Review 526: Rain Man

Rain Man is a fabulous road comedy-drama film and a showcase for two terrifcally brilliant performances from stars Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman.

Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) is an abrasive, selfish young wheeler dealer who that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) and the brother he never knew he had whose also an autistic savant.
In an attempt to gain custody of his brother in order to get control of the money, Charlie and Raymond set of on a cross-country road trip of self discovery.

The plot is simple in story but rich in execution and emotional payoff. The heart of this film

Director Barry Levinson's direction is sensitive and sure footed, the cinematography is beautiful and captures the beauty of the various locations (notably Las Vegas) Charlie and Ray visit on their travels. The production design is terrific, the costumes are terrific, the score by Hans Zimmer is

Tom Cruise  playing the character of Charlie Babbitt as confused, economically and emotionally desperate

Raymond has spent his life in a mental home trapped inside the condion of autism. He can listen, respond, speak and follow a routine. But you can never be sure what he's thinking or if he's thinking.
Autism was poorly understood in those days.

5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.