# Rainmaker, The (1997)

### reviewed by
James Brundage

    The Rainmaker

    As reviewed by James Brundage

They're ever-present. Every day goes by and someone cracks a joke about them. We loathe them more than anything else in the world and there are more bad jokes about them than the Catholic Church.

They're lawyers. Those three-piece suit wearers of Armani who make upwards of a hundred dollars an hour. And they're the one sect of society that is universally hated and takes pride in it.

And, with every novel and every film made out of them, John Grisham makes us love them. In the newest, best, and most interesting John Grisham book adapted to the screen we see a rarity -- a mix of old talent and new talent. Matt Damon stars as a young, idealistic lawyer tackling an insurance company. He's mixed with the directorial skills of Francis Ford Coppola ("The Godfather"), the young talent of Claire Daines (tackling the serious role of a wife being abused by her husband), of John Voight, and of Danny DeVito).

So what is it that John Grisham chooses to tackle in his moral crusade to give lawyers a good name? The lawyers that have a bad name: the ambulance chasing, insurance-settlement getting lawyers that make the word "schiester" what it is.

The film makes you love a character that does just that for a living, explaining all of the things which we wonder about (such as why in the hell they drool when the sirens blare, anyway?). It has him going into law school to change the world, to be a complete idealist, and tackles the subject of recognition of your place in life.

What's the best thing about this new film? The classic realism that Francis Ford Coppala has always shown (with the exception of "Dracula", of course). In this film, he reasserts his mastery over the American Silver Screen. A sure-fire winner, and a definite Oscar Contender for this year. See it if you're in need for a good dose of idealism.

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