Alright, so I misled you with the title, this is really only a review of "The Rainmaker" with a peppering of commentary regarding "The Counselor". One of these movies is inspiring and thought provoking, while the other is simply depressing without a ray of hope. I would suggest that both films accomplish exactly what they set out to do, and that is a compliment to their respective cast and directors. Yet after seeing "The Counselor", I had an intense desire to see a good movie with some redeeming values, so I watched "The Rainmaker" again; and I thought it would be good to share that film with you.
Francis Ford Coppola directed this adaptation of a John Grisham novel, in which a fresh out of law school lawyer takes on a huge insurance company. Had I not included the first three words of the previous sentence, this movie would have inevitably succumbed to cheap clichés and sleep inducing courtroom scenes. Grisham's other filmed works all have more action and intrigue than this story contains, yet Coppola understands how to captivate an audience; never do we feel that what's missing here is a scene of Tom Cruise running... My math teacher told us the other day that "a pessimist is simply a well informed optimist". I'm not sure how that fits into the context of this review, except to say that the young lawyer in this film (played by Matt Damon) began his pursuit of law with eyes open. He makes statements throughout the movie acknowledging that lawyers aren't supposed to get personally invested in their clients... "but there's all kinds of lawyers" he notes. I would ask two questions about Damon's young lawyer: Is he successful because he cares about his client? Is he able to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds because he is passionate? In the cliché ridden movie directed by anyone other than Coppola the answer would instantly be "yes" to both questions. What I like about "The Rainmaker" is that I came to the conclusion as to which characters I would despise, and which ones I would admire all on my own (or at least Coppola let me feel that way). As "The Counselor" comes to a close, if you find yourself admiring any of the characters (living or dead), then I'm afraid you weren't paying attention. In "The Rainmaker" you'll get at least five, and as far as Hollywood goes, that's as uplifting a film as you'll ever get.
1 comment:
Honestly, I have not watched "the rainmaker". I didn't even knew that it was coming. Maybe I should stay more informed. But I have read each and every single novel by John Grisham and I must admit that this writer knows how to put the element of thrill as well as he knows how to keep the readers glued to the story and I really love this legal fiction. I really hope that the director has done justice with the kind of effort that the writer has put into the story.
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