L'oeuvre de Dieu, la part du diable

This is one of my favourite films (if not my favourite), so I cannot be altogether objective, but I must say I find it an eye-opener. It's a lesson on tolerance carried out by a really talented cast and crew.

Everyone fits in his/her role, although the movie is more Maguire's than anyone else's. He's definitely a natural, and while other actors in the business try to impress the audience and make the most to show their talent, Maguire acts with subtlety and thoughtfulness.

The film might seem a bit slow for some people accustomed to more pacey and epic films. However, those who have read the novel will realize just how fast everything goes.

Rachel Portman's score is truly beautiful: probably one of her best.

Nineteen ninety-nine was an outstanding year for adaptations of major literary works, but of all the great books that came to the screen last year, this is my favorite. John Irving's novel and adaptation is one of the most complete stories I can remember in many years. It is poignant, exhilarating, and astutely human in its scope, presenting a myriad of human emotions and experiences.

Often, when a story attempts to cross genres so broadly, it fails from lack of depth or insufficiency of the writer or director to meet the variable demands of such a wide-ranging treatment. This film was a comedy, a tragedy, a romance, a human-interest story, a character study, and a period piece, and each element was excellently done.

This was all accomplished without sacrificing the philosophical and emotional depth Irving imbues in all his works. Irving weaves a strong moral into this story; that rules need to be questioned and that being human is not so easily codified. He revisits this theme repeatedly, with each character facing dilemmas regarding societal and personal rules that are difficult to reconcile in the given situations.

If there is one thing that stands out about this story, it is its human realism. These are ordinary people struggling with problems we all face. We come to have affection for almost all of them, and can identify with their tribulations. Although the story is excessively sentimental and fatalistic, it reminds us that life is complicated and doesn't always turn out the way we plan or hope.

From a filmmaking perspective, we could not have asked more from Lasse Hallstrom. Known most in the U.S. for his direction of ‘What's Eating Gilbert Grape', Hallstrom has been making wonderful films in Europe for almost twenty years. However, this film will certainly go down as his finest work. In the featurette on the DVD, he said that when he goes to Blockbuster with his daughter and sees it on the shelf, he will have a feeling of pride; and well he should.

This motion picture was beautifully filmed with rich cinematography, breathtaking locations, and precise period props and costumes. However, the greatest achievement for Hallstrom, working in concert with Irving, was to orchestrate a large cast in such a way that no character seemed insignificant. Hallstrom took great care to do enough development of each character (often just visually without any dialogue) that he made us care for each of them. He gave the film an emotional depth and breadth that is difficult to achieve in two hours. His work with the children in the orphanage was superb, bringing forth their innocence and enthusiasm without minimizing their plight.

The acting was uniformly outstanding. Tobey Maguire infused Homer with the right combination of idealism, naiveté and inner strength to make him an unassuming but powerful lead. Charlize Theron continues to impress me with her acting ability. Besides her enchanting girl-next-door attractiveness, she showed terrific range in a character that at first seemed shallow, but later proved to be quite complex.

Michael Caine has had a legendary career spanning close to half a century. He has long been one of my favorite actors. His performance here was powerful and well deserving of the acclaim he received. Dr. Larch was an extremely complex character; egotistical, self-abusive, manipulative and recalcitrant, yet a saintly, self-sacrificing and loving crusader for the good of the children. Caine's ability to span that range was remarkable.

Finally, I have the highest praise for Delroy Lindo as Mr. Rose, the orchard foreman. Lindo's bright smile and enthusiasm created a rock solid character with charm, strength and simple wisdom. He captures our admiration immediately, and despite his despicable act, we cannot help but pity him in the end.

After having seen all the films that were nominated by the Academy for best picture last year, I have to say that this was my personal favorite. It wasn't as flashy as the rest; in fact, this was downright old fashioned in its approach. They just don't write stories like this anymore, and that's a shame. I rated it a 10/10. In its quiet way, it captured my heart.

The Cider House Rules is a folksy tale about a boy from an orphanage and his coming of age. He's been trained to deliver babies at the orphanage by the benevolent Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine).

Notably this boy's passage into manhood necessitates him accepting the responsibility of also performing illegal abortions! Now there's a twist. John Irving, also wrote the books The World According To Garp and The Hotel New Hampshiire, made into films of the same name, as well as A Prayer For Owen Meany which was made into the puzzling Simon Birch, a film Irving vigourously disowns. Irving subsequently, in the case of Cider House, has also written the screenplay.

The actual cider house rules are a minor element of a rambling film that is full of such minor events.They are a non-consequential, ignored set of laws meant to govern the behaviour of the workers who bunk in the cider house on an apple farm.

But life's like that, or so John Irving and his film would have you believe. It's just that usually films concentrate a little more on life's more tumultuous moments.

Young Homer Wells (our budding unlicensed doctor) is played delightfully by Tobey Maguire (Pleasantville)with a sweet smile and sleepy eyes. Those of you who prefer your actors to be more dynamic might find Maguire to be too even, but in this film his style was just the ticket.

He's one of the boys who were never chosen to be adopted at the orphanage. There are some touching scenes centred around the children in particular not being selected, hovering with their bags packed.

Homer sets off to see the world with new friends Candy (Charlize Theron) and Wally (Paul Rudd). They had attended the orphanage for an abortion.

Homer sees the sea for the first time. He learns how to pick apples and to get on with his work mates. He has a romance. And he learns how to accept responsibility for his and other's actions away from the shelter of the orphanage. And that's about it. And that's just enough.

The mood of the film accentuates a dreamy continuance; years and seasons merge. Life goes on. The apples grow. Relationships develop. The scenery is beautiful. The black labourers accept their lot.

This is life (and death) seen from the personal; a snapshot of middle, rural America; a land where you're meant to just get on with it and accept your lot.

The Cider House Rules is sensitively directed and written with an emphasis on people caring for each other. It's a bit of a weepy. Even villains are given their good sides.

Part of the charm of "Cider House Rules", a coming-of-age movie with Tobey Maguire at the center, is the finesse with which it presents itself as a "feel good" movie when most of the characters have precious little to feel good about. The film could easily have had a harder edge to it. However, the makers of this carefully crafted film tiptoe so adroitly around such issues as abortion, murder, infidelity, and incest as to leave the audience with an ample helping of the warm and fuzzies. The film deserves high marks for enjoyability and for bringing back the charm of Hollywood's golden years.

I was getting agitated while reading these reviews because I found it hard to believe that so many people missed the point of this movie. John Irving's main focus was not "pro-choice" in terms of abortion, but pro-choice in terms of each and every one of us making important and responsible decisions for ourselves. The fact that the title is "The Cider House Rules" reveals that the author thinks this idea sums up the whole narrative. Those rules posted in the cider house represent a more powerful, outside force attempting to control those that live within that cider house. It was also rhetorically inquired earlier at the isolated orphanage: What have their [the outside's] laws ever done for you? The intent of the film was profound in its simplicity: There are no absolute rules (in a cider house or anyplace else) which govern our lives other than those which we out of necessity construct for ourselves. One needs to "know their business," and caring human beings have the responsibility to develop rules that are appropriate to the unique circumstances in which they find themselves. The only time where imposing across the board rules that automatically prescribe responses to every situation is in a robot. We are not robots. Irving's views on abortion follow directly from this mentality, and this story is an attempt to explain the rational reasons behind them. But please realize that it is merely an example. If you were to get hung up about your own staunch views, be it pro-choice or pro-life, then you are missing out on a bigger picture that transcends both. If you can't see the forest for the trees, then you're better off watching Saturday morning cartoons.

Outstanding Features: Story, Acting

IMDb rating: 8