Welcome to another Oscar Film Journal entry, here at Enuffa.com! Heading back to my early teen years, the late 1980s.....
Today's subject was the first Best Picture winner I ever saw prior to its coronation; I went to see it with my parents in the theater at age 13, coincidentally on the same day I shaved for the first time (using an electric razor on my developing sideburns). Don't ask me why I remember tidbits like that, but I guess it's an apt coincidence considering the film in question. I'm talking about Rain Man, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, in one of his most famous performances.
Cruise plays hotshot independent car dealer Charlie Babbitt, whose business is in trouble because he's imported four Lamborghinis but is struggling to get them approved by the EPA so he can sell them. Charlie learns that his estranged but wealthy father has just died, and he travels to his old home in Cincinnati for the funeral. Much to his chagrin he learns his father only left him some prized rosebushes and an antique car, while the rest of the $3 million estate has been left to a trust. After doing some digging he discovers the executor of the estate is a doctor at a nearby psychiatric hospital, a close friend of the father's. He also learns, even more shockingly, that he has a much older long-lost brother named Raymond, a patient at the hospital who will end up being the sole beneficiary. Raymond is autistic with incredible savant abilities, such as total recall of baseball stats and airline accidents, and the ability to instantly solve complex mathematical problems. Charlie decides to effectively kidnap Raymond and take him back to Los Angeles to try and gain custody of him, thus giving him bargaining power over the inheritance. But of course the two brothers form a much deeper bond during their road trip across the country.
Written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass, Rain Man's script was inspired by Morrow's experiences with two men with autism, and the film is generally credited with raising mainstream awareness of the condition. While it's come under fire a bit over the years for Raymond's portrayal perhaps being a bit stereotypical, I think the film's intent is a very noble one. Charlie initially finds Raymond's behavioral rigidity near-impossible to deal with, but as the two spend time together he develops great affection and understanding for his brother, and so do we.
The story plays out in a pretty traditional manner - an odd couple trapped in hotel rooms together for several days eventually finding common ground and forming a close relationship. It's a well-traveled cinematic road, but what sets Rain Man apart are the two lead performances and ultimately the pathos between the characters.
Dustin Hoffman researched the role thoroughly, spending a lot of time with multiple individuals with autism and savant syndrome. While is portrayal has become ingrained in pop culture and is often imitated, there is much greater care evident when you watch the actual film. Hoffman brings a childlike sweetness to the character that lets the audience in and makes us want to truly understand Raymond; our sympathy remains with him throughout. The performance of course won Hoffman his Oscar and looms large in cinema's lexicon.
But the unsung hero of the film is Cruise, given the potentially thankless job of being almost a straight man, or worse, the film's villain. At the outset Charlie is arrogant, dismissive, and only concerned with what he can get out of bringing Raymond home with him. His initial lack of concern for Raymond's needs and comforts actually drives his girlfriend Susanna (Valeria Golino) away, and it's not until Charlie realizes that Raymond was "Rain Man," thought to be his comforting childhood imaginary friend, that he starts to see him as a human being. Cruise turns what could've been a wholly unpleasant character into a much more complex, relatable figure with a real arc. This was the film that as a teenager made me start to appreciate Cruise as a proper actor and not just a teen idol (and of course his performance in Born on the Fourth of July the following year blew the doors wide open).
Overall Rain Man is a very satisfying story told with a comfortable structure, but featuring two excellent performances that elevate it above saccharine dramedy. Cruise delivers maybe his earliest great turn as Charlie, while Hoffman as Raymond inspires us to empathize with and understand a condition that wasn't very well-documented in 1988. It's a fine Best Picture winner.
I give Rain Man ***1/2 out of ****.
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