Rain Man (1988)

Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt's father left a fortune to his savant brother Raymond and a pittance to Charlie; they travel cross-country. Barry Levinson's Rain Man is brilliant, dramatic and benefits from an unbelievable amazing perfomance by Dustin Hoffman perhaps one of the best perfomances of his entire career. Tom Cruise is also very good but it's Hoffman who pretty much everyone remembers the most from this film. The film's story is also very nicely portrayed as one brother needs to stick with the other who is mentally challenged and tries to help him with whatever he can do. Definitely one terrific 80's drama that once again benefits from Hoffman's excellent acting.

After all these years, Rain Man is compellingly watchable, and refreshingly well acted and written. The character of Charlie Babbitt is complex and deeply fascinating - a generally decent, loving guy buried with anger, a need to prove himself, and a reservoir of resentment from feeling unloved. He's an archetype for the Fight Club generation, and played to absolute perfection by Tom Cruise in what is surely his best role. I can't think of a modern young actor who could play this role as well as he does - Cumberbatch, Matthew Goode, Gosling, Reynolds - they just don't have that same fiery intensity and nuance. You can see Cruise thinking while someone else is talking. I actually didn't care too much for Hoffman's performance, its a tough one but more of a caricature once he's in that zone (a bit like Franco impersonating Tommy Wiseau). Anyway, back to the film. Generally brilliant, some excellent scenes, and a really classy opening. I feel it becomes a bit incongruent towards the end though. First Charlie exploits Raymond's skill at the casino, making back the money he needs (this is supposed to be a happy solution for Charlie, despite being against the film's supposed moral backbone). Valerie Golino then basically goes completely against her strong morals by somehow making her way to Vegas and finding Charlie again, just because she's out of a job. What was she hoping for? The one guy who's selfishness and neglect just lost her a job.. and she goes right back to him. Then, she sexually assaults ol' Raymond in an elevator. Then they let him DRIVE A CAR out in public, lolling as he crashes over curbs. This is all just before Charlie has his little discussion with the care home manager, where he doesn't listen AT ALL to what the guy is saying and is being more flippant and obtuse than he has been throughout the whole film. Its a strange unravelling of what the set up had promised, and I felt it could have been written so much better. It just felt rushed (and directed without any finesse).

I think this movie is an excellent story of building an emotional connection between Charlie and his autistic brother. Despite their differences, yet are they able to love and understand each other the way no other than own brother could. The movie is funny and emotional. It will make you think about it even weeks after watching it. Its old, but gold. The more you think about it the better it getsI recommend!

I think this movie showed that humans can have peculiar understandings, and implicitly proved that we can make everything real! because what is real?? like other good movies it doesn't stand in our mind and slides to our heart to make sense ! it stimulated the willing for power in the spectators!