Review of The Rainmaker (1997) by Drew W — 27 Feb 2004

Well, its a long weekend for me, a well deseved rest. Life still sux, and my detachment date is looming. a mixture of feelings overwhelm me- on one hand I hope to leave yet also to stay.

Well juz get on with reviews. First up is Rainmaker, based on the novel by John Grisham. I personally enjoyed the novel alot, and was hoping the film would be a similar masterpiece. Well its good, but not as good as the book because the brevity of the movie fails to convey the true struggle between the david and goliath figure. Still, the solid court scenes are well handled and add to the atmosphere. Would have fared better as a miniseries.

Tim Burton's newest masterpiece is about telling tall tales, and provides a colourful fantasy world. Its about adding a touch of fantansy to otherwise mundane lifestyles, and is a fascinating tale. WHile not quite in the league as his other masterpieces, Big Fish is still a watchable tale. It is not the best you can get, but still an above average product.

Mystic river is a character driven movie. While touted as a murder mystery it is at heart a movie about lost friendships and broken lives. Tim Robbins is Dave Doyle, a kid kidnapped and abused as a child, an incident that shatters the frendship between Sean Penn (Jimmy) and Kevin Bacon (Shawn). Years later, the murder of Jimmy's daughter brings the trio back together, triggering a chain of events that can only be described as a shakespearan tragedy. The traumatic events that haunt Robbins is evident, as his gaunt,eternally depressed persona still bears the scars of that taumatic event years ago. But it is Sean Penn who steals the show in a powerful, gritty and utterly mesmerising performance as the agonising father turned vengeful vigilante. The scene where he struggles against a mob of police to get to his daughter is both unforgettable and heart wrenching as we watch him howl almost animalistically in primal grief.

While Penn's showy performance is rightfully recognised, the subtle performance of Robbins as well as a superb supporting cast including Kevin Bacon and Hayden is equally powerful. In terms of acting poweress, only loses to 21 Grams this year. A movie to watch.