Movie Review

Review of John Grisham's The Rainmaker. It is based upon Mr. Grisham's novel about an idealistic young attorney who takes on a case of a lifetime. Francis Ford Coppola directs and scripts the movie version of this novel released in 1998. The cast of main characters are: Matt Damon as Rudy Baylor, a young attorney fresh out of law school that ends up making a name for his self after trying his first case; Danny DeVito as Deck Shifflet, a “veteran” attorney who, after six attempts, still has not been able to pass the Bar Exam makes Rudy his equal partner in their own Law Firm; Claire Danes as Kelly Riker, a battered wife who ends up changing her whole life after meeting Rudy; Jon Voight as Attorney Leo F. Drummond, “a seasoned legal shark” representing The Great Benefits Insurance Company; Mary Kay Place as Dot Black, woman who sues her medical insurance company for denying her son, Donny Ray, medical care which results in his untimely death; and Mickey Rourke as Attorney Jay Lymon “Bruser” Stone, crooked attorney who gave Rudy his first job as an attorney at his firm.

Legal dramas and dilemmas make for interesting entertainment because while watching the drama unfold, you are constantly “on the edge of your seat”. You try to guess what you think may happen next but you are usually wrong for one reason or another. Logic seems to be thrown out the window with these types of entertainment which makes it all the more better. Legal dramas almost always surprise its viewers because of the many twists and turns the storyline takes. One could not even begin to imagine what is taking place but at the same time, one tries to imagine every detail not only with amazement but with shear disbelief as well. As in this particular movie, the initial law suit was for $10,000,000. However, after it was all said and done, the jury awarded the Black's $150,000 for damages and $50,000,000 for punitive damages; resulting in the largest amount ever received in a law suit of this type. The irony, however, is that The Great Benefits Insurance Company quickly filed bankruptcy and the Black's never saw a dime of what was owed to them. Dot Black did not seem to mind when Rudy gave her the news. She simply smiled and said, “A little old woman from Memphis, TN. broke the biggest insurance company that was once worth millions.”

Brief summarization of movie plot: Rudy Baylor is a rookie lawyer in over his head on a high-profile case. Rudy must go up against an army of seasoned legal sharks. On his side: Deck Shifflet, a feisty “paralawyer” who specializes in flunking the bar exam. Rudy's chances of winning this case are slim to none; that is, until he uncovers a trail of corruption that might lead to the one thing that could win his case: the truth.

Rudy Baylor had to deal with a couple of ethical dilemmas within this movie. The main one is the choice he must make as an attorney; to go by the book or to throw out all he was taught just to win a case. When Rudy decided to represent the Black's in their law suit against their medical insurance company he knew from the start that the Black's had a legitimate claim and their son, Donny Ray, deserved to receive the proper medical care to help save his life. The Great Benefits Insurance Company was liable to pay for that care since Dot Black made her monthly premiums every month as outlined in the policy. Rudy's dilemma began when the insurance company made their first settlement offer of $50,000 to $75,000. He informed his clients of the offer; one he had full intention of taking if his clients agreed. However, when Donny Ray asked him on his death bed if he wanted to settle, Rudy really looked at this dying boy for the first time and knew what he should do; what was right ethically and morally. He told Donny Ray he would fight the insurance company all the way. The ethical dilemma was that Rudy almost did not defend his clients to the best of his abilities. He saw dollar signs and for a moment, was tempted to take the money for his own personal gain instead of exposing The Great Benefits Insurance Company as the biggest scamming business it truly was. Even though Donny Ray died before the case went to trial, Rudy kept his promise and in the end won extremely more than he could have ever imagined.

The other ethical dilemma that faced Rudy involved Kelly Riker. Rudy met Kelly at the hospital where she was a patient. Kelly was put there by her husband, Cliff Riker, when he beat her with an aluminum baseball bat almost killing her. The two quickly fell in love. Rudy convinced Kelly to file for divorce before Cliff finally does kill her; vowing he would protect her from Cliff's rages. Kelly later agreed when Cliff beat her again not long after she went home from the hospital. Rudy accompanied her back to her house to pack her things. While there, Cliff unexpectedly came home; aluminum baseball bat in hand. Cliff began swinging the bat resulting in hitting both Kelly and Rudy with it. Just when it looked as if Cliff was going to kill them both, Rudy managed to knock Cliff senseless. Even though Cliff was on the floor bleeding, Rudy still hit him twice in the head with the bat splattering Cliff's blood all over the wall. Kelly stopped Rudy and told him to leave and said, “You were never here.” After he left, Kelly called the police and took the blame stating that once again, Cliff tried to beat her but this time; she struck back resulting in his death. Rudy knew that he killed Cliff but before he thought things through, he did as Kelly asked. Now she was being arrested and charged with his death. Rudy talked with the prosecuting attorney and convinced him not to press charges; stating it was self defense.

Due to the ethical dilemmas that Rudy faced, in the end, he decided to take Kelly and leave Memphis, TN. He also decided that since he “crossed over that line”, being a lawyer was not something he wanted to be after all. He was forced to do things that he knew were morally wrong and since he had a conscience, he could not bring his self to ever “cross over that line” again.

Rudy could have decided to take the insurance company's first offer of $50,000 to $75,000. Since he was entitled to a third of that, and knowing he needed the money badly, it would have certainly helped him out financially. By doing so, The Great Benefits Insurance Company would have gotten away with scamming their policy holders allowing them to keep on doing just that in the future. The Great Benefits Insurance Company was expecting Rudy and his clients to take their offer. They never dreamed that a kid fresh out of law school and a little old woman from Memphis, TN. would bring their million dollar insurance scam crumbling down.

Resources:

Grisham, John (1997). The Rainmaker (1998). Paramount Pictures.

Pollock, J. M. (2004). Ethics in crime and justice: Dilemmas and decisions (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.