from both Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. As I said earlier on, it still holds up.

Rating: 9 out of 10

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