Francis Ford Coppola’s Legal Drama The Rainmaker Quietly Scores a New Streaming Home on Paramount+

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Fans of Francis Ford Coppola will soon have a new way to watch one of his lesser-known but brilliant films. The Rainmaker is now streaming on .

The acclaimed 1997 legal drama became available on a streaming service on January 1, 2026. Written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the film stars Matt Damon as Rudy S. Baylor, a young lawyer facing hardship. Baylor takes a job with a questionable attorney, played by Mickey Rourke, after meeting paralegal Deck Shifflet (Danny DeVito). Together, Baylor and Shifflet tackle a challenging case, hoping to establish themselves as successful ‘rainmakers’ – lawyers who win large settlements for their clients.

Alongside Damon, Rourke, and DeVito, The Rainmaker featured Mary Kay Place as Dot Black, a mother fighting a difficult battle with her insurance company as her son is ill. Attorneys Baylor and Shifflet team up to help her expose the company’s wrongdoing, facing off against their ruthless lawyer, Leo F. Drummond, played by Jon Voight.

I was really drawn into the story when Baylor gets mixed up with Kelly Riker, played by Claire Danes – she’s a woman trapped in a really tough situation with an abusive husband, and things inevitably come to a head with him. The movie’s got a fantastic supporting cast too, including Danny Glover, Roy Scheider, Virginia Madsen, and even a late appearance by the wonderful Teresa Wright.

Released in 1997, The Rainmaker was a well-received addition to Francis Ford Coppola’s body of work, though it didn’t perform well financially. It earned just over $45 million in the US, which was less than animated film Anastasia and Air Force One, and ultimately fell short considering its $40 million production cost.

Despite not getting the recognition it deserves, The Rainmaker is a highly praised legal thriller. Critics and audiences alike generally love it, as reflected by its 82% ‘Certified Fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 60 reviews. Viewers agree, giving the film a strong 78% score from over 25,000 ratings.

Critics at Rotten Tomatoes particularly liked the acting, especially from Matt Damon and the supporting cast. They also noted that the movie was one of the best adaptations of a John Grisham novel, praising the direction by Francis Ford Coppola and calling it a well-made and enjoyable legal drama.

A Rainmaker TV Series Adaptation Debuted in 2025

Although Francis Ford Coppola’s film adaptation of The Rainmaker wasn’t a major hit in theaters, the story has found success as a television series. It will premiere on USA Network in August 2025, starring Milo Callaghan as Rudy Baylor, alongside Lana Parrilla, Madison Iseman, P.J. Byrne, Dan Fogler, Wade Briggs, Robyn Cara, and John Slattery.

The TV series has a few differences from the movie. Instead of staying at his high-profile law firm, the young lawyer is fired and ends up working with a less reputable lawyer and her assistant in an old restaurant. He eventually finds himself in a legal battle against his former colleagues when he takes on a case about a wrongful death. The show The Rainmaker was picked up for a second season in October 2025.

Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rainmaker is now available on Paramount+.

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2026-01-01 17:09