Rain Man 1988

The Film:

I was sixteen in 1988 and I saw a *lot* of films at the cinema that year. Rain Man was by far my favourite and it has been in my Top Ten of all time ever since.

So, whilst I also have previous winners such as All About Eve and The Godfather in my Top Ten, this is the first in our challenge that I have been pretty fanatical about since it first came out. Which means I'm not sure what I'm going to make of it in the context of this challenge.

I've not been keeping count of how many times I've seen it, but it's somewhere between ten and twenty times. Out of all the films on our list, there's only (possibly) The Sound of Music that can match up to that.

However, it's been a few years now and we are in a time of very different sensibilities when it comes to the portrayal of disability. I know a lot more about Autism now (as do most people!) and have more personal experience through students and friends. I am really worried that Hoffman's portrayal of Raymond Babbitt isn't going to cut it for me any more - and even the possibility of that makes me really sad.

The Ceremony:

I'm writing this on the eve of this year's Oscar ceremony. After various controversies, it's going ahead without a host this year. The last time this happened was on March 29th 1989 at the Shrine Auditorium. In the greater scheme of things, the ceremony should be remembered as the first time the words "And the Oscar goes to...." were used instead of "And the Winner is...". Also, it's the first year that Bruce Vilanch took on main writing duties - a role he has held ever since.

However, it's always going to be more remembered for the Opening Sequence (the BBC even wrote an article about it this year!) and the fact that it practically killed Allen Carr's career (not that Alan Carr, the other Allen Carr...). It's gloriously awful - have a drink or two before you watch it, or be prepared to pick your jaw up from the floor!

Other Notable Winners That Night:

Dustin Hoffman won the second of his Oscars, and Jodie Foster won the first of hers (for The Accused). Supporting Oscars went to Kevin Kline and Geena Davis. Rain Man took home four awards all together, but didn't even get a nomination for Tom Cruise - and Hans Zimmer missed out on the Best Score Award (even though it's one of my favourite scores of all time - but what do I know!)

Probably the most notable winner of the night was in the category of Animated Short. The winner was Tin Toy - the first of 19 awards (to date) for the mighty Pixar. Here it is, serving both as a marvel of technology and reminder of how far we've come in thirty years:

Best Song:

Three of my favourite ever Theme Songs to films are sung by Carly Simon (the other two are Nobody Does it Better and Coming Around Again). This one won her an Oscar and it still sounds wonderful today, even if it does mean that the first five minutes of Working Girl are by far the best five minutes!

What We Could/Should Have Been Watching:

I'll leave you to write your own caption for this one....in French!

Obviously I'm happy with the winner here - it's one of my favourite films! However, there are some other worthy contenders.

The other nominations were for The Accidental Tourist, Working Girl, Mississippi Burning and Dangerous Liaisons. Objectively, Mississippi Burning is the best of those films, but I had nearly as much of a thing for Dangerous Liaisons as I did for Rain Man - so it's getting the runner up prize for me. (I liked to make out that my love for Dangerous Liaisons was entirely due to studying French literature at A Level at the time. I bought the book in French and went on about it in a really pretentious way. However, I never actually read it - and I've since seen Cruel Intentions far more often than Dangerous Liaisons, so I'm guessing there were other reasons....)

Our Verdict:

He's an excellent driver!

Counting cards

I know times are changing and both the understanding and portrayal of disability has come a long way in thirty years. However, I am going to continue to defend this one to the hilt. Firstly, this isn't a film about autism - it's a film about a particular autistic person. Raymond's character is based on Kim Peek, who worked closely with Hoffman to help him prepare for the role. This makes all the difference - particularly because it means I can get down off my defensive high horse and focus on what the film is really about - the relationship between two brothers and how one needs the other in order to see and experience the world fully, to understand his emotions and how to interact fully with other people. And - clever but gloriously subtle twist - the brother that needs that is Charlie, not Raymond. That, in a nutshell, is why I love this film so much and why I still love it thirty years later. It's also why I think Tom Cruise should have won Best Supporting Actor. I can't believe he wasn't nominated: if you compare his performance with Kevin Kline's in A Fish Called Wanda, how can you possibly give KK the award?

The screenshot that sums up the whole film!

Ok - I've got my big bugbears about other people's takes on this film off my chest. I'll calm down now. However, the relationship between Raymond and Charlie and the stunning performances of both actors are, in my view, the best things about Rain Man. The film could so easily have been overly-sentimental and mawkish, but it isn't. It could also have been really insensitive and ill-informed (even if it was well meaning) but it isn't. It could have been far too serious and sure of its own importance, but it isn't. The script (which also won an Oscar) makes sure this doesn't happen.

Twelve minutes to Wapner.....

I still find Rain Man an easy film to watch, and an enjoyable one. It's incredibly quotable and much parodied but it stands up to both of these things. It has a lovely streak of humour running through it and yet it reduces me to tears at the end every time I watch it. The cinematography is beautiful - for a film that is so character-driven, so much loving attention is paid to how it looks. The musical score is one of my favourite of all time and gave Hans Zimmer the first of his eleven nominations to date. The score is a good example of what I like about the film this time round - it's incredibly 1980s, but it hasn't become dated.

Ultimately, Rain Man is a variation on one of my favourite film tropes - the Road Trip Buddy Movie. It comes a close second to Priscilla Queen of the Desert in this genre. The two films have more in common than I previously realised! And I recommend them both to you.