Rain Man         

By Jim Emerson

Rain Man is the kind of touching drama that Oscars are made for--and, sure enough, the film took Academy honors for best picture, director, screenplay, and actor (Dustin Hoffman) in 1988. Hoffman plays Raymond, an autistic savant whose late father has left him $3 million in a trust. This gets the attention of his materialistic younger brother, a hot-shot LA car dealer named Charlie (Tom Cruise) who wasn't even aware of Raymond's existence until he read his estranged father's will. Charlie picks up Raymond and takes him on a cross-country journey that becomes a voyage of discovery for Charlie, and, perhaps, for Raymond, too. Rain Man will either captivate you or irritate you (Raymond's sputtering of repetitious phrases is enough to drive anyone crazy), but it is obviously a labor of love for those involved. Hoffman had been attached to the film for many years, as various directors and writers came and went, but his persistence eventually paid off--kind of like Raymond in Las Vegas. Look for director Barry Levinson in a cameo as a psychiatrist near the end of the film.

Academy Awards

Rain Man received an Academy Awards for Best Picture of the Year (Mark Johnson - Producer), Best Performance By an Actor in a Leading Role (Dustin Hoffman), Best Achievement in Directing (Barry Levinson), Best Screenplay Written Directly For the Screen (Ronald Bass, Barry Morrow) and Nominated for Best Achievement in Art Direction (Ida Random - Art Direction, Linda DeScenna - Set Decoration). It also received nominations for Best Achievement in Cinematography (John Seale), Best Achievement in Film Editing (Stu Linder) and Best Achievement in Music (Original Score; Hans Zimmer).

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