Starring Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Jon Voight, Claire Danes, Danny Glover, Mary Kay Place, Mickey Rourke, Roy Scheider, Virginia Madsen, Dean Stockwell, Andrew Shue. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
Young lawyer Rudy Baylor (Damon) has just graduated from Memphis State Law School, and is desperate to find a job. He's not rich and well connected, and Memphis is crawling with lawyers. One day a shady bar owner gets him into the low-rent firm of Bruiser Stone (Rourke). Bruiser doesn't pay a salary - just a 1/3 cut of any money Rudy can bring in. He has two clients, an elderly lady with a will and a poor mother (Place) with a son dying of leukemia, where their insurance company refuses to pay up on their policy. In the firm is an ambulance-chaser par excellence named Deck (DeVito), who has failed the bar exam five times, but knows the ins and outs in getting clients to sign on the dotted line.
While on an ambulance-chasing mission at the hospital, Rudy meets a young woman Kelly (Danes), who is continually beaten by her husband (Shue), this time with an aluminum bat. Rudy encourages her to divorce the bum, but hubby has threatened to kill her if he does, and she believes him. Meanwhile, his insurance case comes to the courts, with the a bunch of high-priced, low-decency lawyers led by Leo Drummond (Voight) seeking to drag out the case until the leukemia victim dies. Both cases weigh on Rudy as he seeks to beat the odds stacked against him.
Yup, this is the usual John Grisham formula, with a noble, inexperienced lawyer forced to go against the odds and beat an evil corporation and their ruthless lawyers. Along the way, throw in a little romance for the hero and several plot turns. None of the previous Grisham adaptations would be classed as great. They have ranged from the far-fetched and annoying (The Firm) to the passable (Time To A Kill), to the quite good (The Client). The Rainmaker is not great, but it is the best of the Grisham adaptations yet, thanks to an outstanding cast, a solid and often humourous script and direction with style and pace. The 2 1/4 hours breeze by without a lull.
Coppola gives the material a certain weight and adds many touches. He focuses on the crisp, cufflinked shirts of Bruiser, on Rudy fondling an apple when he's nervous with Kelly, Rudy's and Kelly's feet touching when their in a client discussion. The cast is great from top to bottom. Damon is solid as the noble, decent lawyer with ideals. But it's the supporting cast, led by DeVito, Danes, Voight and Place that lifts the film. Each raises their character above a caricature. DeVito brings a warmth to his usual bumbling, down-at-the-heels loser. Danes is powerful as the woman who can't seem to escape her violent husband, but is drawn to Rudy's strength of character. Voight brings a corrupt arrogance to the lawyer who long ago sold out to maintain a wealthy standard of living. Place is especially excellent as the mother who is losing her son, helpless in getting him the care he needs to live. The film is successful because it doesn't try to overheat or sensationalize the action or story. It is consistently low-key, maintaining a sense of realism throughout.
