The Rainmaker is not a brand new movie but it’s not quite old enough to be a classic. The original story is by John Grisham who has given us a great deal of novels about lawyers that have been the basis for quite a few good films. This one is no exception. Another feather in the cap of this movie’s pedegree is that the screenplay is written and the movie is directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Add to all that a few great actors including Danny DeVito, Jon Voight, Claire Danes, Mickey Rourke, and a young Matt Damon playing the lead.
This film is by no means an action flick. It’s pretty straight forward. Matt Damon plays a young law student named Rudy Baylor. He is motivated by his love for the law and the possibility of doing amazing work as a lawyer. First he has to get out of law school, and find a way to earn a living. His path places him in a position to experience a lot of the ugly side of being a lawyer and into a series of legal battles in which he is way over his head. This includes a major fight against an insurance company armed with highly paid, experiences lawyers led by Jon Voight’s character.
I would have like a but more action in the film. It’s also not as much a thriller as I would have liked but I did enjoy the movie. It made me care about certain characters of the film and I felt satisfied when the movie was over. I give it a 3 and a half out of 5 marks.