L'Idéaliste

A story about an aspiring young lawyer who tries to break down an insurance company, Matt Damon plays Rudy Baylor, a Memphis St. Law School graduate who can't seem to find a job anywhere, until he meets "Bruiser" Stone (Mickey Rourke). Stone is an ambulance chaser, who does whatever it takes, legal or not, to win a case. Rudy, as most law students are when they graduate, wants to take the high road, do everything by the book, and win. What he finds is that sometimes you need to get down and dirty to help your client. In this case, his client is a young boy, dying of leukemia.

Seems the insurance company won't pay for a bone marrow transplant that would save his life. Rudy sets out to help the young man and his family, in what turns out to be one of the biggest cases Tennessee has ever seen. Along with his partner Deck Shifflet (Danny DeVito), Rudy sets out to try and prove to the world that the insurance company is nothing more than a big time scam artist. Along the way Rudy meets (and falls in love with) a young woman (Clare Danes) who gets beat up regularly by her husband. This part of the story seemed somewhat strange to me. I couldn't figure out what it was there to do. Was it to give Rudy a love interest? Was it just to give the movie another case so the entire film wasn't centered on the insurance trial? I feel it gave the movie some heart, and showed that Rudy would fight for what he believed in, both in court and in life. But I think the movie could have been done without it.

I enjoyed the trial scenes and all the grunt work that went behind it (being a future lawyer myself (I hope)). And the cast was wonderful. Each person added a little more to the movie, and each gave a great performance. Danny Glover as the (2nd) judge gave a little humor to the movie, but also made you feel good about Rudy's chances in court. He was going to play fair, but hew as also going to give Rudy the benefit of the doubt. Jon Voight played the insurance company's lead lawyer, and he played his character to it's swarmy best. He is what people think lawyers are like, out only for money; win at all costs, no soul (I know attorneys like that). And he was convincing. And of course DeVito and Damon carried the film.

I had my doubts about Damon playing a lawyer, but the more I watched, the more I realized that he looked like people I see at work everyday. He had the same fear in his eyes that we all do, but also that dog-eat-dog determination to prove to the world that he could do the job. The Rainmaker was more about the performances than the story. And the performances won me over. Give it a shot, it's worth it.

Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon) is fresh out of law school. He has no family, or any connections. He starts to work for notorious lawyer Bruiser Stone (Mickey Rourke), and with street smart Deck Shifflet (Danny DeVito) who can't pass the bar. They take on a case against a health insurance company who refuses a claim from a seriously sick boy. Meanwhile, he falls for Kelly Riker (Claire Danes) who is in constant fear of her abusive husband.

This is a simple David vs Galioth story from the pen of John Grisham and the directing skills of Francis Ford Coppola. There are big time talents involve in this. Matt Damon is superb in the boyish charm department. Danny DeVito likewise is superb. The acting in this movie is top notch. However the Claire Danes battered wife storyline is too simple and too separate. It doesn't really connect with the rest of the movie. The romance seems to be sidelined in importance and short shrifted. It needs more attention. On the other hand, the courtroom drama has good fun and good tension.

I thought this film was really good...... I like courtroom dramas and this is right up there with the best of them. It's basically about a young lawyer starting out who gets embroiled in what turns out to be a major case.

Matt Damon is really good in it... I'm starting to really like him as an actor. Danny DeVito supports him brilliantly as his wee helper-guy. John Voight is also very good and Danny Glover makes a surprise appearance as the judge.

A good courtroom drama that has you interested all the way to the end.

A 7/10 for me...

Dave

It was something else, seeing The Rainmaker again, 20 years later. The plot, the cast, the look of it, it all has that Coppola touch and that

has to be with truth, the way he, Francis Ford Coppola sees it. Beautiful, powerful and moving but the most powerful element after 20 years turns out to be Johnny Whitworth. What a gorgeous, soulful performance. It took me by surprise, I remember the character from my first viewing but this time his is the character who affected me the most. Imagine in a cast that includes Teresa Wright! Yes, Teresa Wright, Dean Stockwell as well as Matt Damon, Mary Kay Place, Jon Voight, Danny De Vito, Mickey Rourke, Claire Danes. Time does extraordinary things. It reveals the center of the center of the truth.

Readers are usually disappointed when a favorite book is translated to film. If you are looking for a Grisham thriller here, you will be disappointed. But, if you are looking for a courtroom drama with a great cast, then this is a great film.

Matt Damon shines as Rudy, recently out of law school, who sets up an office with Deck Schifflet (Danny DeVito) who is still trying to pass his bar exam. He also finds a place to stay with Miss Birdie (Teresa Wright) who has hired him to handle her estate papers.

Rudy is drawn to the plight of Kelly (Claire Danes), a working-class girl whose husband has battered her with a baseball bat. But the real drama is centered on Great Benefit, an insurance company that has refused to pay a claim of one of its policy holders.

Dot Black (Mary Kay Place) whose son is dying of leukemia is suing the company for denying her claim. In the courtroom, the unpolished Rudy is forced to square off against Leo F. Drummond (Jon Voight), a corporate lawyer who knows all the tricks of the trade. This David versus Goliath battle is well worth watching.

Damon, De Vito and Voight, along with Claire Danes and Danny Glover shine in this film.

So, forget the book and enjoy a great film.