MovieChat Forums > The Rainmaker (1997) Discussion > Side Story

Side Story

posted 4 years ago by howgamer (3644)
1 reply | jump to latest

Watched this for the first time in probably 20 years and while it was enjoyable, I certainly remember it being better than it was. Overall it was entertaining and I especially liked the performances by Damon, DeVito, and Voight.

My main gripe with the film was the whole side plot and love story with Kelly. It felt forced and just dragged in every scene. I am not even sure as to why it was in the film. I guess to show that Rudy had compassion and was different? But we could already tell that from his actions and monologue. Just kind of seemed like filler material that was unnecessary.

[–] scannerdarkly (1274) 3 years ago

This here is how you can tell it was adapted from a book. When movies have side stories that dont really connect to the main plot it often times is a mess. That territory is better for books since it takes longer to enjoy them than a movie. We can focus on main stories of a film since its shorter, we dont need any filler.

That being written, I did like how it shows Damon (the morally upright lawyer) literally breaking the law to save a woman he is falling for. So it shows quite a contrast and makes the character have more depth. It also makes sense for the films ending when Damon decides to quit being a lawyer and move on to something else. Sense he can see that the law is not always right, and the law is often used to do unjust things. So he lost his conviction of the law and saw that it restrains his code of justice instead of solidifying it as it should have.

So in that way the side story serves its purpose, even if it lags a little bit.