Movie Review Monday: Rain Man
Welcome to another awesome edition of Movie Review Monday!
This week's movie is the 1988 classic Rain Man starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise.
The plot of the movie surrounds Cruise's character, Charlie Babbitt, as he discovers he has a brother, Raymond (Hoffman) he never knew about in the wake of their estranged father's death. Charlie only is interested in his brother for the possibility of an inheritance that he lost out on, but eventually Charlie learns more about his father, his brother, and why he never knew about Raymond. Charlie grows as a person from the experience and the journey in unexpected ways for him.
This movie is now dated quite a bit but it holds up for the most part. I had some problems with the pacing of the film, but the dialogue is excellently done. Cruise and Hoffman have to carry the movie on their shoulders and they do wonderfully. Cruise's natural charisma is here even when his character is being awful to the people around him. Hoffman gives depth to his portrayal of Raymond as an autistic savant. I've seen a lot of actors try to do this and fail miserably. At the very least, it comes across as gimmicky or inauthentic. Hoffman does well here to avoid any of the common pitfalls, and it is surprising he is able to do so since his was one of the first major film roles of a character with autism.
If you're looking for a heartwarming dramatic comedy, this is a great choice. It is a classic film that you should also just watch at some point regardless.
You can find Rain Man streaming right now on Netflix!