‘Just another shark in the dirty water...’
If A Time to Kill bought me a ticket to the John Grisham train, then The Rainmaker is the film that sees me fully onboard and ordering drinks. Now we’re talking…
All seems lost when rookie lawyer Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon) takes on the might of an insidious, multi-national corporation in a civil case, particularly as his only support comes via Bruiser Stone (Mickey Rourke) – a more experienced but corrupt lawyer – and his right hand man Deck Shifflet (Danny DeVito). Baylor struggles to battle his opposite number Leo F. Drummond (Jon Voight) whilst simultaneously attempting to protect battered wife Kelly Riker (Claire Danes) from her murderous husband.
So, as with other Grisham adaptations, there is a lot going on here. Unlike other Grisham adaptations however, this one has master director Francis Ford Coppola in the director’s chair and on writing duties. This means that all these disparate plot elements and characters are brought together in a way that is always cohesive and never dull. It helps that the intensely talented cast knock it out of the park with Rourke, DeVito and Damon all bouncing off each other to create a giddy energy that Coppola manages to maintain over two and a half utterly captivating hours.
This was the golden age of Grisham adaptations, with The Rainmaker appearing barely a year after A Time to Kill, the two films work perfectly as a double feature. Both are tales of power and corruption. Of good vs evil. And both feature a virtuoso performance from an up and coming actor. Of all the Grisham adaptations, A Time to Kill is probably the most purely entertaining, but The Rainmaker is the better film. If you only watch one, make it this one.