Director: Lasse Hallstrom
Starring: Tobey Maguire,Charlize Theron,Delroy Lindo,Paul Rudd,Michael Caine
I've got to admit that I really wanted to hate The Cider House Rules. I can't stand that dopey Tobey Maguire, I don't care for Charlize Theron, and the film's sentimental-heavy trailers were sappier than my hands after my 3rd grade field trip to a maple tree farm. Unfortunately for the cynic in me, I did not hate The Cider House Rules. Of course there were things about it I hated (because I am a fundamentally bitter person), but on the whole, the film is rather engaging – mostly due to Michael Caine's Oscar-winning performance as Dr. Larch and director Lasse Hallstrom's carefully focused and thought provoking exploration of the major themes of John Irving's novel.
The story follows Homer Wells (Maguire) from birth in a Maine orphanage where he stays on as a surrogate son to Caine's Dr. Larch, and on to his new adventures as an apple picker working for Delroy Lindo's Mr. Rose, while making nice with Theron's Candy. The sprawling scope of Irving's novel can be grasped from the film, and mostly, the transition to the screen works well, except for the deluge of characters. Ok, I know we are dealing with an orphanage here, so I should just ease off the cynic pedal a bit, but this is a long picture adapted from a longer book, and when we just get short glimpses of characters, it ends up being predictable pap. Some of the characters are sketched out so superficially that they are inevitably reduced to simple stereotype, such as with Kieran Culkin's younger brotherish orphan. In the film, we never get to find out what his deal is. Is he jealous of Homer? Is he getting together with the comely young female orphan? Is he sick to death of being asked about his brother Macaulay? Who knows?
Another thing that ticked me off was the handling of race matters in the film. Basically, most of the black characters have some major flaws or problems, and the picture ends up going with the white man as savior route that is so played out and more than a little offensive.
Despite these problems, the movie still excels in a few areas. First, Irving is able to effectively explore the moral ambiguities of individuals defying laws and broaching social taboos. Second, there is Michael Caine's wonderful performance as the strident, fatherly ether-junkie orphanage doctor. I also enjoyed seeing Erykah Badu and Heavy D in their roles as apple-pickers (Still, seeing them in a movie made me wonder, what is the deal with all these musicians doing the acting thing? I guess Jon Bon Jovi's Young Guns II performance had more of a lasting effect that I had anticipated). Finally, Hallstrom has shot a pretty film that fully utilizes the natural beauty of his surroundings, which is probably not New England, but looks good nonetheless. All in all, The Cider House Rules has a few irritating aspects to it, but it is an interesting and thoughtful picture that is worth seeing for all the princes of Maine, Kings of New England, and literary minded folks out there.
