Rain Man (1988)

Rain Man

• I’ve been meaning to watch this for quite some time, and I’m very glad that I finally got around to it. I’ve always heard great things about it, and it definitely holds up, even nearly forty years later. It’s such a great story of companionship, self discovery, and acceptance. It’s also one of the best films I’ve seen that kind of tears you down, but builds you back up again. It took me a couple minutes to get into it, but once you first encounter Raymond, you immediately get sucked into the world of the Babbitt’s. Dustin Hoffman is the entire soul of this film, and without him, there’s nothing to watch. Could someone else have played Raymond? Probably, but nobody would’ve done it quite like Hoffman did. His Oscar for this role is well deserved, and his character was written extremely well. Not only are his mannerisms and physical quirks a realistic representation of autism, but his emotional state is very stoic and bland, yet there’s so much happening behind his eyes. There’s some scenes where he’s simply sitting there, looking around, but you can almost hear every thought that he has, solely through his eyes. It’s a generational performance. Tom Cruise is also very good, just like always, though he’s in Hoffman’s shadow a little bit, but not by much. Even though the film runs over two hours, it doesn’t drag on, as Hoffman and Cruise completely entrance you. I was very disappointed when it ended, though it’s a fitting end. The story structure also works well, taking place for about a week from start to finish. The pacing is even all throughout, and there isn’t really a scene that feels out of place, or too long. You just start, work through it, and finish. From the outside, it feels easy, but it’s so complex and emotional. Either way, it works. The score is also fitting for the time and setting (same for the soundtrack), though it reeks of the 80’s/90’s and I wasn’t always a huge fan of it. That’s not a knock against Hans Zimmer at all, but he definitely has better scores (obviously). Overall, this film is a bit of a roadtrip (figuratively and literally) and it holds a much deeper punch than what I expected. I would recommend it to all drama/comedy fans. This film is officially Berry Approved, so go watch it now!