THE CIDER HOUSE RULES
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: Solid, well-told if somewhat
predictable story of a young man's life in an
orphanage and his leaving to see a (very small) bit
of the world. It is a story that contrasts
responsibility with freedom and the need for a home
with the need for a life of ones own. But
especially it is a treatise on when it is justified
to break rules. Like a lot of films based on John
Irving novels the feel is less realistic and more
that of an extended fable. Rating: 7 (0 to 10),
+2 (-4 to +4)
Life is bleak at the orphanage at St. Cloud, Maine during the Depression era. The weather is cold. The doctor who autocratically runs the orphanage, Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine), is an ether addict who performs illegal abortions. And of course orphans learn about rejection the youngest of anybody. This could be the worst of all possible worlds but for all Larchs shortcomings, his love and compassion transform the orphanage.
Into this orphanage is brought Homer Wells (played as an adult by Tobey Maguire), twice adopted and twice returned. Homer is raised by Larch's love and by the love of the staff. As a teenager Homer is trained to have a medical knowledge almost rivaling Larch's. Homer personally wants nothing to do with abortions, and Larch respects that. Homer delivers children and can handle a wide range of medical emergencies like a professional.
Homer has never been far from St. Cloud, never seen the ocean, never even seen a lobster. He longs to see a little of the real world. When a serviceman brings his girlfriend Candy Kendall (Charlize Theron)) for an abortion, Homer befriends the two, and when it comes time to leave Homer asks to go with them. Homer has no skills he knows how to sell and gratefully takes a job as an apple picker. The team of farm workers, all black but for Homer, is led by Mr. Rose (Delroy Lindo). Homer must try to fit into the team.
Peppered through the story as a continuing theme are rules and people who break rules. Under age boys drive cars and operate as doctors. Adult doctors perform abortions. We also see love against the rules. Irving shows us cases where rule-breaking is excusable and cases where it cannot be forgiven. The whole story seems to be a backdrop for examples of when rules should and should not be broken. It is almost like a school exercise in which one tries to put as many prepositions in a single sentence as possible, with the actual meaning of the sentence having only secondary importance. Irving may be saying nothing more complex than that rules should be made only with understanding and caution and should be broken only for unselfish reasons. But in giving all the examples John Irving, who wrote the screenplay based on his own novel, has simplified the story to the point where it is quite predictable. We are pretty sure how it is all going to end, and we know Homer is going to use his medical knowledge just as surely as we know James Bond will use all of the gizmos he has been given.
Lasse Hallstrom, director of MY LIFE AS A DOG, tells stories slowly and deliberately with a lot of personality texture. He takes his time developing his characters. Toby Maguire's normally pensive style has been useful in his career. He seems to specialize in roles in which he is a little bit of an outsider and has to work out what things are all about. In THE ICE STORM he has to navigate the adults' world of sexual mores. In PLEASANTVILLE he has to figure his way in 1950s TV-land. Where another actor might jump into a situation he thinks about it and intellectualizes it. Irving and Hallstrom have given Michael Caine a role different from those he has played in the past. That is not easy to do with an actor like Caine, but this is Caine as we have not seen him before, an odd combination of sleazy and loving. Delroy Lindo adds a touch of magnificence and dignity to a farm worker who is more complex than he at first seems.
Irving's story is a little simplistic but engaging and the film captures a sort of nostalgic feel. I rate THE CIDER HOUSE RULES a 7 on the 0 to 10 scale and a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
Copyright 2000 Mark R. Leeper
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