Rain Man

Rain Man

Oldies but Goodies

Rain Man

Release date: December 16, 1988

Written by: Barry Marrow and Ronald Mass

Directed by: Barry Levinson

Genres: Drama Rated: R Length: 133 min’s

Lead actors: Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise

Have you ever felt like your parents were hiding a deep secret from you? Well, Charles Babbit never felt that way but he should have. When Charles Babbit’s father died he left a 3 million dollar inheritance to a person named Raymond Babbit a man that Charles had never heard of before. Charles is a spoiled selfish and maybe, even mildly narcissistic man who sets off with his girlfriend Susanna played by Valeria Golino to find Raymond with a secret plan to do whatever it takes to get his half of the inheritance. When he finds Raymond Babbit he learns that Raymond is his autistic brother that his father hides from him. Learning that his genius autistic brother who has no concept of money has inherited his father’s 3 million dollars causes Charles to go into a hidden rage and he adult naps his and holds him ransom for 1.5 million in inheritance that Charles feels is owed to him. When his girlfriend finds out about his crazy plan she literally runs out on him, leaving him alone with a brother he never knew he had.

This sparks the beginning of a chronological road trip through the past and the present, as Charles learns that taking care of another person isn’t as easy as he thought it was. As Raymond’s character develops Charles realizes that when Charles tells him he needs something at a certain time he really needs it and he’s needs should be taken lightly, something he would have realized before if he had listened to Raymond’s doctor in the beginning of the movie. It’s no wonder that this movie won 17 awards it is a brilliantly written movie and shows how a little kindness and understanding can go a long way. It shows how relationships developed, bonds are made, and how even the coldest of hearts can be thawed. Had the story been written another way some of the meaning may have been lost.

 If Charles had known about his brother from the beginning of the movie then the development of the characters would have been unrealistic. The way the movie is written shows how life within families develops through adversity and different types of personality through all the emotions, thoughts, frustrations, love, and understanding that everyone feels for each other. This is truly one of the best films to come out of the 80’s and is a most see.