When I watched Mary Poppins at Christmas, I realised that the story wasn’t about Mary Poppins or the kids, but about their father, Mr Banks. He is the only character who changes throughout the film. In the same way, it is tempting to view Rain Man as being about Raymond (Dustin Hoffman). But in the final analysis, it’s actually the younger brother, Charlie (Tom Cruise), an arrogant, money hungry, self-centred car salesman, who changes. This film is more about him than the Rain Man.
Cruise pulls it off brilliantly in my opinion. I’m not a massive fan of him, but having watched this film, I was very impressed with his ability to capture the character. Raymond is also stunningly acted by Hoffman, who I don’t think has ever played a better role - not even as Mr. Magorian in Mr. Magorian's Wonder Emporium!
Rain Man is a touching view of brotherhood based on a true story and Cruise’s change of heart is summed up with the line towards the end, “It’s not about the money any more. It’s just...why didn’t anyone tell me I had a brother? Because it would have been nice to know him.” Placed alongside the themes of brotherhood in The Straight Story, I’ve been moved to consider how much of a gift brothers are. Thinking from the point of view of a writer, Rain Man was great for exploring the power of family ties and for showing how change in characters is a great catalyst for a good story.
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