Watching the movie Rainman enriched my knowledge about the high-level autistic people. I didn’t know that these kind of people can memorize phone books, schedules, carry on conversations, calculate square roots without a calculator and count the no. of toothpicks on the ground just after glancing on it for a few seconds. But they cannot think rationally and abstractly and hence, cannot tell the difference between the price of a car and the price of a candy Bar. They live in a world of their own
Raymond Babbit(Dustin Hoffman), a high-level autistic, who lives in a mental hospital in Cincinnati, who doesn’t understand the concept of money inherits a whooping $3 million from his estranged father, much to his brother’s dismay. Raymond’s brother Charlie(Tom cruise) doesn’t even know about him. He leaves his dull car business in LA to go to Ohio along with his girlfriend, to find out where his money went. When he comes to know about Ray, he decides to abduct him and bring him back to his home in LA until he gets his share of money.
Unfortunately, Ray has a fear of flying as he knows that every major airline has crashed at one time or the other, except one which flies only to Australia. Hence, Charlie is forced to rent a car all the way from Cincinnati to LA and thus begins a journey of frustration, impatience and eventually self-discovery.
Barry Levinson who stepped in to direct the film after three directors bailed out, has found a subtle humor in the interactions between Charlie and Ray. He has allowed the film to go beyond a dramatic level and onto a comedy level as well, thus illustrating his flawless direction abilities. Though the subject is a serious one, the director has helped make this a light-hearted film and not a heavy one. Scenes like the airport scene, the hotel scene, the casino and dance scene take off on a different level altogether.
Ronald Bass’s and Barry Morrow’s script flows effortless from one scene to another and makes perfect sense. It’s an old Hollywood formula- the “odd couple” road movie but its refreshingly new thanks to the engaging chemistry between Dustin Hoffman and Tom cruise, and the uniqueness of their circumstances.
Dustin Hoffman who was earlier considered for the role of Charlie, changed sides thanks to the woman he saw, who played a full concerto on the piano despite having cerebral palsy. Hoffman is stunning consistent, a career defining performance gives Ray a lovable personality. Nonetheless the role of Charlie belongs to Tom cruise, who, yet another time played an egoistic character, but brought freshness and edge to his performance. The chemistry between the two is impeccable.
The film works because of his simplicity. It doesn’t try to perform miracles and doesn’t find any cures. Instead, it merely observes a man’s acceptance and self-discovery. The film resonates beyond fictional limits, harboring in our memories, and occasionally surfacing at times when we find ourselves impatient or frustrated. It reminds us how we all can strive to be better people.