Featured Audience Ratings

• Mark W

  
  I must have been about ten or eleven when Rain Man was released and I remember enough about this time that it was seemingly heralded as a modern classic. The fact that it went on to win several oscars - including Best Picture - would further back this up. In hindsight, it's not… More
  I must have been about ten or eleven when Rain Man was released and I remember enough about this time that it was seemingly heralded as a modern classic. The fact that it went on to win several oscars - including Best Picture - would further back this up. In hindsight, it's not the classic that its proclaimed to be but still remains a solid human drama. Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) is a self-centred car salesman who discovers that his recently deceased father has left his fortune to his older, autistic brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) - that he didn't know he had. In a bid to get his hands on the money, he kidnaps his brother but rather than it turning into a money making scheme, Charlie finds himself bonding with Raymond on their cross-country journey. On the surface, Rain Man comes off as a film about family ties, responsibilities and an exploration of learning disabilities. This is true to a great extent but essentially it's a road movie with two mismatched characters and actors. Hoffman delivers another masterful performance and one that gained him his second Best Actor Oscar after "Kramer Vs Kramer" in 1979. There's a real sensitivity to his performance, which in turn, brings a lot of humour. The humour can sometimes come across as unintentional but that's all the more credit to Hoffman's abilities. As for Cruise, he's all cocksure arrogance - like most of his performances throughout the 80's - but he's perfectly fitting and delivers one of the more grounded and mature performances of his career. He plays off Hoffman brilliantly and after playing alongside Paul Newman in "The Color Of Money" two years previously, this marked the second time that Cruise held his own against two of the screen greats - the two of them also on Oscar winning form at the time. Behind the camera, Levinson does an admirable job but his main strengths lie in capturing the subtleties of the performances. Anything else other than that is generic filmmaking. That's not to say that it's poor. It far from that, but I wonder whether it was deserving of a Best Director Oscar. Other candidates from that year included Martin Scorsese for "The Last Temptation of Christ" and Alan Parker for "Mississippi Burning". At least two, that could arguably have taken the award. However, this is the type of material that the Academy laps up; it's a difficult subject in highlighting the complexities of autism and although it's one of very few film's to tackle it, it doesn't provide any answers and doesn't probe as well as it should. Maybe the lack of probing is exactly the point? Autistic savants can't be understood and it confirms that through Cruise's frustrated character. Either way, I found that it became a little contrived and formulaic. This is a small gripe though, as the journey that these two go on is filled with humour and pathos and manages to be both touching and emotionally uplifting. A thoughtful and affecting story that benefits from exemplary performances and great chemistry from the two leads.

• Joshua W

  
  I love this film. I usually have issues with 80s films made in this format but this film is one of the best 80's films I've seen. Dustin Hoffman is phenomenal in this film and it shows the progression of the relationship between his character and Cruise's. To anyone… More
  I love this film. I usually have issues with 80s films made in this format but this film is one of the best 80's films I've seen. Dustin Hoffman is phenomenal in this film and it shows the progression of the relationship between his character and Cruise's. To anyone who thinks Tootsie is Hoffman's best 80's film, first off you're wrong, secondly this could wipe the floor with Tootsie any day of the week. Rain Man is one of my favorite films of all time and the only reason for it not getting 5 stars in my book is due to the unnecessary foul language on Cruise's part. If it didn't have that than this film could have been one of the top films ever.

• Directors C

  
  It's the king of all crowd pleasers. The simple and intriguing premise of the film came off brilliantly. Hoffman and Cruise (with a much under rated performance) are fantastic together showing excellent chemistry. Rain Man shows us everyday situations from a sufferer of… More
  It's the king of all crowd pleasers. The simple and intriguing premise of the film came off brilliantly. Hoffman and Cruise (with a much under rated performance) are fantastic together showing excellent chemistry. Rain Man shows us everyday situations from a sufferer of autism's perspective truthfully yet touchingly. The movie didn't feel to me at all like 2 hours. It's by no means flawless but very near perfect. I have a brother who suffers from this condition so maybe the film just connected with me in a special way and made me feel good. Like movies are supposed to do. Amazing film about love and self discovery.

• BG Movie Reviews 2

  
  "Uh oh..." - just one of the many memorable lines from this instant classic that I just couldn't stop refering to every 5 seconds after watching the film. It blew me away! Rain Man tells the story of the rather bossy man Charlie Babbit, who found out that his father… More
  "Uh oh..." - just one of the many memorable lines from this instant classic that I just couldn't stop refering to every 5 seconds after watching the film. It blew me away! Rain Man tells the story of the rather bossy man Charlie Babbit, who found out that his father has died and he was given a car and some rose bushes. Upset, he seeks out the person who is getting the rest of his father's money and to try and take it for his own. This takes him on a long journey with his autistic, long lost brother, with plenty of laughs and tears throughout. Hoffman/Cruise was a perfect match and the two worked brilliantly together - their connection as brothers was fantastic, especially seeing it develop the way it did. With a trait that was taken on by futuristic horror film, The Cube, and a scene that was copied in The Hangover, the film was seen as classic and will be one of my all time favourites for a long time...

• Alexander D

  
  Well, now. To say the very least, RAIN MAN is absolutely brilliant. Dustin Hoffman delivers an fantastic performance as the autistic character Raymond Babbitt, a role for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1988. In fact, Hoffman's performance is so outstanding… More
  Well, now. To say the very least, RAIN MAN is absolutely brilliant. Dustin Hoffman delivers an fantastic performance as the autistic character Raymond Babbitt, a role for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1988. In fact, Hoffman's performance is so outstanding that in comparison to Colin Firth as King George VI and Tom Hanks as the titular character in FORREST GUMP (using examples of other Academy Award-winning disabled roles), Dustin Hoffman as Raymond Babbitt is definitely the superior one. Tom Cruise also does an acceptable job as Charlie Babbitt, a greedy, selfish man who lives his whole life unaware that Raymond is his brother. I didn't expect very much of this film, as it looked like it would be utterly irritating--and I will admit, I was irritated at some parts, such as the various times at which Raymond continuously recites lines from Abbott and Costello's comedy act, "Who's on First?"--but otherwise, RAIN MAN was an exceptionally great, thoroughly memorable motion picture.

• Manu G

  
  Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt's father left a fortune to his savant brother Raymond and a pittance to Charlie; they travel cross-country. Excellent Film! Dustin Hoffman's performance as Raymond Babbitt is the best acting performance I have ever seen from him no doubt. I… More
  Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt's father left a fortune to his savant brother Raymond and a pittance to Charlie; they travel cross-country. Excellent Film! Dustin Hoffman's performance as Raymond Babbitt is the best acting performance I have ever seen from him no doubt. I have never seen an actor get so deeply immersed in a character than Hoffman does in this film. He is excellent here,and he deserved nothing less than the Oscar he won for it in 1989. As for Tom Cruise, his performance as Raymond's childish and hotheaded brother is also worthy of note.To watch his character slowly shed his ignorance throughout the course of the film was indeed a delight.If you have not seen it,don't deprive yourself any longer and watch it. Highly recommended. Charles Sanford "Charlie" Babbit is a self-centered Los Angeles-based automobile dealer/hustler/bookie who is at war with his own life. Charlie, as a young teenager, used his father's 1948 Buick convertible without permission and as a result, he went to jail for two days on account that his father reported it stolen. It is then that Charlie learns that his estranged father died and left him from his last will and testament a huge bed of roses and the car while the remainder will of $3 Million goes into a trust fund to be distributed to someone. Charlie seemed pretty angry by this and decides to look into this matter. It seems as if that "someone" is Raymond, Charlie's unknown brother, an autistic savant who lives in a world of his own, resides at the Walbrook Institute. Charlie then kidnaps Raymond and decides to take him on a lust for life trip to the west coast as a threat to get the $3 Million inheritance. Raymond's acts and nagging, including repeated talks of "Abbott & Costello", "Four minutes till Wapner" and refusal to fly on an airline except Quantas drives Charlie insane... and out of his selfish world into a cross-country trek of pure love and understanding that these two both have.

• Kyle F

  
  Cruise and Hoffman are great, and it's their relationship that sets this movie soaring. Of coarse, the beautiful locations and elaborate sceenplay certainly don't hurt.

• Jim C

  
  This deserved the Oscar, it was a great movie. Im ashamed of you if you didnt at least like Hoffmans performance, he played it very well and deserved the Oscar.

• AJ V

  
  The best drama movie of 1988! Cruise and Hoffman are perfect together, and the story is awesome, dramatic, sad, and a bit funny too. I highly recommend this movie, it's fantastic.

• danny d

  
  an important movie, everyone should watch it

• Conner R

  
  A great movie with an almost impossible to hate quality to it. Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman have such an amazing chemistry together. It felt so natural and the banter just worked out perfectly between them. I thought the plot was really good and shows a realistic outcome, it… More
  A great movie with an almost impossible to hate quality to it. Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman have such an amazing chemistry together. It felt so natural and the banter just worked out perfectly between them. I thought the plot was really good and shows a realistic outcome, it isn't just another throw away story about a mentally challenged person. It's not just a story about brotherhood, but relationships in general. The yuppie was never so close examined within the decade as it was in this, Tom Cruise really nails the whole lifestyle and its weaknesses.

• Cassie H

  
  Excellent!!! Not only did it have a great story to it. It had two great phoenomenal actors!!!!!! Kudos to Cruise and Hoffman!!! :)

• Jeff "

  
  Rainman is a phenomenal film about a selfish yuppie who discovers that he has a brother when his father dies, and he's left his fortune to him. The only thing is that his brother is an autistic-savant. Charlie Babbitt who's the Yuppie is brilliantly played by Tom Cruise and… More
  Rainman is a phenomenal film about a selfish yuppie who discovers that he has a brother when his father dies, and he's left his fortune to him. The only thing is that his brother is an autistic-savant. Charlie Babbitt who's the Yuppie is brilliantly played by Tom Cruise and Raymond Babbit, Charlie's Autistic brother is played by Dustin Hoffman. Both actors deliver strong performances, and I thought that Rainman was one of the better films with Tom Cruise, as I'm not a Tom Cruise fan. The story is well told by director Barry Levinson and he successfully crafts a film about a brother trying to reconnect with his brother, whom he's never known existed. The performances feel real, and the acting is top notch. Levinson definitely picked a great cast for this film. Of all the films staring Tom Cruise, I think that Rainman is one of his best. Staring alongside Dustin Hoffman, both play their characters with skill, and both actors deliver something great on screen. Cruise is credible a selfish Yuppie, and Hoffman is equally impressive as his autistic brother Raymond. Rainman is a sad, but touching film, and the films message will definitely appeal to it's audience. One of things that I really liked about the film Tom Cruise's transformation into a selfish asshole into someone who cares for his brother, the films end, he has formed a strong bond with brother, and he's a better person. For me, that was a very interesting aspect of the film, and Cruise is able to transform so well on screen from selfish to selfless. A very good drama film that is very touching, humourous and sad. Rainman is a phenomenal film with a great story and great acting. Dustin Hoffman definitely shines here, and he plays one of his best roles here.

• Albert K

  
  dustin hoffman is incredible. other than that, the movie is awfully boring.

• erika b

  
  one of the best dramas ever made.

• Dan S

  
  An effective and poignant look on autism, anchored by a stunning performance from Dustin Hoffman and an admirable turn by the very controversial Tom Cruise. Although slightly predictable, the film is absolutely fabulous stuff. Just seeing Hoffman act is a treat, and the casino scene… More
  An effective and poignant look on autism, anchored by a stunning performance from Dustin Hoffman and an admirable turn by the very controversial Tom Cruise. Although slightly predictable, the film is absolutely fabulous stuff. Just seeing Hoffman act is a treat, and the casino scene is one of the best scenes in any film.

• KJ P

  
  For me, this may deserve to be winning the award for the best movie, of it's decade!

• Wahida K

  
  <i>Hand on my Chest</I> This Movie is very touching.

• Anthony L

  
  I?m not a big film of rain, man!

• Thomas B

  
  it's a rare film which can make tom cruise likeable, however, rain man succeeds, in the end. dustin hoffmans shows that he really is a genius with raymond, tom cruise's autistic older brother. he's anexcellent driver

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