Rain Man (1988)
The character arc road trip.
Presentation:
The late 80s saw a particular type of soapy drama with the brotherly dysfunctional duo formula. Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman pair up for a memorable road trip but differ from similar films like Scent of a Woman by not having as much lightness. There’s a bit of trauma and sadness that makes Tom Cruise a little more understandable but for the most part we hate him for the majority of the film. Hoffman plays an autistic savant perhaps a little too well, though I have to say it is less entertaining than Al Pacino’s performance. I think I overall prefer Scent of a Woman, but Rain Man has a realer message on understanding and patience.
Conclusion:
Although the film is intended to make certain characters dislikable, I think they lingered too long on it. I couldn’t really find many aspects of this film comedic as I was most concerned with empathy and pitied both of them. That’s what distinguishes this from the other films, but I think for this formula a lighthearted tone does seem to work better. Simply put, I prefer Cruise’s other movies.
Recommendations
How did black and white ever fall out of fashion?