Director
- Barry Levinson
Cast
- Dustin Hoffman as Raymond Babbitt
- Tom Cruise as Charlie Babbitt
- Valeria Golino as Susanna
- Gerald R. Molen as Dr. Bruner
What begins as an unsentimental journey becomes much more than the distance between two places – it’s a connection between two vastly different people.
Tom Cruise owned the 80s. His face was all over Hollywood and each role he played took on a life of their own. Whether it was the nerdy teenager, Joel, in Risky Business or the rebel American boy, Maverick in Top Gun, you were assured that each Tom Cruise film took you for a roller coaster ride. His energy was simply contagious. Enter Dustin Hoffman, the actor who owned the late 60s and 70s. Made famous for his early films like, The Graduate, All the President’s Men, and Marathon Man, Hoffman came into the 80s staring in the film, Tootsie, where he played an unsuccessful actor, disguised as a woman in order to get a role on a trashy hospital soap. Soon after this, Hoffman’s movie roles slowed down for much of the decade until he was paired with Cruise for this 1988 classic.
Rainman opens up with fast cars, fast music, and an immediate look at our pretty boy lead, Charlie Babbitt, played by Cruise. Charlie is a young entrepreneur who sells luxury vehicles. Charlie learns early that his estranged father has passed away. Charlie, in a bind to make immediate money to pay off a huge loan, is hoping his father’s fortune becomes his own; however, he learns that there is a secrete trustee to his father’s estate. Charlie soon learns that the secret trustee lives in an institution in Cincinnati, OH.
The two main characters, Charlie and Raymond are vastly different. Charlie is an arrogant, self centered man who is quick on his feet and flashy. Raymond is a simple man diagnosed with Savant Syndrome and Autism, has the ability to recall specific baseball stats, can mentally compute any mathematic calculations, and recites facts from history. It goes without saying, Dustin Hoffman’s ability to share the story of a man living with Autism was extraordinary and well deserving of the Oscar that it earned.
Rainman is the story of a brothers’ inseparable bond. The interactions between Charlie and Raymond during the memorable roadtrip from Ohio to Lost Angeles, in that 1949 Buick Roadmaster, were comical as well as heart warming.
In this scene, Charlie realizes Raymond was the ‘Rainman’ in his childhood. The two brothers reminisced the day they were separated.
Rainman also brought to light the practice of institutionalization for individuals with disabilities. It’s amazing that since this film came out, many of the institutions around the country have been shut down. The experiences that Charlie brought before Raymond may have been overwhelming at times for Raymond, but they still were experiences he never would have been exposed to living in the institution.
Barry Levinson kept the camera work simple for this film but put great work into creating a top notch soundtrack to go with a film that was well deserving of its four Oscars including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Actor in Leading Role.
Interview with Director Barry Levinson
Matt Dolan
educator, leader, social entrepreneur, friend, human being, gamer, photographer, graphic designer, optimist