Review of Rain Man (1988) by Jeff C — 17 Jul 2015

Autism is a disorder that can be typified by impaired social interaction, verbal communication and repetitive behaviour, whilst it can also affect the way the brain processes information causing autism sufferers to be notably good with calculation. In fact, autism is a very unique disorder that is not simply irrepressibly negative. Most people think autism sufferers are amazing with numbers yet weird social beings and that is often the case, but it is far more intricate than that and perhaps the only film to memorably capture this disorder is the 1988 classic that is Rain Man. Starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, the film centres on its two leads, one a young businessman and the other a middle-aged autism sufferer, who end up going on a road trip after Cruise breaks Hoffman out of his mental institution so he can embezzle the money his dead father left him. Little does Cruise know that Hoffman is his long-lost brother and that this road trip is far from being about money, instead by the end it loses its initial purpose and turn out to be a film about the bonding of brothers. Made 26 years ago, Rain Manâ??s cultural impact has been enormous, ranging from its popularising of misconceptions regarding autism and card counting and its escalator-scene replication in The Hangover, but despite this, today many people would not have seen Rain Man or appreciated it enough to understand that the film is so influential towards many things in society.

Dustin Hoffman, the star of so many Hollywood classics including Kramer vs. Kramer and Tootsie, portrays Raymond Babbitt, AKA â??Rain Man.â?? First of all, let me just say how perfect Hoffman is for the role as his miniature build and sentimental face give him a head-start on his character because he merges so well with him. Raymond has autism which means he has to adhere to strict rules, has minimal emotional expression and yet has superb mental recollection. Raymond is possibly one of the very few characters ever created that can truly get under your skin and make you feel his character and everything he unfortunately embodies; as seen in the gut-wrenching scenes he lets himself go and shrieks with almost lifelike despair. This is partly down to the genius of the screenplay that has created the most realistic, all-consuming character of the last 30 years, but also down to Hoffman, who is the mastermind that makes this genius fiction come to fruition. Hoffman was already into his fifties at the time of this performance but he manages to remove every single pre-ordained perspective you have of him and truly become the soul of Raymond. Thus, the film becomes all the more affecting because it is as if we are watching a few weeks in the life of someone as mentally powerful yet disturbed as Babbitt is.

Tom Cruise portrays Charlie Babbitt, and to be honest he needs no introductionâ?¦ itâ??s Tom Cruise for goodness sake! He stars as the young, urban professional who is in the middle of importing Lamborghinis for re-sale. He, unlike Raymond, is an arrogant, self-assured and greedy young man who only travels to his estranged fatherâ??s estate when he dies to secure his share of money. As soon as he finds out the bulk of his fatherâ??s money is going to an unnamed trustee, or better yet as soon as he even lays eyes on Hoffmanâ??s bumbling character he goes berserk at being cheated out of it by someone lesser than him. Cruise is an under-appreciated actor in this film, and this is because Hoffman steals the spotlight from him pretty much whenever he is on screen. But Cruise mustnâ??t be forgotten because his character must respond convincingly to everything bizarre Hoffman does and he manages to develop a beautifully layered character who transforms right before our eyes. Cruise in 1988 was only a 26-year old creating his present legacy in Hollywood, but out of all the 35 films he has starred in, Rain Man is by far his best film even if he is overshadowed by Hoffman.

The stunning screenplay of Barry Morrow is the glue that allows the protagonists to thrive and truly heighten the brotherly theme of Rain Man. The Babbitt brothers were never meant to see each other but out of death, an unlikely brotherhood was developed. They donâ??t know each other and therefore have to bond, or to put it better Cruise hopelessly forces Hoffman to bond for the sake of his money, not understanding Hoffmanâ??s mental toils. It is a difficult relationship considering Hoffmanâ??s autism is highly dictatorial of everything they must do. So many plot lines are dedicated to nourishing this overlying brotherly theme that seems to be the most important aspect of Rain Man. For instance, because Raymond is afraid of flying based on his calculations of which airline has the most fatal crashes, he instead makes Charlie take him on a car journey back to Los Angeles. There is a lovely moment when Charlie finds out he actually remembers Raymond from his childhood as the older brother-turned-imaginary friend he referred to as â??Rain Manâ?? as his father sent him to a mental institution, and thus feels the need to look after him. Despite the film revolving around helping Raymond, it in fact is Charlie who is the one that actually transforms the most thanks to Raymondâ??s attitude. It is a heart-warming ending to their relationship, although it may not change anything regarding their positions in life, both characters by the end of the film feel as if they have been through something and come out the other end stronger.

Rain Man unfortunately can get overly emotional by withholding a weighty atmosphere for long periods, which essentially drowns you in gloom. You never lose interest but you are not entertained for the whole film because this is not entertainment; it is realism. You feel the atmosphere as being empty, which in a way adds to the superimposing brotherly theme but this emptiness adds too much focus to the protagonists, which can attach you perhaps a little too greatly. At times Rain Man is an extremely stressful film. You may think Hoffmanâ??s performance is amazing at capturing the characterâ??s problems and it bloody hell is, but the stress you feel in Cruiseâ??s character is too much to handle (like the truth!). You can literally feel Cruiseâ??s impatience but the inadvertent Hoffman holds him back. When the relationship begins to work you feel a happy sensation inside of you, as you comprehend this film as if it was a real story because it is so amazingly acted. Winning Oscars including Best Picture, Original Screenplay, Director and Actor, Rain Man will leave you feeling as if you have experienced a remarkable film that actually has a purpose not just as entertainment, but also as a mass-mobilisation perspective changer device.

Glued together by a stunning script, Rain Man features one triumphant impressive performance by Dustin Hoffman and one extremely under-praised enactment by Tom Cruise.

â??â??â??â??â??â??â??â??â??â?? 8/10.