Rain Man (1988)
Film details
Drama · Barry Levinson · 2h 9min
Synopsis
When car dealer Charlie Babbitt learns that his estranged father has died, he returns home to Cincinnati, where he discovers that he has a savant older brother named Raymond and that his father's $3 million fortune is being left to the mental institution in which Raymond lives. Motivated by his father's money, Charlie checks Raymond out of the facility in order to return with him to Los Angeles. The brothers' cross-country trip ends up changing both their lives.
Verdict
A story of fraternal redemption that celebrates family bonds and responsibility.
In-depth analysis
Rain Man is a masterpiece of family drama that recounts with surgical precision the passage from egoism to charity. Charlie Babbitt begins as a materialistic young man who sees his autistic brother as a means to obtain money, but Barry Morrow's screenplay leads him unsentimentally towards conversion: he discovers that Raymond is not a problem to be solved but a person with inviolable dignity. Barry Levinson's direction relies on the slow tempo of the journey as a metaphor for inner growth. Hoffman constructs Raymond without caricature, respecting the complexity of autism. For parents, it is a story about filial responsibility, sacrifice, and the fraternal bond as a school of humanity. Strong language is frequent, especially when Charlie is frustrated, but it is contextual and diminishes as he matures. Romantic intimacy is brief and suggested. An appropriate choice for mature adolescents who can appreciate a narrative without special effects about what it means to grow and to love.