The Rainmaker is the main antagonist in Looper, and while his presence throughout the movie is largely implied, there’s still quite a lot of information revealed about him. The Rainmaker himself is technically never shown, which contributes immeasurably to his mystique and intimidation factor. Instead of a face-to-face altercation, what results between the Rainmaker and the other Looper characters is more akin to a chess match through time. The mind-bending adventure is made even more compelling by having such an enigmatic villain.
Released in 2012, Looper was written and directed by Rian Johnson. The movie stars Jason Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis, with both actors playing the same character from two points in the same timeline. Looper made Gordon-Levitt look and sound like Bruce Willis for the movie so they could both convincingly play the character of Joe. Despite their shared origin, Young Joe and Old Joe find their goals misaligned throughout the movie and end up as adversaries. However, both men are keenly aware of the legend of the Rainmaker and have some tough decisions to make during Looper‘s ending.
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Looper’s The Rainmaker Is A Future Version Of Cid In An Alternate Timeline
Only one version of the Rainmaker’s origin is shown in Looper
The Rainmaker is mentioned several times throughout the movie and is one of the key figures responsible for setting events in motion. Both versions of Joe are separated by 30 years, with Old Joe’s time being the period where the Rainmaker has risen to the height of his powers. However, despite the villain’s dominance in the future, Old Joe doesn’t know the Rainmaker’s true identity. A key piece of evidence helps Willis’ character narrow down the suspects in the past until eventually stumbling across Cid. The child may not initially seem a threat, but his potential danger becomes quickly evident.
Old Joe’s goal is to kill Cid to prevent him from becoming the Rainmaker in the future. The motive of Willis’ character stems from the Rainmaker’s men killing Joe’s wife 30 years after the main events of Looper. Although Old Joe fails in his goal of killing Cid, the young boy’s path is drastically altered just in time. As a result, it’s implied that Cid will no longer become the Rainmaker in the future. So, Looper boasts the confusing concept of having the narrative dictated by a man who will never exist.
The Rainmaker’s Telekinetic Powers In Looper Explained
Cid can’t control his powerful mental abilities
Looper‘s biggest mystery still hasn’t been explained, in that the reason behind humanity’s development of telekinesis in the movie is never revealed. However, about 10% of the population begins to manifest the ability at some point in the timeline of Looper‘s universe. While almost everyone who develops telekinesis displays only incredibly minor abilities, Cid’s aptitude for the power goes far beyond the popular trick of floating a quarter. However, his abilities are dictated by states of intense emotion, and he has very little control over what he does when in the throes of a telekinetic outburst.
Cid’s immense telekinesis is triggered whenever he is incredibly scared or angry, so it would seem to be some form of deadly self-defense mechanism. Sara, Cid’s mother, is shown to be terrified of Cid’s loss of control and has contingencies in place for his weaker moments. During Cid’s first telekinesis scene, she is shown taking refuge in a large safe to avoid the dangers of objects flying through the air. Cid is sheepish and apologetic afterward, implying the reaction is involuntary.
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Although nowhere near Cid’s power, Sara also boasts very slightly better-than-average telekinesis. Instead of being able to levitate a quarter as is commonly shown by others with the ability, Sara can suspend a cigarette lighter in the air. As such, Cid’s talents would seem to have been inherited from his mother and magnified tenfold. Sara’s limit is an impressive parlor trick, whereas Cid takes the life of a Looper hunting him without ever laying a finger on him.
An exchange between Cid and Young Joe reveals that the boy remembers the death of a woman who he believed to be his mother but was actually his aunt. It’s never confirmed, but it sounds as though Cid was responsible for the death of his aunt due to his complete inability to control his terrifying telekinetic abilities. By Old Joe’s time, 30 years in the future, Cid has become the Rainmaker and presumably harnessed and weaponized his powers during his growth into an incredibly foreboding and influential figure.
Why Looper’s Rainmaker Tried To Close All Of The Loops
The Rainmaker tries to alter his own history (& succeeds)
The Rainmaker’s reach in the future allows him to make administrative changes to the relevant criminal organizations. In Looper, time travel has already been invented and outlawed in the 30 years that separate the two versions of Joe. As a result, the technology is only used by the shadiest of criminal outfits. The movie’s ending shows an alternate version of events to the circumstances that originally triggered Cid’s transformation into the Rainmaker. In the original timeline, Old Joe succeeded in killing Sara to get to Cid. So, the Rainmaker’s decision to close everyone’s loops was to prevent his mother’s death.
As well as being a proactive measure to save his mother’s life and prevent the same heartbreak for others, the Rainmaker’s actions were also an attempt at revenge. When a Looper is sent back to have their loop closed, it’s their younger self that carries out the deed of killing them. So, although trying to close everyone’s loop was more of a tactical move, it was also to quench the Rainmaker’s thirst for revenge against Loopers at large due to the murder of his mother at the hands of Old Joe in the original timeline.
While the plan’s success would have been very satisfying for the Looper villain, much to the Rainmaker’s misfortune, Old Joe eluded capture by his younger self. However, Old Joe’s escape worked in the Rainmaker’s favor. During an especially violent raid of the Looper headquarters, Old Joe cuts down all of his former colleagues. This way, the Rainmaker’s hatred of Loopers couldn’t exist in the future because Old Joe has already killed them all.
How Joe Prevented Cid From Becoming The Rainmaker In Looper
Young Joe’s sacrifice altered the timeline
Looper‘s ending looked to be playing out in a very similar way to the Rainmaker’s original timeline. With Old Joe leveling a gun at Sara, Young Joe watches on from a range that couldn’t be covered by his close-quarters blunderbuss. Old Joe would have had to kill Sara to get to Cid, but if previous timelines are any indication, Cid would have either reflexively killed Old Joe or managed to escape anyway.
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While Old Joe was trying to stop the coming of Looper‘s future villain, Young Joe was the only one who could actually achieve the feat. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to cover the required distance in time to save Sara, Young Joe turns his blunderbuss on himself, causing his death and the disappearance of Old Joe, since the rules for time travel in Looper mean he can physically no longer exist. Joe’s sacrifice in Looper means that Sara lives, and Cid doesn’t become the Rainmaker to avenge his mother decades later.
Looper
- Release Date
- September 28, 2012
- Director
- Rian Johnson
- Cast
- Bruce Willis , Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Emily Blunt , Paul Dano , Noah Segan , Piper Perabo
