Rain Man (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
'Rain Man' (directed by Barry Levinson) opens with driven, but self-centered yuppie Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) trying to close a deal in his L.A. dealer/hustler business, which consists of selling expensive cars. He wants to close out this deal so he & his incredibly loyal girlfriend Susanna (Valeria Golino) can head out to Palm Springs for the weekend. Unfortunately, en route to Palm Springs, he receives notice that his father - whom he's had no contact with for many years - has died. At the reading of the will, he finds that he'll only receive a prized '49 Buick Roadmaster, & that his father's $3,000,000 has gone to someone else in a trust fund. But who is the trust for? Charlie discovers that the $$ goes to support a secret older brother with autism that he never knew he had.
Visiting said brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) at the institution where he lives, Charlie finds a stubborn, methodical, monotone-voiced 48 yr. old savant who definitely knows things. Things like: maple syrup is definitely supposed to be on the table before the pancakes come; that his fave TV show is definitely coming on, etc. He also tends to ramble (i.e., repeating Abbott & Costello conversations). He can calculate square roots in a flash. He compiles baseball stats. And he freaks out when anything upsets his routine. Hell, he even counts 246 toothpicks in an instant after they spill. Charlie - more agitated than ever - wonders, 'Is there anything more to this guy? Is there a real human inside?' Charlie, having kidnapped his brother, vows to bring him back to California to live with him. BUT, Ray won't fly ('definitely too many plane crashes'). And so, Charlie puts Ray in the front seat of his new '49 Buick & they head out on a cross-country trek of discovery. They meet a plethora of characters along their way & embark on a few adventures.
You know, Dustin Hoffman is excellent as the idiot savant, Ray. There's a sweetness about him. But he doesn't really change during the course of the film. He can't (anchored by his condition). With him, we either get uninflected droning on about his obsessions OR him bursting out when something doesn't go to schedule. Hoffman wins us (& Charlie) over. But it is Cruise's Charlie who undergoes a change. And Tom hits it out of the ballpark, in my opinion. Once selfish, materialistic, egotistical, & enormously frustrated by his brother (for getting bestowed their father's fortune, and for not understanding Ray's autistic world that he inhabits) ... Charlie finds that he loves his brother & accepts what he cannot change. Charlie doesn't have some huge spiritual transformation; just a realistic one.
Not that 'Rain Man' has to BE about anything, but if it IS, I'd say it's about acceptance. At first, Charlie is a control-freak, blind to the feelings of other (clients, Susanna, Ray), & he's arrogant as Hell. But Ray unknowingly teaches Charlie to stop pacing, stop yelling, sit, relax, listen, & contemplate. Charlie learns that you just can't control everyone. 'Rain Man' is a very good movie. I like that the ending is somewhat sobering; and we don't quite know what'll happen down the road for these characters. The soundtrack is fanTASTIC. The opening song sets the tone of the film, & Hans Zimmer's memorable theme resonates throughout the film. Loved the use of percussion in the score. And I enjoyed John Seale's cinematography, as well. Good use of face close-ups, as well as majestic exteriors.
You know, 'Rain Man' isn't perfect. The screenplay occasionally falls into the 'so what' category. Some of the plot incident(s) felt contrived. And though I highly respect Hoffman's challenging portrayal, I also think that the character threatens to 'become' the film, rather than enhancing it. But it's an entertaining movie, for sure. It has personality, humor, & touching moments. And the acting is what really drew me in. I love watching stellar performances unfurl before my eyes.
Visiting said brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) at the institution where he lives, Charlie finds a stubborn, methodical, monotone-voiced 48 yr. old savant who definitely knows things. Things like: maple syrup is definitely supposed to be on the table before the pancakes come; that his fave TV show is definitely coming on, etc. He also tends to ramble (i.e., repeating Abbott & Costello conversations). He can calculate square roots in a flash. He compiles baseball stats. And he freaks out when anything upsets his routine. Hell, he even counts 246 toothpicks in an instant after they spill. Charlie - more agitated than ever - wonders, 'Is there anything more to this guy? Is there a real human inside?' Charlie, having kidnapped his brother, vows to bring him back to California to live with him. BUT, Ray won't fly ('definitely too many plane crashes'). And so, Charlie puts Ray in the front seat of his new '49 Buick & they head out on a cross-country trek of discovery. They meet a plethora of characters along their way & embark on a few adventures.
You know, Dustin Hoffman is excellent as the idiot savant, Ray. There's a sweetness about him. But he doesn't really change during the course of the film. He can't (anchored by his condition). With him, we either get uninflected droning on about his obsessions OR him bursting out when something doesn't go to schedule. Hoffman wins us (& Charlie) over. But it is Cruise's Charlie who undergoes a change. And Tom hits it out of the ballpark, in my opinion. Once selfish, materialistic, egotistical, & enormously frustrated by his brother (for getting bestowed their father's fortune, and for not understanding Ray's autistic world that he inhabits) ... Charlie finds that he loves his brother & accepts what he cannot change. Charlie doesn't have some huge spiritual transformation; just a realistic one.
Not that 'Rain Man' has to BE about anything, but if it IS, I'd say it's about acceptance. At first, Charlie is a control-freak, blind to the feelings of other (clients, Susanna, Ray), & he's arrogant as Hell. But Ray unknowingly teaches Charlie to stop pacing, stop yelling, sit, relax, listen, & contemplate. Charlie learns that you just can't control everyone. 'Rain Man' is a very good movie. I like that the ending is somewhat sobering; and we don't quite know what'll happen down the road for these characters. The soundtrack is fanTASTIC. The opening song sets the tone of the film, & Hans Zimmer's memorable theme resonates throughout the film. Loved the use of percussion in the score. And I enjoyed John Seale's cinematography, as well. Good use of face close-ups, as well as majestic exteriors.
You know, 'Rain Man' isn't perfect. The screenplay occasionally falls into the 'so what' category. Some of the plot incident(s) felt contrived. And though I highly respect Hoffman's challenging portrayal, I also think that the character threatens to 'become' the film, rather than enhancing it. But it's an entertaining movie, for sure. It has personality, humor, & touching moments. And the acting is what really drew me in. I love watching stellar performances unfurl before my eyes.