The Rainmaker (1997)

An underdog lawyer takes on a fraudulent insurance company.

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

John Grisham (novel), Francis Ford Coppola (screenplay)

Stars:

Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Claire Danes

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Damon	...	Rudy Baylor
Danny DeVito	...	Deck Shifflet
Claire Danes	...	Kelly Riker
Jon Voight	...	Leo F. Drummond
Mary Kay Place	...	Dot Black
Dean Stockwell	...	Judge Harvey Hale
Teresa Wright	...	Colleen 'Miss Birdie' Birdsong
Virginia Madsen	...	Jackie Lemancyzk
Mickey Rourke	...	Bruiser Stone
Andrew Shue	...	Cliff Riker
Red West	...	Buddy Black
Johnny Whitworth	...	Donny Ray Black
Wayne Emmons	...	Prince Thomas
Adrian Roberts	...	Butch
Roy Scheider	...	Wilfred Keeley

Storyline

Rudy Baylor is a young attorney out to make a difference in the justice system. He is also the only hope of an elderly couple after their corrupt insurance company refuses to payout a claim that could save their child's life. In this judicial drama, Baylor rails against corporate lawyers, corrupt judges, and abusive husbands, all with the help of a fellow lawyer who hasn't even passed his bar exam. He is facing long odds in the courtroom - and this is only his first case.

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Plot Keywords:

lawyer | insurance company | courtroom | underdog | domestic violence | 

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Taglines:

They were totally unqualified to try the case of a lifetime... but every underdog has his day.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for a strong beating and elements of domestic abuse

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Grisham's The Rainmaker

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,626,507, 23 November 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$45,856,732, 15 March 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constellation Entertainment,Douglas/Reuther Productions,American Zoetrope

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Just before the jury gives its verdict, Rudy is writing something on his legal pad with a pen. It is the name of Donny Ray Black (Johnny Whitworth) along with his birth and death years, 1974-1996. In the film, Black died of leukemia in 1996. Whitworth was born in 1975.

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Goofs

In the court room, Rudy Baylor hands Wilfred Keeley a computer report about 3 or 4 inches thick. When Keeley hands it back to Rudy it's only about an inch think. The reports on the table behind Rudy continue to change size and position from the ones that Mr. Keeley is looking at.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Rudy Baylor: My father hated lawyers all his life. He wasn't a great guy, my old man. He drank and beat up my mother; he beat me up too. So you might think I became a lawyer just to piss him off. But you'd be wrong. I wanted to be a lawyer ever since I read about the Civil Rights lawyers in the 50s and 60s, and the amazing uses they found for the law. They did what a lot of people thought was the impossible. They gave lawyers a good name. And so I went to law school. And it did piss my father ...

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Crazy Credits

There is a credit for "Poet in Residence".

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Amistad/Titanic/Good Will Hunting/The Apostle (1997)

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Soundtracks

Five Long Years
Written by Eddie Boyd
Performed by Muddy Waters
Courtesy of MCA Records
Under license from Universal Music Special Markets

User Reviews

Not always realistic, but a highly entertaining story

This film was sort of a comeback for Francis Ford Coppola, considering that he had not really made any films since "The Godfather Part 3", other than "Jack". In this film Matt Damon plays a young lawyer fresh out of law school, who by chance meets up with spitfire paralegal Danny DeVito, and takes on a huge and difficult case. Fully entertaining throughout, although the ending is almost completely unbeleivable, which is the only negative aspect of this film. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good courtroom drama, I thought it was one of the better ones that I have seen. I rate it *** out of ****, or maybe even a little higher.