Rain Man (1988) - 8/10

Watched Rain Man with commentary by director Barry Levinson this morning and really appreciated his insights into this terrific movie of following Dustin Hoffman's depiction of an autistic person who goes on a road trip with his brother Tom Cruise. Speaking about how he wanted Hans Zimmer's classic theme to have an almost african beat to correspond to how autistics recognize sounds, Levinson recollected the casting process and all the research Hoffman did to get into character. I like the hardass and unemotional side of Tom Cruise in this movie who doesn't quite know what to say when he finds out he has a slow brother and then wants to get the money he thinks he deserves. By slowly finding out the rituals of Raymond's day, Cruise opens up and starts to appreciate how his brother was there for him in the past and let all the nuances aside to love him for who he truly is. The vegas romp has been parodies in many movies like the most recent The Hangover and it's always funny to see them work the blackjack tables and count cards like it's easy. The great road trip aesthetic and bonding experience of dealing with an autistic person is cool to witness and the little details of counting toothpicks and doing math problems were cool to hear are true facts. Levinson was very good on describing how he hid the camera in certain scenes and why he wanted to keep it simple 2 shots to not overemphasize the editing and energy to reflect Raymond's own inner self. Great movie and realistic performance make this a worthy best picture winner.