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Author John Irving so despised last fall's film adaptation of his short story A Prayer for Owen Meaney that he yanked his blessing from it, forcing the producers to call it Simon Birch instead. So he wrote the screenplay for his novel The Cider House Rules himself, and the result is one whopper of a fantastic picture. It's an unconventional coming-of-age story that is split into two equally beautiful halves.
The film begins in the 1920s, where we are introduced to young Homer Wells, a resident of a secluded orphanage in St. Clouds, Maine. Homer was actually adopted and returned twice; once because he didn't cry (orphans quickly learn it does them no good) and once because he wouldn't stop (a victim of child abuse). Taken under the wing of the orphanage's director, Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine, Little Voice), Homer grows up (becoming Tobey Maguire, Ride with the Devil) in the institution, watches the other children find homes and comes to accept the fact that he will likely spend his entire youth there. Under the doctor's tutelage, Homer even learns how to deliver babies and perform abortions, even though the idea of the latter is at odds with his personal beliefs.
Despite having a warm father figure in Dr. Larch and the job of big brother to the orphanage's other children, Homer longs for a different life with firm rules and clearer objectives. He longs to leave, but can't even join the armed forces because of a heart defect. Homer finds an opportunity when a pregnant young woman named Candy Kendall (Charlize Theron, Mighty Joe Young) visits the orphanage to have an abortion performed. Her fiancé, Wally Worthington (Paul Rudd, The Object of My Affection), is a serviceman on leave to help harvest his family's apple orchard. When Candy and Wally depart, Homer goes with them, taking up residence in the rundown cider house on the Worthingtons' land.
In the cider house, which is chock full of popular R&B artists (including Heavy D and Erykah Badu), Homer finds exactly what he is looking for, despite the hard, backbreaking work in the orchards. He misses Dr. Larch and the other children, but hey, when you've got a girl like Candy hanging around, it's easy to forget the things that you used to hold close to you. The two develop a relationship once Wally heads back to war and, let me tell you, there is almost nothing more disturbing than watching Maguire with the angelic Theron. But even in the happiness of his newly found freedom, Homer learns that life isn't full of straightforward answers, despite having rules to live by for the first time in his life.
The acting in The Cider House Rules is terrific, especially Caine, who was robbed of a statue last year for Little Voice. Well, someone was robbed – either him or Bill Murray (Rushmore). As the ether-sniffing doctor, Caine shows genuine love for every child that he cares for, taking the time to name each one as they are born, and reading them stories each night. The line `Goodnight, you Princes of Maine, you Kings of New England,' which Larch uses as a sign-off to the children every evening before bed, still leaves a lump in my throat when I see the trailer, even though it's been over two months since I've seen the film. Delroy Lindo (A Life Less Ordinary) also shines in a supporting role as Badu's father.
The Cider House Rules is a breathtakingly gorgeous film, with director Lasse Hallström (What's Eating Gilbert Grape) and cinematographer Oliver Stapleton (William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream) crafting both beautiful backgrounds and amazingly lush scenery. The film is as beautiful as any you will see this year, save possibly Sleepy Hollow and Snow Falling on Cedars. My only complaint is the ending (which I would spoil by explaining here) and the fact that the credits say `Introducing Erykah Badu,' despite the fact that she already had a role in Blues Brothers 2000. Do they think we could ever forget the train wreck that was Blues Brothers 2000? Make another film like The Cider House Rules and I just might be able to.
2:11 - PG-13 for mature thematic elements, sexuality, nudity, substance abuse and some violence
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