Rain Man

Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) is a self-centered, debt-ridden Los Angeles car dealer who learns that his estranged father has died. Expecting a massive inheritance to save his business, he is shocked to discover that the $3 million estate has been bequeathed to an unnamed beneficiary at a mental institution in Cincinnati. There, Charlie meets his older brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), an autistic savant whose existence was kept secret from him. Motivated by greed, Charlie "kidnaps" Raymond, intending to ransom him for half the inheritance.

Refusing to fly due to Raymond's intense fear of aviation disasters, the mismatched pair embarks on a cross-country road trip in their father's 1949 Buick Roadmaster. As they traverse the American landscape, Charlie is forced to adapt to Raymond's rigid routines and unique perception of the world. Through frustration, card-counting in Las Vegas, and resurfacing childhood memories, Charlie's mercenary goals slowly dissolve into a genuine, albeit complex, brotherly bond.

At its heart, Rain Man is a story about the transformation of a man who sees people as objects into a man who learns to accept another human being on their own terms. It challenges the conventional movie trope of a "cure"; Raymond does not change or recover from his autism. Instead, the film argues that true connection requires the neurotypical individual (Charlie) to bridge the gap, promoting a message of acceptance over alteration. It posits that love is not about reciprocity, but about presence and understanding.

The Cynical/Tragic Reading: Some critics argue that the film is not about Raymond at all, but entirely about Charlie. In this view, Raymond is merely a narrative device or "prop" used to redeem the yuppie protagonist, possessing no true agency of his own. The ending, where he returns to the institution, can be seen as society's inability to integrate neurodivergent individuals.

The "Love Story" Reading: Director Barry Levinson has described it as a love story between two brothers who can never truly touch. The tragedy is that just as they find a way to communicate, they must separate for Raymond's safety, making it a story about the sacrifices required by genuine love.

Rain Man was a cultural phenomenon that single-handedly brought the concept of autism to the general public's awareness. Before 1988, autism was largely misunderstood or unknown to the masses; the film sparked a global conversation and increased funding and research.

However, its legacy is complex. While it humanized neurodivergence, it also established the "Autistic Savant" stereotype—the misconception that all autistic people have "superpowers" like card counting or eidetic memory. This trope has persisted in media for decades (e.g., The Good Doctor). Commercially, it was the highest-grossing film of 1988 and won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Hoffman, solidifying Tom Cruise's status as a dramatic actor capable of holding his own against screen legends.

Upon release, Rain Man was universally embraced by audiences and critics alike, praised for its unsentimental yet touching direction and the chemistry between the leads. Hoffman's performance was lauded as a masterclass, though some modern reviews criticize it as "cripface" or overly mannered. The film holds a high approval rating, with audiences appreciating the emotional payoff of the brotherly bond. Criticism generally focuses on the dated portrayal of autism and the "magical negro" style trope applied to disability, where the disabled character exists to enlighten the privileged protagonist.