Rain Man (1988)
For many reasons, autism is difficult to capture on film or in a story. It isn’t easily represented, for one thing, because it varies from person to person. This developmental disorder has come into the public eye in recent years but wasn’t discussed much in homes back in 1988. It’s a psychiatric condition characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication, however it can manifest itself in a wide range of mental disorders known as the autism spectrum. I don’t claim to be an expert on any of this, nor is this a medical journal. This is about a film, a man, a character in a story who is an autistic savant. More about Savant Syndrome later on, but my point is that Rain Man will never be all things to all people. I don’t give much credence to those who claim Raymond Babbitt doesn’t represent their personal experience. I can only say he isn’t meant to. He is one person, one instance, one example, nothing more.
These must be the same people who see “issues” in movies first, more than stories. Rain Man is essentially a “buddy picture,” not an “issue picture.” It’s also not Raymond’s journey at the front and center, it’s his brother Charlie’s. The film stars Dustin Hoffman (Raymond) and Tom Cruise (Charlie), and both give powerhouse performances. For my money, Cruise has the more challenging role, even though it was Hoffman who took home his second Oscar for Best Actor. Hoffman has the showier part, the character with the affliction, but our window into his mind is Charlie Babbitt. We see Raymond through his brother’s eyes, so without Cruise’s outstanding performance, Hoffman’s wouldn’t work at all. I can only guess that Cruise’s snubbing has a lot to do with the character he plays. At the beginning and through much of the film, Charlie is a first-class jerk. A narcissist with a mean streak who treats his girlfriend Susanna (Valeria Golino) like crap and cares only about personal gain. Basically, he’s the ultimate poster-boy for the ’80s. The movie opens with Charlie receiving four Lamborghinis dockside, which he plans to resell to impatient buyers. The problem is these pricey vehicles haven’t passed their emissions inspections, and the EPA is holding them at the port until they do. Charlie already took out a loan against $70,000 of the buyers’ down-payments to purchase them, and he even instructs his employee Lenny (Ralph Seymour) to lie over the phone about the failed inspections. Then he receives an unexpected call that his father has died.
Charlie heads to Cincinnati with Susanna, where he is told by an executor of the will that his wealthy but estranged dad left him the rose bushes out in front of the house, along with his prized 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible parked in the garage, which was the cause of much friction between them. The bulk of the estate, roughly $3 million, has been bequeathed to an unnamed trustee. Through a bit of clever sleuthing, Charlie learns this money will be funneled to a mental institution called Wallbrook.
When Charlie confronts Dr. Bruner (Jerry Molen) at the institution, he learns nothing about why they have the money, only that they knew it was coming. Upset by this and ready to contest it, Charlie heads outside to his Roadmaster to find a mental patient sitting behind the wheel, and Susanna waiting calmly in the passenger’s seat next to him for Charlie to show up. Charlie kicks the man out of his car but overhears him rattling off statistics about it that are all accurate. He then hears him mutter that his father Sanford Babbitt allowed him to drive it in their driveway. This is how Charlie discovers he has an older brother named Raymond—a brother he never knew existed. Charlie decides to take Raymond with him to Los Angeles in anticipation of receiving the Lamborghinis for his clients, and he lures his brother away from Wallbrook without permission. For all intents and purposes, this is kidnapping. Charlie is holding Raymond hostage for half of the estate money. Susanna comes along for the ride at first, but she hates the way Charlie is treating Raymond and handling this whole situation. She walks out on them in a hotel room.
For the bulk of the remaining story, Rain Man is a “buddy picture” and a “road trip movie.” Charlie knows nothing about his brother, not to mention nothing about autism. Raymond is obsessed by daily rituals, down to the smallest detail. TV shows are watched at a certain hour each day. Bedtime is eleven o’clock at night. Juice boxes and cheese-puff balls are consumed at the same time each afternoon. Maple syrup is on the table first before the pancakes arrive, etc. Raymond clings to these expected routines to keep him grounded and calm. At a roadside diner, he insists on having toothpicks for each bite of food, and when the waitress (Bonnie Hunt in her film debut) accidentally drops a box of them at her feet, scattering the toothpicks on the floor, Raymond glances at them for a split second and announces the exact count. His number is correct.
Charlie discovers that Raymond has certain heightened abilities that go far beyond what the average mind is capable of. It’s a byproduct of his autism. These extraordinary gifts fall under a condition known as Savant Syndrome. Charlie ends up exploiting Raymond’s skills when he tests them on a deck of playing cards in their motel room. After Charlie hears from Lenny that the creditors seized the Lamborghinis when their loan was defaulted, Charlie and Raymond backtrack to Las Vegas where they proceed to win over $86,000. Susanna surprises them at the hotel, and for a while at least, things are looking up. At one point, Charlie hears Raymond refer to himself as “Rain Man,” the name of Charlie’s imaginary friend who comforted him by singing to him when he was very young. Charlie understands now that his big brother lived with them in their house when he was just a toddler, and Charlie called him “Rain Man,” because he couldn’t say “Raymond.” It’s a very sweet moment, but for me, the tears start to flow when a hot-water bath is drawn, and Raymond flies into a panic. Charlie realizes their parents had Raymond institutionalized when they thought he almost scalded baby Charlie in the bathtub. Watching Charlie calm his big brother down is one of the highlights of this film. Soon after, they are informed by the hotel management to pack up and leave. They can’t be arrested, since they committed no crime (counting cards isn’t illegal), but they are shown the door nonetheless, before things get serious.
The final act of this story is a custody hearing in Los Angeles with a court-appointed psychiatrist, played by the film’s director Barry Levinson. After a struggle, Charlie comes to terms with the decision that he can’t take care of Raymond by himself and watch him 24 hours a day. It’s a bittersweet moment when Charlie says goodbye to Raymond and Dr. Bruner at the train station but promises to visit Wallbrook in two weeks. The “happy ending” here is that Charlie has a brother that he loves. He doesn’t care about the money anymore. He found something far more important. Through Raymond and getting to know him, Charlie has grown up. Rain Man is a powerful movie with two indelible performances at the core. It’s the tale of two vastly different brothers who take a road trip together and find each other along the way.
Rain Man
Director | Barry Levinson |
Primary Cast | Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Jerry Molen, Ralph Seymour, Michael D. Roberts, Bonnie Hunt, Beth Grant, Lucinda Jenney, Barry Levinson |
Familiar Faces | Dustin Hoffman from Midnight Cowboy and Kramer vs. Kramer |
Firsts | None to speak of |
Total Wins | 4 (Picture, Director, Actor: Dustin Hoffman, Screenplay: Original) |
Total Nominations | 8 (Picture, Director, Actor: Dustin Hoffman, Screenplay: Original, Cinematography, Art Direction, Editing, Score: Original) |
Viewing Format | Blu-ray Disc |
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