Rain Man
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Rain Man is a 1988 drama film written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass and directed by Barry Levinson. It tells the story of an abrasive and selfish yuppie, Charlie Babbitt, who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son, Raymond, a man with high functioning autism of whose existence Charlie was unaware.
The film stars Tom Cruise as Charlie Babbitt, Dustin Hoffman as Raymond Babbitt, and Valeria Golino as Charlie's girlfriend, Susanna. Morrow created the character of Raymond after meeting Kim Peek, a real-life savant; his characterization was based on both Peek and Bill Sackter, a good friend of Morrow who was the subject of Bill, an earlier film that Morrow wrote. Rain Man received overwhelmingly positive reviews at the time of its release, praising Hoffman's role and the wit and sophistication of the screenplay.
The film won four Oscars at the 61st Academy Awards (March 1989), including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Actor in a leading role for Hoffman. Its crew received an additional four nominations.
Cast
- Tom Cruise as Charlie Babbitt
- Dustin Hoffman as Raymond "Ray / Rain Man" Babbitt
- Valeria Golino as Susanna
- Jerry Molen as Dr. Bruner
- Jack Murdock as John Mooney
- Michael D. Roberts as Vern
- Ralph Seymour as Lenny
- Lucinda Jenney as Iris
- Kim Robillard as Small Town Doctor
- Barry Levinson (uncredited) as Doctor
- Bonnie Hunt as Sally Dibbs
Effect on popular culture
Rain ManTemplate:'s portrayal of the main character's condition has been seen as inaugurating a common and incorrect media stereotype that people on the autism spectrum typically have savant skills, and references to Rain Man, in particular Dustin Hoffman's performance, have become a popular shorthand for autism and savantism. However, Rain Man has also been seen as dispelling a number of other misconceptions about autism and improving public awareness of the failure of many agencies to accommodate autistic people and make use of the abilities they do have, regardless of whether they are savant skills.
The film is also known for popularizing the misconception that card counting is illegal in the United States.
