![Traffic (2001)](/uploads/profile_image/a81/82f41b40-064f-4030-902e-8334662faa81.jpg?m=1522332140)
Traffic (2001)
Movie Watch
A contemporary thriller set in the world of drug trafficking. Traffic evokes the high stakes and...
![Crocodile Dundee (1986)](/uploads/profile_image/b6c/f7d39108-90a3-4761-b406-ce761fe27b6c.jpg?m=1530643892)
Crocodile Dundee (1986)
Movie Watch
Paul Hogan's hilarious, endearing performance made "Crocodile" Dundee the biggest box-office comedy...
![Warlords of the 21st Century (1982)](/uploads/profile_image/20e/ffdc3b3a-6a63-40dc-af68-f272ce67b20e.jpg?m=1522339537)
Warlords of the 21st Century (1982)
Movie
It’s the 21st century, the Oil Wars have made a mess of the planet and the land outside major...
BattleTruck
![Kim](/uploads/profile_image/7f9/dee597af-de82-469e-9c9a-9acaa46ed7f9.jpg?m=1522332445)
Kim
Rudyard Kipling and Zohreh T. Sullivan
Book
The text-that of the 1901 Sussex Edition-is fully annotated and accompanied by three maps that help...
![Basketball's Greatest Stars](/uploads/profile_image/49c/a0c8db7e-1451-4bb6-8580-01f3d191a49c.jpg?m=1522328242)
Basketball's Greatest Stars
Book
Profiles of the very best NBA players and a great history of the game. The spectacular success of...
![Irish Grid Ref Compass - gps map coordinates tool](/uploads/profile_image/d66/d2916006-a99a-4378-8e0b-d378f9033d66.jpg?m=1522360344)
Irish Grid Ref Compass - gps map coordinates tool
Navigation and Business
App
Find out your current location on an Ireland or Northern Ireland Map. This app will give you your...
![Grace: Thirty Years of Fashion at Vogue](/uploads/profile_image/d91/71204d18-aedf-4139-840e-9c6f8c548d91.jpg?m=1522324685)
Grace: Thirty Years of Fashion at Vogue
Book
A celebration of the work of legendary fashion stylist Grace Coddington in her first 30 years at...
![40x40](/uploads/profile_image/85f/38c79958-e98e-4e91-8d04-b9b67783785f.jpg?m=1522360014)
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated The Cider House Rules (1999) in Movies
Apr 26, 2020
Sound interesting? Then check out THE CIDER HOUSE RULES.
Based on the novel by John Irving, THE CIDER HOUSE RULES follows the life of Homer Wells (a pre-SPIDERMAN Tobey Maguire), a young orphan who is raised/mentored by the head of his Orphanage, Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine). When Homer decides to leave the orphanage and experience the world, he learns quite a bit about life including THE CIDER HOUSE RULES.
This is one of those "coming of age/follow a person through their life"-type films that relies heavily on style, substance and the performance of the actors on the screen. And under the Direction of Swedish Director Lasse Hallstrom and with words of the Screenplay by the author of the novel, John Irving, and with terrific actors like Maguire and Caine (amongst others) speaking those lines - a spell is cast and a heartwarming, life-affirming experience unfolds.
Caine won his 2nd Oscar for his role as Dr. Larch. This is a complex character who has his own, very certain, views on the world and is uncompromising in his care for others. It is a wonderful performance - even taking into account the peculiar Maine/United States accent Caine puts on. His character's empathy, strength and vulnerability are at play throughout this performance and he is a very deserving recipient of the Oscar.
A very young Charlize Theron and a (then) unknown Paul Rudd are engaging, charming and extremely photogenic as a young couple that Homer leaves the orphanage to see the world with. Rudd is the embodiment of the "nice guy" in this film - you can see the seeds of a career of playing "the nice guy" in this performance. Theron radiates beauty, power and a self-reliance that shows the strong actress she will become. While Homer's relationship with Dr. Larch is the heart and conflict of this film, the trio of McGuire/Theron/Rudd are the soul. The film also features a bevy of strong character actors in smaller roles that prop this film up. Jane Alexander, Kathy Baker, J.K. Simmons, Kate Nelligan and Delroy Lindo all shine in smaller roles - as do some of the child actors that portray other orphans like Keiran Caulkin and (especially) Per Erik Sullivan as the physically compromised Fuzzy.
But...none of this works if Maguire doesn't hold this film together (for we see this world/film through his eyes and he is in every scene) and he brings it. He has a quiet charm and innocence that helps bring us into his world in a welcoming way. Certainly, the awkwardness that Homer shows around Theron will be in evidence when he plays Peter Parker years later, but it is the inner strength that Maguire shows that really makes this character shine.
John Irving wrote the screen play based on his novel - and the results are satisfying, both to those who've never read the book (or have encountered an Irving novel/book before) or veteran readers/lovers of Irving's work (like myself).
All of this is wrapped in a package by Director Lasse Hallstrom (MY LIFE AS A DOG) in a charming, loving way that show the people, events and times through a lens that amplifies the proceedings in a way that is welcoming and engaging.
It is always a bit of a concern of mine to revisit a film that I remember fondly, but in this case, I am glad I jumped at the chance to revisit this charming film.
And you'll be glad you did, too.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
![Jack Robinson on Show: Portraits 1958-72](/uploads/profile_image/31d/845ab8d9-2ada-4ee3-a697-cb277385431d.jpg?m=1522328621)
Jack Robinson on Show: Portraits 1958-72
Book
When Jack Robinson died in 1997, few people knew that the very private artist, who lived in a tiny...