The Rainmaker is a formulaic potboiler, decently acted, notably by Mickey Rourke... and Jon Voight.

| Jan 20, 2023

The style of direction is relatively impersonal, but Coppola gets the job done, making the most of the Memphis locations and letting humor and compassion flourish; the film's unforced sympathy for the underprivileged is one of its biggest pleasures.

| Jan 20, 2023

A wonderfully quirky cast under Francis Ford Coppola's direction makes this one of the more enjoyable Grisham movies.

| Mar 5, 2018

| Original Score: C | Sep 7, 2011

Coppola has never been particularly known for his comic touch, but here he seems bent on leavening the melodrama with as many laughs as possible, and they are generally honest and well-earned.

Full Review | Jun 9, 2008

This competent, anonymous legal drama (scripted by Michael Herr) is the best John Grisham adaptation yet.

| Feb 9, 2006

Coppola adapted the novel himself, and he's done a good job of paring it down.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 18, 2002

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.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 14, 2001

Voight proves again what a great character actor he's become by stealing the film as a country club-type defense lawyer with a julep tongue.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 1, 2000

A determined cut or two better than we had any reason to expect.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 1, 2000

Despite Mr. Coppola's taste for moodier and more eclectic material, this mainstream opportunity pays off.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 1, 2000

Francis Ford Coppola, who wrote and directed the film, has made the most of Grisham's ground-level realism.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 1, 2000

A stronger bet than the previous 35 or however many Grisham movies before it.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 1, 2000

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 1, 2000

Satisfactory mainstream entertainment, with a handful of major actors in juicy minor roles tossed in for good measure.

| Jan 1, 2000

| Original Score: 2/4 | Nov 20, 1997

| Original Score: C | Nov 20, 1997