Rain Man
MGM and United Artists released Rain Man on December 16, 1988. The film starred Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. Directed by Barry Levinson and produced by Mark Johnson. Based on the story by Barry Morrow.
The movie grossed a staggering $355 million at the box office on a budget of $25 million, making it the highest-grossing film of 1988.
It was nominated for no less than eight Oscars at the 61st Academy Awards. Winning Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Actor in a leading role award went to Dustin Hoffman. The music score was composed and delivered by the celebrated genius of movie soundtracks, Hans Zimmer.
The Movie
Tom Cruise plays the role of Charlie Babbitt, an exotic car importer. Not always playing by the rules and eventually runs into some trouble. This is when he is notified of his estranged father that passed away. So it fell on him to travel to Cincinnati with his girlfriend to deal with the estate. On arrival, he learns that he inherits his father’s 1949 Buick Roadmaster, but the rest of the $3 million estate is made out to an institution for mental patients. Upon investigating he figures out where this hospital is and decides to find out why his father had an interest in this facility. This is where he discovers he has a brother. An autistic older brother called Raymond. Famously played by the legend Dustin Hoffman himself.
The fact that he had a brother came as a shock to Charlie, especially to learn that he has a brother with special needs and that all the money from the estate is allocated to his well-being. Charlie was in no way equipped to handle his brother, that is set in routines, and has outbursts when under pressure. Raymond was also an avid baseball card collector. Charlie decides to try to take Raymond into his custody in a covered attempt to gain control over the estate. Susanna (Valeria Golino) gets upset with Charlie over this and leaves him.
Charlie then decides to return to Los Angeles with Raymond to try to figure out how to get control over the estate. At the airport, Charlie gets a nasty crash course on how his brother’s condition works. Raymond refuses to get on an airplane, and Charlie tries to force him, and this is where Raymond has one of his outbursts. Some of Hoffman’s best acting. Charlie was not expecting this and lost his temper. Eventually, he concedes to Raymond’s fear of flying and they hit the road with the car he just inherited.
The road trip
The road trip starts well but took a turn for the worst when they passed an ugly accident on the interstate. From here Raymond refused to travel on the highways, and Charlie reluctantly takes the back roads. With Charlie having to get back to Los Angeles quickly to sort out the problem with his cars being held up at customs, the problems just compounded. Raymond was stuck in a strict routine. He religiously followed The People’s Court on tv and went to bed at exactly 11 p.m.
As the road trip dragged on, Charlie starts to learn more about his brother. For one, Raymond was living in the house when Charlie was a little boy. He only remembers an imaginary friend called “Rain Man”, who in fact was his comforting brother Raymond. It also came to light that Raymond was removed from the house after Charlie was almost burned in a bathtub of steaming hot water. Raymond was blamed for the incident but was in no mental state to defend himself, as it was actually not his fault. Charlie forgot about these events as he was still too young to remember them.
The Casino
On their trip, Charlie’s imported Lamborghini got repossessed leaving him financially ruined. It soon dawned on Charlie that Raymond’s mental condition hides a few miracles. He could summarize a whole phonebook, count hundreds of objects at once, and count cards. Realizing this, they turned back to Las Vegas and entered a casino to play Blackjack. With Raymond being able to count cards, even a six-deck shoe, Charlie was quickly out of his debt, and his mood lifted. The fun, however, was stopped when the casino bosses got uneasy with their winning streak and asked them to leave.
Back in Los Angeles
Back in Los Angeles, Charlie meets with Dr. Bruner, the doctor assigned according to the estate, to look after Raymond. He offers Charlie $250,000 to leave and return Raymond to their care. Charlie is not happy and approaches the courts, to get custody of his brother. In court, a psychiatrist finds that Raymond is not able to decide where he wants to live. Sadly for Charlie, Raymond is placed back in the care of Dr. Bruner. They go to the train station where Raymond and the doctors board an Amtrak train to return to the mental institution. Charlie promises to visit.
Conclusion
Rain Man is a phenomenal movie. Dustin Hoffman was superb, but please do not dismiss the acting abilities of Tom Cruise. He was also top-class. Although the movie is dramatic, some funny and heartfelt scenes can be noted, for instance when Raymond was staring at Tom and Susanna in the hotel bedroom. Also, remember Charlie dancing with Raymond in their hotel room in the casino. Although the movie won several Oscars, and the acting of the two actors was superb, the movie ended rather bluntly. Other than that, one of the highlights of cinema.
The Cast
- Dustin Hoffman as Raymond “Ray” Babbitt.
- Tom Cruise as Charles “Charlie” Babbitt
- Valeria Golino as Susanna
- Jerry Molen as Dr. Gerald Bruner
- Ralph Seymour as Lenny
- Michael D. Roberts as Vern
- Bonnie Hunt as Sally Dibbs
- Beth Grant as Mother at Farm House
- Lucinda Jenney as Iris
- Barry Levinson as Doctor