|
Rain Man (1988)
In Barry Levinson's Best Picture-winning road-drama
- a bittersweet comedy-drama regarding the strained relationship
between two brothers: an idiot savant autistic and a selfish
wheeler-dealer and hustler:
- the opening sequence - illustrating the hustling
nature of a slick, ambitious, hotshot, money-making, specialty
car-dealing salesman Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) in Los Angeles,
who used deceit in order to carry out a sales transaction for four
collectible cars - imported Lamborghinis
- Charlie's wordless drive to Palm Springs for a weekend
with his co-worker girlfriend Susanna (Valeria Golino) - she begged
for him to not be so closed off:
"Can you include me in some of your thoughts?" - revealing
that Charlie was often uncaring and insensitive
- the sequence of Charlie attending the funeral of his
estranged wealthy father Sanford Babbitt in his hometown of Cincinnati,
Ohio, and afterwards receiving only one bitter present in the will
- a classic car and some "prize-winning hybrid" rose bushes
from his father's estate: ("Knew this car my whole Life. Only
drove it once. A 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible"); as a young
16 year old teen, Charlie had driven the car without permission and
was pulled over by police, and then was deliberately abandoned in
prison for two days by his father: ("Left home. I never saw
him again"); he ran away from home at age 16 to California where
he lived ever since
Explanation of Childhood Friend 'Rain Man'
|
Father's Estate Placed in Private Trust
|
At Wallbrook
|
- in a crucial sequence, he explained to Susanna how
he was soothed as a younger child (his mother died when Charlie
was very young) by an imaginary friend: ("When I was a kid
and I got scared, the Rain Man would come and sing to me....You
know, one of those imaginary childhood friends")
- to Charlie's surprise, someone else was the unknown
major beneficiary of the bulk of the estate ($3 million), that was
deposited in a private fund controlled by a trustee; however, he
unemotionally told Susanna: "I got what I expected"
- the scene of Charlie's visit to Wallbrook, a mental
institution, where he spoke to administrator Dr. Bruner (Jerry Molen)
who had control over the trust fund; when he returned to the roadmaster,
one of the institutionalized patients was in the driver's seat; Charlie
accidentally met his own brother Raymond Babbitt (Oscar-winning Dustin
Hoffman); Raymond bragged: "I'm an excellent driver," and
revealed family details that sparked Charlie's attention; Raymond
exited quickly to his room: "Thirteen minutes to Judge Wapner
and The People's Court"; Dr. Bruner confirmed to Charlie: "Raymond
is your brother" - he was a highly-functioning autistic savant,
who had been at the hospital since he was 18 years old (when Charlie
was still a two and a half year-old toddler); Raymond was the other
beneficiary - and "He doesn't understand the concept of money"
- the scene of the two brothers in Raymond's room, when
Raymond recited Abbott and Costello's 'Who's
On First?' comedy routine when he became nervous by Charlie's
presence and "unannounced visit"; it was clear that Raymond
had strict routines and rituals that he required in order to keep
pacified (watching his favorite TV shows, not letting others touch
him or his books, etc.), and he complained to his attendant Vern
(Michael D. Roberts) - ("my main man") that he was quite
upset
- the walk taken by the brothers on the grounds of Wallbrook
(Raymond warned it was "practically 26 minutes to Jeopardy"),
when Charlie attempted to coax his brother to leave the institution's
grounds (although Raymond insisted: "Have to be back in two
hours"); his underhanded plan went into effect - he drove away
to take Raymond back to his home in Los Angeles (tempting him with
a Dodgers game), and keep him until Dr. Bruner turned over half of
his father’s estate ("I'm gonna keep him 'til I get my
half!")
On the Grounds of Wallbrook
|
|
|
|
- after 'kidnapping' Raymond, they rented a fancy
suite in the Vernon Manor Hotel in downtown Cincinnati for the
night, and Raymond was immediately disoriented by every strange
difference: ("This is definitely not my room, and I don't
have my tapioca pudding. The bed's in the wrong place, it's definitely
not my bed...Of course, I don't have my books. Of course, there's
no bookshelves. I'm definitely out of books. I'm gonna be book-less")
- during the night, he stumbled into the darkened room
where Charlie and his girlfriend Susanna were making noise and having
sex, and sat on the edge of the bed to watch an old movie (Sweet
Smell of Success (1957)); Charlie continued to act insultingly
toward his brother ("Stop actin' like an idiot and go to sleep");
Raymond returned to his room to continue reading (and memorizing)
a telephone book with a flashlight; Susanna became fed up with Charlie's
manipulations to get Raymond's money and decided to leave: ("Your
crime is that you use people! You're using Raymond, you're using
me!")
- the next day at a corner diner, Raymond demonstrated
his tremendous abilities after seeing the waitress' name tag Sally
Dibbs (Bonnie Hunt) - he recalled her phone number, and gave an accurate
visual count of the number of toothpicks spilled out of a box (246)
onto the floor
- the sequence at the Cincinnati airport when Raymond
refused to fly in an airplane (he cited statistics about crashes
and casualties of American Airlines Flight 625, Continental Airlines
Flight 1713, and Delta Air Lines Flight 191), but he also boasted
how Australia-based Qantas had an enviable record with the memorable
quote: "Qantas never crashed"; Charlie was forced to give
in: "We're gonna drive to LA... no flying"
- the memorable six-day cross-country adventure driving
westward from Ohio to Los Angeles - a trip taken by Raymond with
Charlie ("main man"); the trip was hampered by the various
personal quirks and routines that Raymond required: watching Jeopardy and
Judge Wapner of the 1980s The People's Court TV show each
day ("Four minutes to Wapner"), meals similar to the institution,
bed-time at 11:00 pm, travel disallowed during rain, etc.
Raymond: "I get my boxer shorts at K-Mart
in Cincinnati"
|
|
|
|
- during their buddy trip as they drove along, Raymond
complained about his underwear- he definitely refused to wear the
fresh underwear that Charlie had given him that morning: ""I'm
definitely not wearing my underwear...It's not my underwear...These
are too tight...These are not boxer shorts. Mine are boxer shorts...These
are Hanes 32...My boxer shorts have my name and it says Raymond...I
get my boxer shorts at K-Mart in Cincinnati"; Charlie became
increasingly exasperated: "You don't have to go to Cincinnati
to get a pair of underwear at K-Mart..."; Charlie got out
of the car to vent his frustration, then continued to argue: "WHAT
DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE? WHAT-WHAT-WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE
WHERE YOU BUY UNDERWEAR? WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE? UNDERWEAR
IS UNDERWEAR! IT IS UNDERWEAR WHEREVER YOU BUY IT! IN CINCINNATI
OR WHEREVER!...You know what I think? You know what I think, Ray?
I think this autism is a bunch of s--t! 'Cause you can't tell me
that you're not in there somewhere!"
- in Amarillo, TX in their Big 8$ Motel's bathroom,
Raymond mentioned that Charlie had just called him "Funny Rain
Man" - and Charlie asked: "'Rain man'? I said, 'Rain man'?...Was
I trying to say 'Raymond' and it came out 'rain man'?...You? You're
the rain man?"; Raymond showed Charlie a picture taken of them
by their father (when Charlie was a toddler), when Raymond lived
with the family until the age of 10, but was forced to leave the
household about two weeks after the death of their mother in early
1965; Charlie asked where he was when Raymond left and was told: "You
were in the window. You waved to me. 'Bye-bye, Rain Man. Bye-bye,
Rain Man'" - Charlie was shocked to realize that the "Rain
Man" wasn't an imaginary friend, but was his own brother Raymond
The Revelation That "Rain Man" = Raymond
|
Picture of Raymond with Young Charlie
|
Singing Beatles' Song Together
|
Recalling Traumatic Incident: "Hot water
burn baby"
|
- during the stunning revelation, Raymond began singing
to Charlie as he did when he was young, the Beatles' song "I
Saw Her Standing There"; and then as Charlie began running
the hot bathtub water, Raymond suddenly reacted by striking himself
and beating his head, screaming, and yelling: "Scary! Hot!
Scary bad! Scary bad! Scary!...Hot water burn baby!...Time for
Wallbrook now" - it was suddenly clear to Charlie that when
Raymond had tried to give his younger brother a bath, he had scalded
him, and because Raymond's behavior might be a danger to young
Charlie, he was sent away to Wallbrook to be institutionalized
(Charlie: "That's why they put you away. They thought you'd
hurt me"); the traumatized Raymond repeatedly softly muttered
to himself: "Never hurt baby. Never hurt Charlie Babbitt.
Never hurt Charlie"; at the end of the tender scene, Charlie
tucked Raymond into bed
- they took a detour back to Las Vegas for a stop-over
sojourn and stay at Caesar's Palace; after buying identical new clothes
and visiting a hair salon, the two 'twins' descended on an escalator
to the gaming floor (to successfully win about $86,000 at blackjack
by counting cards even with a six-deck shoe, using code signals for
betting: "One for bad, two for good"); also, Charlie taught
Raymond how to dance in their expensive suite to prepare for his
scheduled date at 10 pm with a call-girl named Iris (Lucinda Jenney)
he earlier met at the bar (she was surreptitiously sent by security
to get him to confess to "counting cards")
- in the Las Vegas casino elevator scene, after the
call-girl didn't show up and Charlie was being asked to leave the
hotel with his winnings, Charlie's girlfriend Susanna stopped the
ascending ride with Raymond by pushing the emergency button, and
then asked him to show her how to dance: ("Show me how");
after having been taught by Charlie, she complimented him: "You're
very good." She asked: "Have you ever kissed a girl?" Raymond
shyly responded: "I don't know"; she instructed Raymond
how to kiss: "Open your mouth. Open. Like this. Like you were
tasting something very good, and very soft....Like this. Close your
eyes"; after he opened his lips and entire mouth, she then gave
him a slow kiss - while he kept his eyes shut; he flinched a bit
when she first touched him, but she reassured: "It's okay, Ray";
his reaction when asked how it was --- "Wet!" She giggled: "Then
we did it right"; he was still worried about the state of the
elevator: "Elevator's definitely stuck"
- after arriving in Los Angeles at Charlie's home, Raymond
began to nervously quote "Who's On First?" - and the two
watched the source of the routine on TV - a video of The Naughty
Nineties (1945)
- at the Bonaventura Hotel in downtown Los Angeles that
evening, Dr. Bruner discussed the long-term custody of Raymond with
Charlie; he offered Charlie a check for $250,000 to "just walk
away"
and allow Raymond to return to the institution; Charlie refused the
check - he claimed that his priorities had changed ("It's not
about the money anymore") and he wanted to take care of his brother
by himself
- during a consultation with a court-appointed psychiatrist
Dr. Marston and Dr. Bruner, Charlie was told: "Your brother
is not capable of having a relationship with you....You cannot care
for your brother without professional guidance"; when asked
to make a decision about his own future, whether to stay with Charlie
or go back to Wallbrook, Raymond chose both options and could not
distinguish between the two alternatives
- ultimately, Charlie realized
that Raymond needed round-the-clock institutional care, and he assured
Raymond: "No more questions"; Charlie pulled up a chair
next to Raymond and told him more than once: "I like having
you for my big brother" - as the camera slowly zoomed in; Charlie
turned away, deeply moved, and heard his brother spelling out his
name twice: "C-H-A-R-L-I-E" behind him, followed by "Main
man"
A Very Touching Goodbye Sequence
|
|
|
|
- their emotional farewell scene outside an Amtrak
train station (in Santa Ana, CA) where they met Dr. Bruner - Charlie
handed Raymond his knapsack: ("I guess I'd better give this
to you. You're gonna have to carry this now. It's got your cheeseballs,
your apple juice, notebooks, pens and 'Who's On First?' video that
you like"); then they spoke briefly with a final goodbye as
Ray was getting on the train and Charlie promised to visit in two
weeks - Raymond mentioned the secret code he and Charlie had used
for betting on blackjack ("One for bad, two for good"):
Charlie: "Ray? Ray?"
Raymond: "Yeah."
Charlie: "I'll see you soon."
Raymond: "Yeah. One for bad, two for good."
Charlie: "Bet two for good."
Raymond: "Yeah. Three minutes to Wapner."
Charlie: "You'll make it."
Raymond: "Yeah."
|
Charlie with Girlfriend Susanna
Cincinnati Funeral for Charlie's Estranged Father
Bequeathed to Charlie: a 1949 Buick Roadmaster Convertible
Raymond Babbitt in Roadmaster's Driver's Seat at Wallbrook
Raymond Nervously Reciting 'Who's On First?' and Reacting
to Charlie's Presence in His Room at Wallbrook
In Hotel, Sitting on Bed Watching TV During Sex
Diner Waitress Sally Dibbs
246 Spilled Toothpicks in Diner
At the Airport: "Qantas Never Crashed"
Watching The People's Court and Taking Notes
in a Farmhouse
Descending Escalator into Las Vegas Casino
Winning at Blackjack
A Dance Lesson in Las Vegas
Lessons on Dancing and Kissing with Susanna
Watching "Who's On First?"
Consultation with Lawyer and Dr. Bruner Regarding
Raymond's Future
Charlie: "No more questions"
Touching Heads Together
|