Rain Man Research Paper

REACTION PAPER ON THE FILM RAIN MAN
(1988)

SUMMARY:

Well written, smartly directed, and sensitively performed, RAIN MAN depicts the one-sided relationship between two brothers. A self-centered Los Angeles hustler Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) and the older Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), a mentally challenged resident of a home for the mentally disabled.

Charlie never knew of his existence, until the day he returns home from Los Angeles to attend his father's funeral. He is enraged by what has happened and by his father keeping Raymond's existence from him for his entire life. What angers him even more is when he learned about the last will of his father. In the will, his father left his fortune to his other brother, (an individual
that doesn't even understand what money is for) while only he got nothing but his father's prized rose bushes and the vintage '49 Buick car.

As Charlie experiences a combination of confusion and anger, he takes his brother out of the hospital.
Charlie has run into financial difficulties and is about to lose his exotic car dealership. Now wants to force Dr. Bruner to hand over what he feels is rightfully his. It's a nonsensical plan, but Charlie needs the money desperately. He's been on his own long enough to know how to work people and situations. At first this greatly alarms Charlie and he sees his brother as an obstacle in inheriting his father's fortune so he then decides to take his brother on a great adventure. He kidnaps Raymond from his residential home but then finds that Raymond will only fly Qantas. The two begin a long road trip that will lead them to an understanding and journey of
discovery

REACTION:

As they make their way across the country, the emotionally unreachable Raymond becomes the catalyst for Charlie's transformation from a self-absorbed character incapable of intimacy into a caring and sympathetic adult. RAIN MAN rises above the banality of its concept--another buddy movie stuck in a road trip picture--to become a genuinely moving and intelligent look at what it means to be human. Hoffman delivers a magnificent stunt of a performance, eventually earning him the Best Actor Award for his stellar performance; Cruise brings depth and conviction to the emotional development of his character while the other casts like Golino (Cruise's girlfriend) and Roberts (who played Vern) added extra spark. In this film, it is very much clear that Raymond has Asperger's Syndrome.
Raymond exhibited autistic-like behaviors and he has difficulty with his social and communication skills. But despite some setbacks he has an above average intelligence and a very minor language delay. For instance he sometimes used repetitive words and slurred his speech, but overall his language is fine. He just used words in a different way. Whenever he converse with the people around him, particularly with his younger brother Charlie, it is evident that his speech patterns may be unusual; sometimes it lacks inflection or have a rhythmic nature and can be formal. There are instances wherein he may not understand the subtleties of language, such as irony and humor. He also does not understand that conversation should be give and
take.

This film gives us an insider's viewpoint of what is it like to be with somebody with such a disorder. I can't help but empathize with what Charlie Babbitt is going through. It seems like those few days spent with his brother is a roller coaster ride of emotions. We can see how Charlie changes his whole outlook on life as a result of spending a few days with his older brother. It first started as confusion, then rage because of the inheritance and frustration with each passing day because of his brother's behavior. Then halfway through the film he developed a sense of longing for the brother he almost never met. A longing for somebody to that needs him; since he himself has been living on his own his entire life. On the road, with an older brother to look after, Charlie learned how to take care of someone else; but not just anyone else, but a person with AS, someone who required so much special attention that someone of Charlie's personality would unlikely give him a second thought.
With their few days together he comes to understand how Raymond's mind works and in doing so he also learns how to cope with it. He learns how to meet halfway with him and how to take care of him. He also learns to avoid power struggles with Raymond since the latter becomes more rigid and stubborn if confronted or forced. He is eager to do things for him like taking him out for breakfast and teaching him to dance. Overall, Charlie made a very fine job of taking care of his brother and providing support that only a real brother can even though all his life, Charlie took care of himself.
The battle for money becomes an afterthought. When he finally talks to Dr. Bruner, he discusses terms for custody. The money isn't that important anymore. He doesn't need it anyway, since Raymond showed a remarkable ability to count cards at the blackjack tables, and a stop in Las Vegas turned profitable for both of them. He is now after the thought of taking care of his brother and making up for those moments that he is not around.