The Rainmaker (1997)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers (WGA):

John Grisham (novel)
Francis Ford Coppola (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 November 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

They were totally unqualified to try the case of a lifetime... but every underdog has his day.

Plot:

An idealistic young lawyer and his cynical partner take on a powerful law firm representing a corrupt insurance company.

Plot Keywords:

Lawyer | Law | Insurance | Insurance Company | Courtroom

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Matt Damon	...	Rudy Baylor
Danny DeVito	...	Deck Shifflet
Claire Danes	...	Kelly Riker
Jon Voight	...	Leo F. Drummond
Mary Kay Place	...	Dot Black
Dean Stockwell	...	Judge Harvey Hale
Teresa Wright	...	Colleen 'Miss Birdie' Birdsong
Virginia Madsen	...	Jackie Lemancyzk
Mickey Rourke	...	Bruiser Stone
Andrew Shue	...	Cliff Riker
Red West	...	Buddy Black
Johnny Whitworth	...	Donny Ray Black
Wayne Emmons	...	Prince Thomas
Adrian Roberts	...	Butch
Roy Scheider	...	Wilfred Keeley

Also Known As:

John Grisham's The Rainmaker (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for a strong beating and elements of domestic abuse.

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Philippines:PG-13 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #35679) | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Alameda, California, USA

Company:

American Zoetrope

Trivia:

The initial cut of the movie was about six hours long.

Goofs:

Continuity: Position of Kelley's hair in the movie theater.

Quotes:

Rudy Baylor: There's gotta be a hundred years of law experience sitting at this very table. My staff has flunked the bar exam six times.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Directors: The Films of Michael Mann (#2.1)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Woman You Must Be Crazy

Enjoyable, but doesn't have the greatness of the novel

I have hardly ever seen a movie that is as good as the novel it is based upon, so I wasn't expecting this movie to be better than the novel. The story isn't as interesting in this movie, but the cast is great, the entertainment value is excellent, and veteran Director Francis Ford Coppola is behind the camera here. Coppola has directed movies like the epic mob masterpiece The Godfather and plenty of other great movies.

This was released a couple of weeks before Matt Damon's huge hit Good Will Hunting, so this is one of his first big roles in a movie. Danny De Vito does a great job in adding plenty of humor to the movie, and Jon Voight adds a lot of dramatic effect to his character.

The story follows a young lawyer who is representing the family of a boy with leukemia who could have had proper treatment, but couldn't because of a seedy insurance company. The movie pretty much follows the book, but the problem is that the book had a few great sub plots that seem absent from the movie, and one scene that happens in the middle of the movie happens in the end of the book. The scene is very intense, but it seems more like it belonged at the end of the movie, rather than the middle.

This is worth watching, it is one of the best Grisham films, and there are plenty of great qualities in it.