In some ways, this is one of Tom Cruise’s finest performances, even though he was overlooked at the Oscars while Dustin Hoffman won for his portrayal of an autistic man, Raymond – the older brother of Cruise’s fast-talking young hustler, Charlie, who has grown up believing he was an only child. When their father dies, Charlie – who had a difficult relationship with him – feels cheated out of his inheritance after discovering that most of the money has been left to this previously unknown brother who is living in an institution.

What makes the film effective is that Cruise’s character is emotionally immature. He initially dismisses Raymond, regarding him as intellectually limited and undeserving of wealth that Charlie believes would be better used by himself. Yet the real character arc belongs to Charlie, and ironically it is this transformation that might today attract greater awards recognition. The film itself has only a loose plot; it is essentially a road movie about understanding between two profoundly mismatched people – an observation of human behaviour rather than a conventional narrative.

Released the same year as ‘Midnight Run’, ‘Rain Man’ shares a similar premise: two adults forced to travel across America who gradually develop mutual respect. Like Charles Grodin’s character in that film, Raymond cannot fly, meaning the brothers must drive from Cincinnati to Los Angeles. The journey produces moments of humour, but also raises uncomfortable questions, particularly when Charlie exploits Raymond’s extraordinary numerical abilities in a Las Vegas casino to win large sums of money.

The film wisely avoids giving Raymond a conventional character arc – it would feel condescending to suggest that a lifelong disability could simply be ‘fixed’ through emotional connection. Instead, the story navigates a delicate balance, revealing that while Raymond has clear limitations, Charlie’s own emotional blindness is equally profound. In that sense, they share more in common than Charlie initially recognizes.

Ultimately, ‘Rain Man’ becomes the story of two isolated figures brought together, with the irony that Raymond – seemingly the more distant of the two – becomes the catalyst for Charlie’s growth into someone capable of empathy and genuine understanding.