The Rainmaker (1997)

Ambitious young attorney Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon) finds himself representing the family of a dead young man against the insurance company that denied them a bone marrow transplant.

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Though it's definitely not included in the regular Francis Ford Coppola pantheon, I seriously love The Rainmaker. I know it's not epic like Apocalypse Now or The Godfather, and I know it's not personal like Rumble Fish or Tucker: The Man And His Dream, but who cares? This is a personal blog. No fancy film school terms are necessary to express my love. I just know that if I were to come across The Rainmaker on TV some night, I would inevitably stick around to the end of it. This is absolutely pop corn cinema. You know how it's going to end from the moment it begins. I mean it's based on a John Grisham novel for Christ's sake! But there's a reason those books do so well and why they are so often adapted into films. Some times you just want to be told a great story. A story where good triumphs over evil. It doesn't all have to be high art filled with subtext and deep meaning. Oh and having an amazing cast helps a bit too. Had Coppola not returned to filmmaking in 2007, I would have been fine with this being his final film.