Why would Coppola attatch himself to a project based on a simplistic Grisham legal thriller? His fortunes in Hollywood have ebbed over the years, to put it mildly. In the seventies, he was a golden boy who could do no wrong. His four films from that decade, The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II, and Apocalypse Now, won him a Cannes Palme d'Or, a trunk full of Oscars, critical raves, and huge commercial success. The eighties and nineties were less kind to Coppola, as his Zoetrope studio became a legendary failure with flops like One From the Heart. Meanwhile, Grisham's name has become a hot commodity in Hollywood. So many Grisham movies have become hits that his name has now become part of the title.
In The Rainmaker, Coppola shows he still knows how to make a well-crafted movie. Unfortunately, the screenplay does not share the merits of the rest of the film. Like all Grisham stories, it tells of an idealistic young lawyer, here named Rudy Baylor and played by Matt Damon, who fights a huge, corrupt enemy (here an insurance company) against impossible odds and still wins. Mixed in with the main plot is the story of an abused wife (Claire Daines), who Rudy rescues and falls in love with.
Apparently, I am in the minority regarding The Rainmaker. The screening of the film I attended was accompanied by cheers and applause at various points in the action. Much as I hate to disagree with such vociferous public opinion, however, the simple fact is, Grisham's books are all the same. His championing of the young southern lawyer (obviously Grisham writing an idealized self-portrait) has become old hat. His main characters are so utterly noble in their idealism and their goals, that they are completely boring. It is no coincidence that the stars of many of the Grisham movies are nothing but vapid, pretty faces: Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaughey, Julia Roberts, Chris O'Donnell. Matt Damon is a better actor than those four, but he still isn't all that interesting to watch. I'd rather see a movie about Danny DeVito's character: a mercenary chap who constantly fails the bar exam. Or perhaps a movie about Jon Voight's character: a successful lawyer who defends the indefensible. How can such a man sleep at night? Isn't he filled with self-loathing?
The subplot involving Damon, Daines, and the brutal husband (Andrew Shue) is apparently intended to give Damon's character "dimension," but it is so poorly integrated into the rest of the plot that it could probably be cut out entirely without affecting the main narrative one iota. I have been informed that in the novel (which I have not read), this subplot does fit in much better, as do the heavy-handed "humorous" bits of the film. Coppola wrote the screenplay along with additions from Michael Herr (Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now), and thus, he must take the lion's share of the blame for script problems.
Coppola's other contributions to the film are beyond reproach, however. The casting of this film is simply phenomenal, with young talents like Damon and Daines, veterans like DeVito, Voight, Danny Glover, and Roy Scheider, refugees from B-movies like Mickey Rourke and Virginia Madsen, and an old pro like Teresa Wright (the daughter in 1946's The Best Years of Our Lives). The production values are fine as always, while Coppola inserts a number of his personal directorial trademarks. The film begins with a voice-over and a dark screen (Ring any bells? Think "I believe in America.") At other points, we are treated to montages of simultaneous action at different locations, reminiscent of the baptism sequence from The Godfather.
But all the casting, all the great editing and cinematography, all the directorial talent in the world will not save a script that is fundamentally poor. Perhaps audiences sensed this, as The Rainmaker went on to become one of the lowest-grossing of the Grisham films, despite the presence of new Hollywood "It" boy Damon. Coppola's streak of failures continues: it has been nearly twenty years since Apocalypse Now, his last film which was a hit with audiences and critics alike. If he keeps on making movies with bad scripts, that unfortunate streak will continue.
Two-and-a-half stars
Copyright 1998 by Dale G. Abersold
