Director: Barry Levinson
Writer: Ronald Bass, Barry Morrow (Screenplay) Barry Morrow (Story)
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Gerald R Molen, Jack Murdock, Michael D Roberts, Ralph Seymour, Lucinda Jenney
Plot: Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt’s father left a fortune to his savant brother Raymond and a pittance to Charlie; they travel cross-country.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Touching Drama About Brotherhood
Story: Rain Man starts Charlie Babbitt (Cruise) unloading a shipment of fancy sports cars as he tries to run a business selling this fancy cars. Charlie receives the news that his father has died but never seems to show the relevant emotion to the news. Charlie sees this chance to bury the past and get the car he never got as a reward. On the will Charlie only gets the car and the rose bushes but the rest goes to a secret person that Charlie can’t know, that is nearly $3 million to a trust fund.
Charlie does in search for the secret benefactor which leads him to a mental hospital where he meets his older brother Raymond (Hoffman) a man Charlie never knew existed. Raymond is an autistic savant who has to go about his life in a routine to get through each day. Charlie along with his girlfriend Susanna (Golino) takes Raymond from the hospital, Charlie in his own way to tries and trick him out of the money he believes is rightfully his.
Charlie and Raymond end up going on a road trip together learning about each other along the way, Charlie continues to try and keep his business afloat while learning that Raymond has memory for anything he reads. As the journey continues Charlie starts to enjoy having Raymond around as he learns the real reason he never met his older brother when he was younger.
Rain Man really does go down as a brilliant story about not understanding people’s problems only to learn them and grow to love the person with them. We do see the secrets of the family member to protect another member. The film relies solely on Cruise and Hoffman’s performance as the brothers who have to deal with the difficult subject. There really isn’t a weakness to this film because each scene shows the improving relationship as Charlie learns to deal with the difficulties Raymond goes through. (10/10)
Actor Review
Dustin Hoffman: Raymond Babbitt is the autistic savant who has been in an institute for most of his life, he has a routine that he has to follow but when his father dies he is left all the money much to his brothers disgust. Raymond is kidnapped by his brother Charlie and taken on a road trip across country as he becomes the pawn in Charlie’s game to get half of the money that he believes he is entitled too. Dustin won an Oscar for this role and he does give one if not his best performance of his career. (10/10)
Tom Cruise: Charlie Babbitt is the hot shot wheeler and dealer of sports cars whose business is starting to go downhill, when his father dies he see it as his chance to take his fortune. When Charlie finds out that the fortune got left to a mystery benefactor he goes in search for that man only to discover that he has an older brother. Charlie kidnaps his brother as he wants half the money and as the story unfolds we start to see a change in Charlie as he goes from very selfish to caring brother over the course of a road trip with Raymond. Tom gives a brilliant performance that could easily have got Tom higher praise that it did because of the transformation his character goes through during the film. (10/10)
Support Cast: Rain Man has a supporting cast that the brothers meet on their journey, we also see the doctors who try and stop Charlie and the lawyers that are advising him.
Director Review: Barry Levinson – Barry gives a brilliant piece of direction that will always go down in history of great films. (10/10)
Drama: Rain Man shows the relationship between two brothers who never knew about each other until meeting as adults. (10/10)
Chemistry: Rain Man has brilliant chemistry between Hoffman and Cruise. (10/10)
Settings: Rain Man keeps the story rolling through the different location as the journey the two brothers continues across country. (9/10)
Suggestion: Rain Man is a must watch for all the film fans out there, it will go down as a classic. (Watch)
Best Part: I enjoyed the casino scene because it is the first time you see Charlie and Raymond really get along.
Worst Part: The early treatment of Raymond by Charlie.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: Through the credits you see the photos Raymond has taken on the journey.
Oscar Chances: Won 4 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Writer. It was also nominated for another 4 Oscars.
Box Office: $355 Million
Budget: $25 Million
Runtime: 2 Hours 13 Minutes
Tagline: A journey through understanding and fellowship.
Trivia: The film first opened with a disappointing $6 million in sales. However, in the following weeks, it generated great word of mouth amongst movie viewers, allowing the movie to steadily climb up to the number 1 slot.
Overall: Classic, Vintage and must watch, what more can I say about this film that hasn’t already been said?
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