Rain Man (1988)

	Directed by: Barry Levinson	COUNTRY USA GENRE Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE Rain Man RUNNING TIME 134 minutes
	Produced by: Mark Johnson
	Written by: Ronald Bass Barry Morrow

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Raymond Babbitt	Dustin Hoffman	½
Charlie Babbitt	Tom Cruise
Susanna	Valeria Golino	½
Dr. Bruner	Jerry Molen	½
John Mooney	Jack Murdock	-
Sally Dibbs	Bonnie Hunt	-

Review

Tom Cruise as a yuppie car importer, Dustin Hoffman as his autistic savant brother kept as a family secret, and the story of how they reconnect when their wealthy father dies. This 1988 classic has its heart in all the right places, and director Barry Levinson is certainly guilty of pressing your emotional buttons. Still, Rain Man is such an uplifting and engaging film that it brushes most reservations aside.

Two accomplished performances by Cruise and Hoffman form the nucleus; they play off and elevate each other wonderfully. You might even argue that this is Cruise's first real acting performance. By his side, Hoffman's work is driven largely by mimicry and diction, but there's a wholeness to his Raymond – the actor finds the human side within him. As a result, he never becomes a gimmick, even though he exhibits certain Hollywoodised touches.

So even when Raymond is taken along to Las Vegas so Charlie can exploit his ability to count cards at the blackjack table, and Cruise's girlfriend (Valeria Golino) gives Raymond a consolation kiss when his "date" never shows, the film still manages to find small truths about his situation – and in the ambiguity between confinement to an institution and a fleeting life on the road with his brother. Rain Man went on to win a host of Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director (Levinson), Actor (Hoffman), and Screenplay (Bass and Morrow).