The Rainmaker (1997)

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.

Found within my "Reel Views" book, the first book, and it is the first in this book that is going to get a yellow mark with black line. It was just disgustingly bad from beginning to end. The level of excitement faded after the opening credits. One can find better courtroom dramas than this. I will not be watching this film again - nor expecting friends to watch either!