Rain Man
Published June 12, 2009
Film info
- Title Rain Man
- Director Barry Levinson
- Year 1988
- Run time 2hrs 13m
- Genre Drama
- Tagline A journey through understanding and fellowship
When Charlie Babbitt goes home to the Midwest for his estranged father's funeral, he learns not only that he's been cut out of his inheritance, but that he has a grown brother...Raymond...who has been sheltered almost all of his life in an East Coast institution for the developmentally disabled. Raymond is an autistic savant...a person who is severely limited in most mental areas but extremely gifted in others. After traveling to the institution, Charlie kidnaps Raymond but then finds that Raymond will only fly Qantas. So the two begin a long cross-country odyssey in their father's 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible...a trip that will lead them to understanding and love, and for Charlie a kind of redemption.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 3:59 | I have had to pause the film to Google ‘EPA’ - Environmental Protection Agency. How did people watch films without Google? |
| 8:01 | Look at that wind farm! It’s amazing. |
| 9:00 | Not very many people at that man’s funeral. I guess he upset more than just his son? |
| 14:57 | Not that this film is dated but… what is she wearing? It looks like pyjamas. Unless it is pyjamas? |
| 21:05 | It doesn’t really make sense that they wouldn’t tell him he had a brother. But I guess you can never tell what families will do. |
| 22:14 | What a relief to have someone say it is poetic rather than ironic. |
| 27:18 | Is he kidnapping him? Does it count as kidnap if he’s just following along? |
| 37:06 | I would have walked out too. I don’t know what she sees in him in the first place. I guess he will be a much nicer man by the end of the film. |
| 42:42 | I wonder if someone could cope with being that smart and actually coherent of the fact. |
| 46:58 | There’s a lot of the F word in this film. It’s kinda off putting. There are a million other ways to demonstrate just what an angry young man Charlie is. |
| 50:37 | I don’t what this ‘who’s on first’ thing is, and I feel like I’m missing out. |
| 53:24 | How do you eat with a toothpick? I do my best to avoid using a knife which can be awkward but a toothpick is a step too far! |
| 57:45 | That car looks like it has terrible suspension. Being a motorsport fan is going to my head. |
| 1:09:20 | Wow, $20 for a room. Those were the days, although I don’t remember them. |
| 1:18:48 | I’m curious why he takes the pictures if he has such a super-duper memory. |
| 1:28:56 | I can’t imagine how overwhelming Las Vegas must be. Freaks me out just seeing it on TV. |
| 1:44:25 | His girlfriend has just turned up in Las Vegas. How on earth did she know where he was? I’m assuming he didn’t tell her because he was surprised to see her. |
| 1:53:43 | I actually have a bit of a craving for cheese puffs right now. |
| 1:57:00 | I read that Rayban sales went up by a large percentage following this film. |
| 2:01:03 | What kind of meeting is this? It sounds like the boardroom of the Apprentice, except they’re arguing over a person and not a budget. |
| 2:09:50 | Am curious, now that Raymond is being bundled on the train with the doctor, what would they have done if Charlie hadn’t bought him the portable TV. Wouldn’t he have freaked out? Why isn’t the doctor prepared for this? |
| 2:11:32 | I like films with stuff to look at alongside the end credits. |
Thoughts
I was supposed to watch this with the other half, but he was busy. I don’t suppose he would have appreciated all the note-taking anyway. He said the film was good but I might find it frustrating. I didn’t know what to expect.
I really enjoyed the movie, particularly the relationship between the pair of them. I think they needed to make more of the travelling side of things, as it felt a bit forced. As mentioned above, I personally could have done with a lot less swearing, but I like that the ending wasn’t soppy sweet.
Rating: 4 / 5