THE CIDER HOUSE RULES (Miramax) Starring: Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Michael Caine, Delroy Lindo, Paul Rudd, Erykah Badu, Kathy Baker. Screenplay: John Irving, based on his novel. Producer: Richard N. Gladstein. Director: Lasse Halstrom. MPAA Rating: R (adult themes, profanity, sexual situations, violence) Running Time: 125 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
A word of sympathy, first of all, for the marketing and publicity people at Miramax Films. I guarantee you I would not want the job of selling to the American public a film in which the character arc of the protagonist is completed by performing an abortion. They'll avoid the subject assiduously, of course, focusing instead on the idea that THE CIDER HOUSE RULES is about a journey to self-awareness, about learning to make complex choices, and so on, and et cetera, and yada yada, all of which is even (more or less) true. It's also true that John Irving has no qualms about being provocative, and that he's willing to cast performing abortions in a quasi-heroic light if it serves the purpose of one of his uniquely compassionate tales.
THE CIDER HOUSE RULES isn't worth avoiding simply because of that one thematic element ... nor, unfortunately, it is particularly worth seeking out. Once again delving into protagonists with atypical parental circumstances, Irving (adapting his own novel) tells the story of an orphan named Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire). Homer has lived his entire life at St. Cloud's Orphanage in Maine, and now, as a young adult in 1943, finds himself apprenticed to the orphanage's unconventional obstetrician and caretaker Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine). Unsure of his own place in the world, however, Homer decides to explore it. He leaves with Candy Kendall (Charlize Theron) and Wally Worthington (Paul Rudd) -- a young couple who have come to St. Cloud's for Dr. Larch's illegal services -- eventually landing as a picker at Wally's family apple orchard. It is there that Homer has experiences that broaden his horizons, from encounters with romance to encounters with the grey areas of morality.
The first half of THE CIDER HOUSE RULES walks an awkward tightrope between edgy humanism and dangerous sentimentality. The relationship between Larch and Homer is the focal point, a strange father-son connection that gives two actors intriguing material to work with. Caine is particularly good as Larch, playing devilish advocate regarding the harsh realities of the world. That relationship, however, is played out in a setting filled with adorable urchins, including one inquisitive but doomed fellow who spends his days under an oxygen tent. Irving tries to wink at the mawkishness (plenty of Dickensian references abound), but director Lasse Hallstrom spends a bit too much time lingering on the orphans' upturned faces. For a story that's ultimately not about orphans, the opening of THE CIDER HOUSE RULES is too much about orphans.
What the story is about, ultimately, is Homer's progress towards understanding life outside the orphanage. To that end, Tobey Maguire proves to be a marvelous Homer Wells. His performance is a challenging mix of innocence and experience; his face captures both a hard life and a life lived in isolation. He's certainly the best choice for an Irving protagonist since Robin Williams' Garp, but THE CIDER HOUSE RULES still can't quite achieve Irving-style magic, even with Irving himself doing the script honors. The narrative meanders appropriately between Homer's relationship with Candy, his work with the apple-picking crew and life back at the orphanage, yet the meandering just doesn't have that whimsical sense of purpose that marks Irving's novels.
It is most worth noting that THE CIDER HOUSE RULES on film packs 15 years of Homer's life into about a year and a half. There may be no better evidence that Irving is a writer whose stories really need to be turned into mini-series. The film does do a nice job conveying the theme that "situational morality" need not be an epithet; indeed, this is may be one of the most deeply radical concepts you'll see on film this year. It is there you see a glimmer of the literary Irving, one of the glimmers you can see in Maguire and Caine. Too often, though, those glimmers are obscured by conventional filmmaking. Maybe those marketing folk don't have such a tough job after all. In THE CIDER HOUSE RULES, you have to work a little too hard to find Irving the provocateur.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 in cider informations: 5
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