The Rainmaker . Tucson Weekly . 12-01-97

The Rainmaker

DIRECTED BY: Francis Coppola

REVIEWED: 12-01-97

John Grisham's story of a courtroom battle between a fledgling lawyer and a corrupt insurance company may be too slight for the big screen, but (shhh!) don't tell Francis Ford Coppola--he thinks he's directing an epic. He's turned this TV-movie-of-the-week into a two-and-a-half-hour, star-studded opus complete with an irrelevant and equally TV-like sub-plot involving Claire Danes as an abused wife. In spite of its generic underpinnings, however, The Rainmaker is a fine film: The pacing's smooth, the cinematography and Memphis locations lovely, and the performances kick butt. Jon Voight is snaky as ever as a conniving corporate lawyer; and newcomer Johnny Whitworth is well-restrained as a leukemia victim who dies because the insurance company won't honor his claim to get a bone-marrow transplant. Best of all are Mickey Rourke, chewing up the scenery as a shifty lawyer named "Bruiser," and Danny DeVito as Damon's unscrupulous but practical-minded assistant. I usually find DeVito annoying, but he almost steals the show here. Mary Kay Place, Dean Stockwell, Roy Scheider, Danny Glover and the great Teresa Wright also star.

--Woodruff

Full Length Reviews
The Rainmaker
The Rainmaker
The Rainmaker
The Rainmaker
The Rainmaker
The Rainmaker

Capsule Reviews
The Rainmaker
The Rainmaker

Other Films by Francis Coppola
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Jack

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Niagara, Niagara
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The Minus Man

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