John Grisham is not what I would consider one of the best writers of the past five years. The Client was a good book, but I hated the movie. I tried to read A Time To Kill three times before I finally gave up. That movie sucked too. So I can't say I was expecting to like The Rainmaker. It's just like most of Grisham's stories: young (good looking) male lawyer against the odds and throw in a love interest for spice. The Client is the only one that strays from that.
What I liked best about the Rainmaker is it wasn't about one case. It was about the characters. It was about Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon) and Deck Shiffler (Danny DeVito) working their tales off to make a go of their business. It was about was about Kelly Riker (Claire Danes) and the abusive husband (Andrew Shue) she should have left long ago. It had story, what, it had stories. It was about so many things and it kept me interested and concerned.
Matt Damon (then an unknown) has a very good performance. A little too many stone faced scenes, but it's still a good job. Danny DeVito is at the top of his game. You can't help, but love him in every scene. He's so funny and honest. Claire Danes is so good. She looks so beautiful despite the fact that she's normally bruised up and bandaged. The scenes with her and Damon are lovely. I think Mickey Rourke and Andrew Shue had recently entered the witness protection program just before this movie was made. Rourke hides behind a beard, glasses, and smoke while Shue is never given a close-up or a clear shot of his mug. And Jon Voight is so creepy and slimey as the insurance company's head lawyer. I just hate him, he's so good at being bad.
The movie is the best piece of Grisham's Film Crown by far. It's so much better than the rest I can't believe it's even a Grisham piece. I give The Rainmaker a B+.
