It all began with a flight to France. The jet zoomed above the clouds, and Francis Ford Coppola couldn't be disturbed.

He was reading John Grisham's new bestseller, The Rainmaker. By the time the plane had landed in Paris, he had finished the book and started a new film project. "The David-and-Goliath-angle fascinated him," reveals Steven Reuther, who produced the legal thriller with Michael Douglas and Fred Fuchs. David is the young, upcoming lawyer Rudy Baylor (Good Will Hunting's Matt Damon) who dreams of a career as a star attorney for wealthy clients. Goliath is an insurance company which refuses to pay the medical bills for the leukaemia-stricken boy Donny Black, always offering new excuses.

Because he's still in debt, owes several months' rent and all of his applications were turned down, Rudy represents dubious demi-monde types for the shady shyster Bruiser Stone (Mickey Rourke). When Stone falls under police surveillance, Rudy bails out and starts his own practice with the rather untalented Deck Shifflet (Danny DeVito). Rudy decides to help the terminally ill Danny, whose case he had heard of during his days as a free legal counsellor. Rudy and Deck uncover an enormous insurance fraud and have to confront the ruthless attornies of the insurance corporation.

With The Rainmaker, million-selling author John Grisham returned to the roots of his first and most personal novel, A Time to Kill. Unlike the streamlined thrillers The Firm or The Client, in which fast-paced plot progression was a priority, in The Rainmaker Grisham created a nuanced, complex analysis of the US legal system, with frequent moments of black humour. As directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Rainmaker is intelligent, gripping cinema with excellent ensemble acting.

(Dir): Francis Ford Coppola (Scr): Coppola, based on the novel by John Grisham (Cast): Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, Mickey Rourke, Mary Kay Place Laenge (Running time): 135 Minutes
 

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