The Cider House Rules (film)

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The Cider House Rules

Original Poster
Directed by Lasse Hallström
Produced by Richard N. Gladstein
Written by John Irving
Starring Tobey Maguire,
Michael Caine,
Charlize Theron,
Paul Rudd
Delroy Lindo
Music by Rachel Portman
Cinematography Oliver Stapeton
Distributed by Miramax Films
Release date(s) 17 December 1999 (limited)
Running time 126 min.
Language English
Budget $24,000,000 (estimated)
Gross revenue $88, 545, 092

The Cider House Rules is a 1999 film, directed by Lasse Hallström, based on The Cider House Rules, a 1985 novel by John Irving. The film won two Academy Awards.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire), an orphan, is the film's protagonist. He grew up in an orphanage directed by Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine). Dr. Larch is also secretly an abortionist and trains Homer in the realm of gynecology/abortions in a paternal sense.

The film continues as Homer decides to leave the orphanage with Candy Kendall (Charlize Theron) and her boyfriend Wally Worthington (Paul Rudd), a young couple who work at the Worthington family apple orchard. Wally leaves to fight in World War II. While Wally is away, Homer and Candy have an affair. Later, Wally's plane is shot down and he becomes paralyzed from the waist down. When he returns home, Candy decides that she must take care of him and not be with Homer.

Mr. Rose (Delroy Lindo) and his team are migrant workers who are employed seasonally at the orchard by the Worthingtons. Mr. Rose impregnates his own daughter Rose (Erykah Badu), and Homer, who disapproved of abortions, realizes that in Rose's case, he must perform one for her. Later, when Mr. Rose makes another amorous advance toward his daughter, she stabs him to death, and as a last request, the dying Mr. Rose asks the other workers to tell the police that his death was a suicide. Homer decides to return to the orphanage after the accidental death of Dr Larch, and works as the new director. Homer learns at the end of the film that his medical record had been faked by Dr Larch to keep him out of the war.

[edit] Notes

Due to time constraints, the film excludes many portions of the novel, including the characters Melony (another orphan) and Angel (Candy and Homer's secret child) who were major characters in the book. John Irving, who wrote the film's screenplay, has stated that he made this decision because he would rather have omitted subplots and characters than write an adaptation that could not really do justice to them.

[edit] Cast notes

  • J.K. Simmons, who portrayed Candy's father Randy, starred with Tobey Maguire in all three installments of the Spider-Man film series.
  • John Irving makes a cameo appearance as a stationmaster.

[edit] Controversy

Many American pro-life groups[1] had the same complaints about the movie as they did about the novel in that it seemed to promote abortion as a necessary part of American society.

[edit] Academy Awards

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

v • d • e
The works of John Irving