Rain Man

It's not very difficult to see why this movie won four Oscars and was nominated for four more. The academy loves movies about people with difficult lives or with a handicap. Sometimes it almost feels like they are desperate to show that they too have a heart and so a director who hasn't won anything so far just has to make a movie with such a subject and he can be sure that he will hit the jackpot. Does that also mean that those movies are always excellent? No, although I wish they were. But it has to be said, not all of those movies are bad either, take for instance this "Rain Man". That's certainly a movie that deserves a closer watch.

When the selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt hears that his father has left behind a fortune after his death, but that he won't get it, he is furious. He has never had a good relationship with his father, who threw him out as a teenager, but he sure hoped for more than a now antique convertible. And to make things worse for Charlie, he hears that all the money goes to Raymond, an autistic man who he has never seen before in his life, but who appears to be his brother. And if that shock isn't yet big enough, the man also appears to be able to calculate complicated mathematical problems in his head with great speed and accuracy, but doesn't even understand what money can be used for. Enraged by all this 'injustice', Charlie kidnaps Raymond from his residential home, but then finds out how difficult it is to live with a man who only can live with his fixed routines...

This wouldn't have been a typical eighties movie if there hadn't been a selfish yuppie in it of course, but I must say that it didn't bother me this time. The main reason for that is because it accentuates the contrast between the two men even more. Charlie has nothing else but money on his mind, while Raymond doesn't even know what money is. That's without any doubt a very smart idea which makes this movie work. And that's not the only good thing about this movie. The acting for instance is also very good. Especially Dustin Hoffman is excellent, but that has of course much to do with the role that he is playing. Still, his performance is very believable and remarkable. And even though I'm not a huge Tom Cruise fan, I must say that he was really very good in this movie. The role he was playing seemed to be written for him.

All in all this is a very good movie that sure deserves to be seen. The acting and the story are far above average and give a good idea of what it must be like to live with an autistic person. I'm convinced that this movie certainly doesn't deserve a rating lower than 7.5/10.

Dustin Hoffman's performance as Raymond Babbitt is,bar none,the best acting performance I have ever seen.I have never seen an actor get so deeply immersed in a character than Hoffman does in this film.He is excellent here,and he deserved nothing less than the Oscar he won for it.As for Tom Cruise,his performance as Raymond's childish and hotheaded brother is also worthy of note.To watch his character slowly shed his ignorance throughout the course of the film was indeed a delight.If you have not seen it,don't deprive yourself any longer.Buy it.It's a keeper.

RAIN MAN (1988) **** Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golina, Bonnie Hunt. My all time favorite contemporary film.

Brilliant Oscar-winning Best Picture film about quick-tempered exotic car salesman Charlie Babbitt (superlatively played by Cruise) who finds himself bilked out of his estranged father's inheritance and discovering an older brother, Raymond, (Hoffman flawlessly brilliant, Best Actor), an institutionalized autistic savant, and 'kidnaps' him in their dad's Buick Roadmaster for a cross-country odyssey of self-reflection and genuine sibling bonding. Poignant, funny, and moving character study with expert direction by Barry Levinson (Best Director and appears as a mental health envoy). Ethereally Oscar nominated haunting score by Hans Zimmer. Best scene: Cruise learning why Hoffman was "sent away." Life-affirming.

I have to say that this is Tom and Dustin's best performances by far. They are such a wonderful duo together. I love seeing how Tom reacts to Dustin's character. Two brothers, one being successful and the other mentally challenged, are finally reunited. They both learn how to live with each other and eventually learn to love each other. As for a best picture, I wasn't too sure. But the actors will impress you. I would recommend this movie to anyone. It has wonderful characters and some great laughs. But also some very touching moments. You really have to like this movie. It's too memorable to miss.

8/10

I was thinking of the way different movies seem to be good. Some have lots of action, others a bunch of special-effects. But then it strikes you, that what represents real depth, real quality is when a movie can be good without those features. When it's the dialogue, the story and the acting that strikes you. This film has really only two characters, all others play only minor roles (Cruise's girlfriend has some importance though). Two characters basically, and one dialogue - that's all you need when you've got a script as good as this, and two such great actors. Only that is brilliant. But this film also has such fine, very true episodes, small stories in the larger film. One example is when Ray watches court TV with the working class woman and her many children out in the countryside...it's such a fine picture, just outstanding. ALL IN ALL A GREAT FILM!