Amazon.com Essentials:
Rain Man is the kind of touching drama that Oscars are
made for--and, sure enough, the film took Academy honors for best
picture, director, screenplay, and actor (Dustin Hoffman) in 1988.
Hoffman plays Raymond, an autistic savant whose late father has left
him $3 million in a trust. This gets the attention of his
materialistic younger brother, a hot-shot LA car dealer named Charlie
(Tom Cruise) who wasn't even aware of Raymond's existence until he
read his estranged father's will. Charlie picks up Raymond and takes
him on a cross-country journey that becomes a voyage of discovery for
Charlie, and, perhaps, for Raymond, too. Rain Man will either
captivate you or irritate you (Raymond's sputtering of repetitious
phrases is enough to drive anyone crazy), but it is obviously a labor
of love for those involved. Hoffman had been attached to the film for
many years, as various directors and writers came and went, but his
persistence eventually paid off--kind of like Raymond in Las
Vegas. Look for director Barry Levinson in a cameo as a psychiatrist
near the end of the film. --Jim Emerson
Amazon.com Essentials:
Rain Man is the kind of touching drama that Oscars are
made for--and, sure enough, the film took Academy honors for best
picture, director, screenplay, and actor (Dustin Hoffman) in 1988.
Hoffman plays Raymond, an autistic savant whose late father has left
him $3 million in a trust. This gets the attention of his
materialistic younger brother, a hot-shot LA car dealer named Charlie
(Tom Cruise) who wasn't even aware of Raymond's existence until he
read his estranged father's will. Charlie picks up Raymond and takes
him on a cross-country journey that becomes a voyage of discovery for
Charlie, and, perhaps, for Raymond, too. Rain Man will either
captivate you or irritate you (Raymond's sputtering of repetitious
phrases is enough to drive anyone crazy), but it is obviously a labor
of love for those involved. Hoffman had been attached to the film for
many years, as various directors and writers came and went, but his
persistence eventually paid off--kind of like Raymond in Las
Vegas. Look for director Barry Levinson in a cameo as a psychiatrist
near the end of the film. --Jim Emerson
