Barry Levinson
Rain Man

At some point in a great actor's film career, the opportunity to portray a character who is ill or otherwise affected by a disability arises. In this "Rain Man" by American director Barry Levinson, the task of bringing an autistic person to life fell to Dustin Hoffman, who was awarded an Oscar for his performance.

The car insurance agent Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), after the death of his father, hopes to inherit the vast estate. Instead, he discovers that the assets are designated for his brother, who was previously unknown to him. In an attempt to secure half of the money, Charlie establishes a genuine relationship of friendship and affection toward the eldest brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman).

The work, one of the director's most famous, is a perfect synthesis of a purely "classicist" way of understanding cinema. No political references, no controversies. Emotions are at the forefront, both in their complexity and in their simplicity. Levinson tells, with great technical clarity, a moving story but at the same time imbued with hilarity, managing to touch the heart of the viewer with a certain dose of irony. The relationship between the two brothers is at the center of the film. While it's Raymond who must learn from his brother, by the end of the story it is the brazen Charlie who changes his attitude. The proximity to a brother, especially one affected by autism, brings him closer to the real everyday difficulties. Always precise in character characterization, the film fades over time due to a screenplay that seems written solely to move. It picks up again in the final part, especially in the two climactic scenes of the film: the dance between the two brothers and the kiss with Susanna (our own Valeria Golino).

What makes "Rain Man" a typically Hollywood film are the good moral intentions, showing the pity we feel for the handicapped. Accompanying these "good" qualities is the usual and engaging soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, the excellent performance by the actors, the "on the road" photography, and the staging of a story "for everyone". The success was therefore inevitable for a film that, in 1988, was hailed as a miracle. Despite the criticism of "sentimentalism", which for better or worse is present in the film, "Rain Man - L'uomo della pioggia" is a film that managed to capture audiences worldwide thanks to a simple yet absolutely valid and touching framework.

4 Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Leading Actor (Dustin Hoffman), and Best Original Screenplay.