Only
a few actors have pulled off playing a mentally ill character in movies
throughout history, but Hoffman somehow manages to be identical to
someone with borderline autism. In the movie he is wrongly diagnosed
with autism because his doctor was late to a golf tournament, hence the
reason Rain man says "Sorry you're late to golf" throughout the movie.
Hoffman has these little punchlines that he says throughout the movie
that contributes to his acting of an autistic character. He played the
role so well that it was hard to tell he wasn't autistic. This was also
the first time I ever seen Dustin Hoffman in a movie, and I now cannot
imagine him playing a normal role. He played this character so well that
Rain man sticks to him just as well as Jack Sparrow to Johnny Depp. The whole premise of the movie was that Tom Cruise's (Charlie Babbit) father died. Of course, he was extremely rich, but money wasn't what Charlie cared about. Charlie's father had a vintage car he never let him drive, and Charlie never spoke to him since he was 18. So when his father died and he found out he left the car in a will to an autistic man, Charlie had to get to the bottom of it. Charlie goes to "Rain man's" hospitality help and breaks him out.
The whole movie shows what it's like for someone with autism to experience the real world. Charlie has Rain man count cards, remember a telephone-book, and attempt socializing for the first time. It's a dramatic comedy that can touch your heart as you learn along the way the strong relationship Charlie and Rain man never knew they had.
