Mixed bag of apples... (The Cider House Rules (DVD))

Member Name: fizzle

Product:	The Cider House Rules (DVD)
Date:	25/02/02 (129 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well acted, great cinematography, unusual film.

Disadvantages: Characters and themes not fully developed.

Directed by Lasse Hallestrom, and based on a John Irving novel, The Cider House Rules was first released in 1999. I have to admit that I knew very little about this film when I decided to rent it out yesterday. I could vaguely remember something about Michael Caine winning an Oscar for best supporting actor and I knew Tobey Maguire was in it (one of my main reasons for renting it out), but that was about it. I didn’t know anything about the story line, although a quick glance at the back of video box implied it was some kind of “coming of age” drama. But generally, it was with an open mind that I slotted it into my video recorder and sat back for a few hours viewing on a Sunday afternoon.

And my reaction? Well I have to admit my reaction is rather mixed. I enjoyed the film but I wouldn’t say it was completely flawless. However, before going into the reasons why, it’s probably helpful to give a brief synopsis of the plot (in case anyone out there is as unfamiliar with the film as I was).

The Cider House Rules tells the story of young Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire) who begins his life at an orphanage in Maine in the 1940s. The orphanage is managed by the benevolent Dr Larch (Michael Caine), who also carries out abortions (at the time illegal) and deliveries.

After a number of failed adoptions, Homer is taken under the wing of Dr Larch, helping to run the orphanage and practising obstetrics. Homer becomes a skilled, although unqualified, surgeon. However, in comparison to Dr Larch, Homer adopts a strident anti abortion stance. Dr Larch is of the opinion that “if those who are qualified don’t perform the abortion, other’s will”. We are to see this dilemma played out through the course of the film.

Homer is a natural successor to Dr Larch, but decides he wants to branch out on in his own and discover the world. He hitches a lift with a young couple named Wally and Candy and ends u
p working on Wally’s cider farm as an apple picker, whilst Wally is away at war.

The film is split between these two locations, the St. Clouds orphanage in Maine and Wally’s apple farm where Homer works. We are introduced to a number of characters at both locations, namely the orphans at St. Clouds and Homer’s fellow workers at the farm. There is also a developing relationship between Candy and Homer (rather predictably!). The second half of the film focuses primarily on Homer’s new life at the farm and the people he meets there, but there are occasional switches back to events at the orphanage.

The film deals with big themes such as abortion, incest, infidelity and war, but this is not an action packed film. The pacing is leisurely and understated. The musical score contributes to the relaxed atmosphere and Oliver Stapleton’s wonderful cinematography, the sweeping ocean, lush orchards, deserted harbour and snowy landscapes of New England, imbue the film with a richly poetic backdrop.

I found one of the major flaws of this movie to be the fact that major plot developments occur, such as abortion and incest, yet there is little in the way of exposition of these events. We are given little insight into the effects of these events on the characters involved or anything in the way of character motivation.

The romantic entanglement of Homer and Candy is also underdeveloped. You seldom see much interaction between the two characters or much moral debate as to their situation and as a result it begins to lack authenticity and I was rather ambivalent as to what happened to their relationship.

Homer is the central character and a major theme seems to be the whole “coming of age” issue; discovering truths about the world but ultimately about your own self. Yet it is difficult to judge how Homer’s character has developed. I always find Toby Maguire immensely watchable as an actor and
he brings generally great warmth to his characters but in this case I found his inane smiling somewhat irritating after a while. I did like his character, but we were seldom allowed to observe any inner depth and there was little sense of any emotional or spiritual growth.

Having said that, the film was well acted, the lead characters put in fine performances and the supporting cast (including Erykah Badu and Delroy Lindu) lend good support. The child actors, playing the orphans, also do a fine job. Ok, so it might be a highly simplistic way of drawing in the sympathies of your audience by focusing on a number of incredibly sweet orphan kids, but the performances were top notch and I found I genuinely cared what happened to them.

There are a number of wonderful of moments in this film. Such as when Candy takes Homer past the drive in movie and he falls in love with it despite the fact that it's always closed. He has a passion for movies despite only ever seeing one film and it is little details like this which help to bring the
characters to life.

Hollywood seems to love a film with a moral message so it is perhaps not surprising that this picked up a few Oscars (although I was slightly surprised at Caine’s Oscar for best supporting actor – it’ a good performance but his accent is highly dubious at times to say the least).

The overriding moral message of this film seems to lie within the title. The "Cider House rules" are a set of rules which are pinned up in the workers hut at the farm. They’ve never been able to read them and so have merely lived by their own set of rules. Homer is able to read the rules to them and they are surprised by the absurdity of them, they are rules written by people who have never worked and lived at the farm. The moral here seems to be that you should make your own rules based on your personal situation and judgement, not faithfully following rules prescr
ibed by others.

This philosophy seems to be embodied in the character of Dr Larch and throughout the film you gain the impression that the correct thing for Homer to do is to return home and to carry on Larch’s good work. This is where his self discovery is leading, yet little is done with the fact that Larch is a deeply troubled figure, railing against the establishment and heavily addicted to ether.

I did enjoy this film and felt it had a lot of strengths, I just feel it throws up a number of complex issues without examining them as fully as they deserve. The tone is often subtle and understated, yet at times it is in danger of becoming simplistic in its treatment of issues. The film is rated as a 12, but I don’t think young teenagers would really appreciate this film, probably finding it slow and somewhat boring (plus it does deal with some rather adult themes).

I’ve subsequently read a few reviews where some people have been upset by what they feel is the film’s blatantly pro-abortion theme. I didn’t feel that the film was heavy handed in this sense. Some attempt is made to convey the dilemma of abortion and some reasoned debate is given, in my opinion it just wasn’t examined fully enough. Two key female characters have abortions during the film yet we given no insight into their emotional state afterwards.

Bearing in mind the themes of this film I wouldn’t describe it as a Saturday night feel good movie. However, if you’re in the mood for a beautifully shot, well-acted drama then I would recommend this. Just don’t expect to be blown away.

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