The Rainmaker
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: November 21, 1997 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Drawing a parade of colorful performances from a constantly surprising cast, the curiously titled ''John Grisham's 'The Rainmaker' '' is Mr. Coppola's best and sharpest film in years. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesJack Mathews
Though he's adapting the same story Grisham always tells, that of an ethical, talented and inexperienced attorney taking on and outwitting powerful and corrupt legal opponents, Coppola has infused The Rainmaker with enough humor, character, honest emotion and storytelling style to make it one of the year's most entertaining movies. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
The film delivers old-fashioned star turns and glittering cameos (Jon Voight and Mickey Rourke are especially good, but Danny DeVito, Mary Kay Place, Danny Glover, Virginia Madsen, Roy Scheider, and Dean Stockwell--not to mention old-Hollywood icon Teresa Wright--also provide considerable pleasure). Read full review
90
VarietyTodd McCarthy
As carefully constructed, handsomely crafted and flavorsomely acted as a top-of-the-line production from Hollywood's classical studio era, Francis Ford Coppola's screen version of John Grisham's The Rainmaker would seem to represent just about all a filmmaker could do with the best-selling author's patented dramatic formulas without subverting them altogether. Read full review
80
Washington PostRita Kempley
Coppola, who both wrote and directed this entertaining adaptation, follows the well-thumbed scenario, but with the help of his winning cast he disguises the absence of invention. Read full review
80
NewsweekDavid Ansen
A wonderfully quirky cast under Francis Ford Coppola's direction makes this one of the more enjoyable John Grisham movies. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The Rainmaker, unlike most Grisham films, doesn't have to drag a high-paid superstar around and give him all the best lines. DeVito's role is in the fading tradition of the star character actor. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The intelligence and subtlety of The Rainmaker took me by surprise. I don't know if this is because the novel is better than any of the prolific lawyer-turned-author's previous efforts, or if Francis Ford Coppola has performed a near-miracle in transforming the written pages into a screenplay. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
The Rainmaker has a mostly plausible story, an engaging young courtroom hero (Matt Damon, Hollywood's new cover boy), a giant insurance company as the perfect adversary and the best supporting cast of any movie this year. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Francis Ford Coppola has directed the legal drama with his usual keen attention to atmosphere and texture, although his adaptation of John Grisham's bestselling novel leaves out connective material that would have made the tale smoother and savvier. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
Coppola again shines his intelligence on this bestseller material, rather than just shoving it through the Hollywood mill unsifted. Read full review
70
Film ThreatAnthony Miele
Overall, not a great film, but definitely worth a viewing, especially to those who have seen any other Coppola film released this decade. Read full review
70
SalonLaura Miller
What filmgoers get is a satisfactory mainstream entertainment, with a handful of major actors in juicy minor roles tossed in for good measure. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRussell Smith
Director Francis Ford Coppola, who established his towering reputation with an adaptation of another pulpy pop novel, hasn't exactly uncorked another The Godfather here. Read full review
60
EmpireIan Nathan
It's just so unremarkable. Which, considering its director's monumental output (both good and bad) is, frankly, a bit depressing. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Francis Ford Coppola has turned John Grisham's pulpy bestseller into surprisingly creditable -- if morally muddled -- movie. Read full review
60
Washington PostDesson Thomson
This movie has all the same elements as other Grisham fare: raw young lawyer trying to make it in the South; helpless client treated badly; sleazy, star-chamber villains. Wake me up when the last-minute surprise witness comes out of her hidey hole to turn the case around. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Any random episode of Law & Order would be more sophisticated than this heavy-handed, moralistic Southern-lawyer corn pone, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Read full review
40
Dallas ObserverMichael Sragow
John Grisham's The Rainmaker lulls you into the mindset you get while reading a bestseller at the beach. What a sad thing to say about a Francis Ford Coppola movie! Read full review
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