Picture 61: Rain Man (1988)

As the contemporary era comes ever closer, we meet another movie star of our times, Tom Cruise. Then 26 years old, Cruise links up with Oscar veteran Dustin Hoffman for 1988’s effort. It was the highest grossing film of 1988 but is it still worth renting on Amazon Prime 37 years later?

Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) is a self-centred car dealer in Los Angeles. His estranged father dies but doesn’t leave him any of his multimillion-dollar fortune. Perplexed and angry, Charlie does some digging and unearths a shocking secret. He has a long-lost brother called Raymond in Cincinnati. Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) is autistic with phenomenal mathematical and recall skills but struggles with daily tasks so resides in assisted living. 

Charlie, being the top bloke that he is, decides to remove Raymond from his place of safety and take him on a road trip back to LA so he can manipulate him into obtaining his share of the fortune. He also has developed some business debts so decides to visit a Las Vegas casino with his helpful new friend.

Will Charlie go on a remarkable journey that changes his personality beyond recognition over the course of a week? Will he develop a bond with his brother – a seed that was just waiting to grow into a beautiful, flowering tree all these years? Time will tell on these matters, but viewers can certainly look forward to a heart-warming tale and a groundbreaking insight into neurodiversity. The plot is well framed by Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack and excellent performances from both leads.

Rain Man rates highly but can’t quite enter the top 30 of this ever more competitive list. Interestingly, all of Dustin’s films are ranked in a line in the Oscar Best Picture Rankings. Midnight Cowboy, Rain Man and Kramer vs Kramer are 36^th, 37^th and 38^th respectively. It’s the sort of thing Raymond would notice.

Rating: 8/10

Reflection:

1.     There is no permanent self nor soul.

Oscar Best Picture Rankings:

1. The Godfather (1972)

2. Casablanca (1943)

3. The Apartment (1960)

4. Rebecca (1940)

5. The Godfather: Part II (1974)

6. The Sound of Music (1965)

7. Ordinary People (1980)

8. The Deer Hunter (1978)

9. A Man for All Seasons (1966)

10. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

11. Ben-Hur (1959)

12. The Last Emperor (1987)

13. Lost Weekend (1945)

14. Platoon (1986)

15. Gandhi (1982)

16. Rocky (1976)

17. Annie Hall (1977)

18. Amadeus (1984)

19. All About Eve (1950)

20. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

21. Hamlet (1948)

22. How Green Was My Valley (1941)

23. Out of Africa (1985)

24. Gone With the Wind (1939)

25. West Side Story (1961)

26. Mrs. Miniver (1942)

27. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

28. Wings (1928)

29. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

30. You can’t take it with you (1938)

31. Patton (1970)

32. Terms of Endearment (1983)

33. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

34. On the Waterfront (1954)

35. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

36. Midnight Cowboy (1969)

37. Rain Man (1988)

38. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

39. Marty (1955)

40. Oliver! (1968)

41. Cimarron (1931)

42. Grand Hotel (1932)

43. The French Connection (1971)

44. An American in Paris (1951)

45. From Here to Eternity (1953)

46. It Happened One Night (1934)

47. My Fair Lady (1964)

48. Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)

49. Cavalcade (1933)

50. The Sting (1973)

51. The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

52. Going My Way (1944)

53. The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

54. Chariots of Fire (1981)

55. All the King’s Men (1949)

56. In the Heat of the Night (1967)

57. Gigi (1958)

58. Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

59. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

60. The Broadway Melody (1929)

61. Tom Jones (1963)

Previous or current ranking leaders are in bold.

With credit and thanks to the patrons of the Best Picture Film Club:

Dr Sophie Bloomfield – Fashion Correspondent

Dr Caspar Briault – Head of Cynicism

Dr Conrad Charlton

Dr Sophie Clarke

Dr Kate Diomede

Dr Fionnuala Durrant

Dr Josh Fisher

Dr Joseph Gallaher – CEO and Founder

Dr Joseph Hamilton

Dr Adam Holland – Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Dr Sid Mohan - Divisional Lead for the 1980s

Dr Hannah Morrison

Dr Meera Radia