A touching story about difficult family relationships, created in 1988, won the hearts of viewers without expensive special effects and tricks. The tape did not prophesy commercial success, because the main character is a mentally retarded person with amazing abilities, but not used to living in society. I must say that the story was not invented, the screenwriter B. Morrow has long been interested in the problems of such people locked in clinics, although almost everyone had a family. The main sufferings they experienced in the hospitals were not physical, but moral.
Raymond prototype
In 1984, Morrow met a mystery man - Kim Peak. His confirmed phenomenal abilities were combined with a complete lack of independence. A closed man with a computer brain had a unique memory. This meeting turned the quiet life of a strange genius, with its help, many people with disabilities believed in their capabilities. The illness of the talented Peak, who died in 2009, has not yet been solved by doctors. During his lifetime, his father released a book entitled "The Real Rain Man." The film, which is released 4 years after the meeting, tells about a brilliant man with an amazing mind, but who needs outside help.
The journey from hate to love
Hero D. Hoffman, Raymond, has autism and lives in a hospital. His younger brother Charlie, amazingly played by T. Cruise, after the death of his father finds out about his relative. A selfish guy kidnaps a disabled person to take custody of his sick brother and get a huge fortune, written in his name. The whole film is a great journey that brings two native people together. Anger and hatred give way to sincere love and concern for a brother who was deprived of his family due to an accident when he boiled little Charlie with boiling water.
To fall in love with an uncommunicative and withdrawn autistic person who lives in his own strange world, who lives under the strictest regime and falls into hysteria when he is not observed, was comparable to a spiritual feat. Tom Cruise played an indifferent person who takes a step towards his brother, and he does not have the opportunity, due to his mental deviations, to respond with the same feelings.
Beginning his career, Cruz revealed himself as a drama artist. In front of the audience, the evolution of the inner world is taking place from a proud selfish businessman to a person sympathetic to someone else's misfortune. The actors carefully prepared for their roles, “Rain Man” for whom became a real springboard in his career.
How did the artists get used to the role?
Cruz worked as a nurse in a hospital for autists to plunge into the world of unusual people. Critics noted his masterful play, but some expressed the opinion that, nevertheless, the reliable transmission of the emotions of a sick person, Hoffman, was a real success for the film.
He really got used to the image of autism, impeccably conveying his sick condition with facial expressions and speech. The actor read special literature and met with “special” people. Then he said that he drove them to a bowling alley and in a cafe to watch for genuine emotions. Hoffman did not even play, but lived in this invented world with a clear schedule.
Gradually, the hero changes with his brother - he crawls out of his shell and adapts to new conditions of life. Raymond, devoid of emotion, even smiles at the jokes, and it’s touching to see how the younger brother rejoices at least some manifestation of feelings. Hoffman’s hero is complex, it’s very difficult for the viewer to love such an annoying image, and the artist’s skill was manifested in the fact that the public accepted his character.
Improvisations
During the filming, both director B. Levinson and the main actors improvised. "Rain Man" takes its final form only after installation, when all the material has been viewed, and it was decided which fragments are included in the picture and which are ruthlessly removed. For example, the episode when Raymond puts his head on Charlie’s shoulder and calls him his main man was absent in the script, it was a real Hoffman improvisation.
Another impromptu concerned the image of the girl Charlie. The director reworked her role. From a real American, he turned her into a poorly speaking Italian.
Lacking understanding about her boyfriend’s relationship with her brother and father, she asks direct questions to get honest answers. That is why the role was given to the Italian actress Valeria Golino, who became famous after Hollywood in the film.
Recognition and success
The actors rehearsed their roles in pairs daily with burning eyes. “Rain Man” was at that time their real life, where the main characters played to the limit of their dramatic abilities. They locked themselves in and repeated scenes, often changing scripts. At that time, few people believed in Cruise; they believed that he would not play such a serious role.
The director of the film admitted how the actors constantly doubted their game and future success. "Rain Man" received an unprecedented resonance, thousands of people went to the cinema to plunge into piercing human feelings. The result of painstaking and long work was 19 awards. The film received overwhelming success abroad, and soon the tape is recognized as a real classic of American cinema.