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List Price: $12.98 | | Label: Paramount
Salesrank: 7746
Released: July 24, 2007 |
| Our Price: $4.97 |
| Used Price: $3.77 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Francis Ford Coppola directs and scripts an exciting, star-packed adaptation of John Grisham's novel about an idealistic young attorney who takes on the case of a lifetime. Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting) plays Rudy Baylor, a rookie lawyer in over his head on a high-profile case. Opposing him: an army of seasoned legal sharks (led by Jon Voight). On Rudy's side: Deck Shifflet (Danny DeVito), a feisty "paralawyer" who specializes in flunking the bar exam. Rudy's chances are slim to none- until he uncovers a trail of corruption that might lead to the one thing that could win his case: the truth.
Description of John Grisham's The Rainmaker (Special Collector's Edition):
When viewed from a cranky perspective, this by-the-book David vs. Goliath story doesn't offer any surprises, and it's a bit sad to watch director Francis Coppola (who also adapted John Grisham's bestseller) squandering his once-glorious talent on such conventional Hollywood fare. In a more charitable light, however, there's great pleasure to be found in Coppola's intelligent, no-nonsense handling of a plot that's every bit as involving as it is formulaic. Coppola also knows how to bring out the best in a stellar cast, and this is the movie (released in November 1997, just a few weeks before Good Will Hunting) that signaled Matt Damon's arrival as a major-league star. Damon plays Rudy Baylor, a young rookie lawyer in Memphis (location of many Grisham stories) who takes on a powerful insurance company (led by a sharklike lawyer played by Jon Voight) by representing the family of a boy who was denied potentially life-saving treatment for leukemia. Rudy also comes to the rescue of an abused wife (Claire Danes) and learns the tricks of the legal trade from a seasoned paralegal (Danny DeVito), who sees Rudy as his ticket out of the sleazeball practice run by a shady lawyer (Mickey Rourke). There's no mystery about where this plot is going, but Coppola takes us there in high style with a sharp script, and Damon strikes just the right note of naivete and strategic intelligence. When Goliath inevitably falls, this courtroom David wins fair and square. --Jeff Shannon
John Grisham's The Rainmaker (Special Collector's Edition) Reviews:
Damon, not Lancaster 
2009-11-01 - Good revenge movie, and more darts thrown at the legal profession and the insurance business.
Damon gives his ususal lackluster performance, but the plot is gripping enough to hold attention. Danny Glover plays a liberal judge, who helps guide the Damon character to victory.
One of the better Grisham adaptations
2009-10-26 - The Bottom Line:
Though this version of John Grisham's 'The Rainmaker' benefits from the fact that the book is one of Grisham's best, it cannot be denied that the film resists the temptation to screw things up that strikes so many such adaptations; realizing instead that Mr. Grisham's novels barely need any adapting, Coppola sticks closely to the book's interesting story and produces a film that zips through its 135 minute running length, engages the viewer, and emerges as a pretty decent piece of entertainment.
3/4
An Argument for Government Health Insurance 
2009-10-05 - This is a story about a young new lawyer in a southern town in Tennessee. He takes the case of a young man who is dying of leukemia because his private insurance company refused treatment (a bone marrow transplant). This dramatic story tells how a powerful established law fiem can use tricks like wiretapping or bugging to sabotage a legal challenge. Their son dies, the parents continue the suit. [The film shows little of the personal lives of the people in this story.]
Matt Damon, the young lawyer, does all he can to gather the information needed to win his case against the privately owned insurance company. Why did a claims examiner suddenly "resign"? Was she sickened by her work in the insurance company? [Alcoholism just doesn't happen, its an industrial disease caused by corporations.] Jon Voight, the power in the corporation's law firm, shows his acting skills in the accented speech of that area. [All speakers of English have an accent, you don't notice your own.] The facts brought out in the dramatic trial result in a verdict for the plaintiff, plus $50 million in punitive damages. Is this too good to be true?
The private insurance company preys upon the working poor by using door-to-door salesmen to sell policies. These high costs drain money from the premiums. Are they only selling "peace of mind"? Will this private insurance company declare bankruptcy to get out of paying? Was the owner looting the firm? Was it all a scam to oppress working people and cheat them out of needed health care? Some may claim this is only a work of fiction, but these things will happen as long as we do not have government-run health insurance that is well-managed and affordable to avoid a tragedy like this. [Read the book "A Civil Action" for facts.]
You know what happened in the financial industry since the New Deal regulations were abolished over the last thirty years. [Could this story happen in Canada or England?] John Grisham wrote the novel "A Runaway Jury" that was changed by Hollywood and turned into a big flop. Was the book changed for this movie?
no truth here? 
2009-09-19 - Insured people die in the USA without getting the treatment they
are insured to get. Films like this may make some people feel
good, but the facts are that the big law firms win more cases
than they lose. The movie is the blue yonder of wishful thinking
of a guy/ author who makes his money selling popular novels that please people.
Giving people hope in the legal system that is stacked against them
is probably a cruel thing to do?
Poor people continue to die of things rich people live through.
Just pray you don't get Jury Duty here... 
2009-08-30 - John Grisham has proven himself to be the literary lawyer. His books open the courtrooms to the masses, and allow the underdog to rule the day. With that said, not every Grisham novel is best told in the cinematic language. From "The Firm" to "A Time to Kill" and now to "The Rainmaker" directors and studios have tried to bring the elaborately well written stories to the screen with the same panache and excitement that is in the binded world - and yet every time, they fail. The films are entertaining, but after one viewing - the ability to view a repeat performance has lost momentum. Recently, "The Rainmaker" came across my DVD player, and I was forced to endure a repetitive story, one-dimensional characters, and a predictable ending that left me gasping for some originality. One must admit that Francis Ford Coppola does attempt to bring a level of authenticity to the screen, but it is the mediocre Matt Damon and the always odd Danny DeVito that force this film to flounder. Also, condensing a 443-page book into just over two hours is difficult. There is quite a bit lost within the translation, and "The Rainmaker" is no exception. From the lacking cardboard-esque relationship between Damon and Claire Danes all the way to the less-than-exciting courtroom element, "The Rainmaker" struggles to hold on, and after 12 years, it just doesn't remain as pivotal as it once, perhaps, was.
Re-watching this film for the first time in ten years, I wasn't expecting Oscar-caliber performances, nor was I walking in with great unrealistic hopes - which may be the reason it didn't further my desire to watch more Grisham adaptations. All I wanted from this film was an enjoyable two hours, but even that was a struggle. The beginning struggle with "The Rainmaker" comes from Coppola's choice of pacing. There is quite a bit of down time with this film, where we (as audience members) are merely watching small, unimportant character development that led nowhere. Damon cutting grass, hanging out in a hospital, asleep at his desk, or late for his most important case ever - are all within this film, but edited stronger - leaving these small unneeded bits out - would have tightened this story further. Coppola feels as if he has more information than this film can process within the time allowed. This hurts not only the film as a whole, but the individual parts (i.e. the characters, the tone, and the intended drama) as well. Because the editing was loose, we are lost when Damon heads to help his questionable love interest Claire Danes. We are lost as to the direction of Damon's relationship with "Bruiser". We are lost as to the focus of DeVito's character, who represents himself as smarter than Coppola gives him credit for. So, to add to the mix of disheveled actors this plot that fails because of the lack of editing and character development, we have a sloppy film that is liked by too many.
Plot. Aristotle said "plot matters", and it should be believed that those involved with "The Rainmaker" should have paid further attention to this decree. "The Rainmaker" is a film about a newbie lawyer taking his first big case which is in essence the simplistic story of big business versus the little poverty of America. It is a strong beginning, but we loose focus when we add other elements that are never fully explained. Is Danes really in love with Damon who is portrayed as someone merely eager to help her, not fall in love? How influential was "Bruiser" to Damon's upbringing as a lawyer? Did anyone else believe that when Danny Glover was introduced as the sympathetic judge that this case was predetermined? Wouldn't anyone notice DeVito wasn't a lawyer - as smart as the defense was? Voight was slimy, but was it just his accent that made him that way? Then, we have the utterly realistic, but completely misplaced ending that felt cheap instead of honest. There was supposed to be emotion from the family who suffered the loss, but we are left with such little time dedicated to either side, that we just feel bored. Not a tear was struck with the emotion pulled out at the end, and I think that is an indication of how poorly Coppola directed this film.
Overall, "The Rainmaker" leaves you with further disappointment than originally thought. A courtroom drama is always worth at least one slick move, at least one important cameo, and one highly emotional scene that leaves you with the impression of how good these lawyers and genre's can be. "The Rainmaker" had none of these. Scaling this film among those like "A Few Good Men" or even Grisham's "The Firm", it falls well below. If you walk in with no expectations, than perhaps this film will uplift your spirits. Alas, for me - there was just a lacking plot, a terrible edit, and wafer-esque characters that hurt the determined tone of this film. It was an embarrassing outing for Coppola as a director, but also the courtroom drama genre. There are better films that fit the bill out there, avoid this one.
Grade: ** out of *****
