"Charlie" (Tom Cruise) works his luxury car import business quite literally wheeling and dealing when he is told that his estranged father has died. Driving to meet the solicitor he's informed that he is to receive some perfectly grown roses, but that the $3m estate is to be left elsewhere? Where? Well he discovers that he has a brother "Raymond" (Dustin Hoffman) when he visits him at in institution that cares for autistic people. Resentful and completely unaware and uncaring of his actions, "Charlie" decides to take his new-found sibling on a trip back to LA. Not afraid of throwing the odd tantrum, "Raymond" refuses to fly with anyone but Qantas so they have to drive and it's on the road that the story develops into one that, to be honest, we could probably predict quite easily. Now there's no getting away from the fact that "Raymond" is an exasperatingly annoying character at times, but that's what gets under your skin. Whether or not Hoffman is acting or mimicking, he presents us with an highly intelligent personality with a few pieces of his cognitive jigsaw missing. "Raymond" can display the traits of a small child, but equally those of a sophisticated and complex character who absorbs more from around him than perhaps we'd expect. Cruise is also at the top of his game here. He manages his character's evolution from smart-assed and selfish "Charlie" to a rounder, more mature and responsible individual with an aplomb that certainly belies some of his previous roles. It also doesn't do any harm that his brother's genius comes in quite handy in Vegas either! It's pretty poignantly and sometimes amusingly written offering some on-the-ball observations and plausible scenarios well supported by some equally potent photography, and though not always an easy drama to watch, as it progressed I felt a little invested in whether or not this relationship had legs or was, ultimately, just about a man's desire to get hold of an inheritance.
