The Rainmaker 1997

Janet Maslin, New York Times: Despite Mr. Coppola's taste for moodier and more eclectic material, this mainstream opportunity pays off. Read more

Jack Mathews, Los Angeles Times: 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 more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: Read more

Entertainment Weekly: Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The intelligence and subtlety of The Rainmaker took me by surprise. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Francis Ford Coppola, who wrote and directed the film, has made the most of Grisham's ground-level realism. Read more

Charles Taylor, Salon.com: Satisfactory mainstream entertainment, with a handful of major actors in juicy minor roles tossed in for good measure. Read more

Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle: Coppola adapted the novel himself, and he's done a good job of paring it down. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: This competent, anonymous legal drama (scripted by Michael Herr) is the best John Grisham adaptation yet. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: 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. Read more