The best part of The Cider House Rules, the 1999 film by director Lasse Hallström (An Unfinished Life, Chocolat), is the sweet, uplifting score from composer Rachel Portman. When a movie’s score is the best thing you can say about it, that’s not always good. With that said, some excellent movie scores out there help make a good movie great or a great film near perfect. Examples off the top of my head that I can think of are Jaws, Rocky, Sicario, Jurassic Park, The Last of the Mohicans, Drive, The Social Network, Halloween, Far and Away, The Empire Strikes Back, and Braveheart, to name a few. Each is a movie that I would consider to be, at worst, a B+ movie. Though a lesser score would likely not diminish my impression of any of these films, one of the first three or four things that come to mind is the score. When I think of The Cider House Rules, I think immediately of Portman’s beautiful Oscar-nominated score. However, unlike the movies above, its great score doesn’t equate to greatness. An A+ score probably takes this C+/B- movie up to a B.

The story is relatively simple. In the mid-1920s, Homer (Toby Maguire – Spider-Man, Brothers) was born in an orphanage in St. Clouds, Maine, run by a nearly 70-year-old Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine – Alfie, The Quiet American). Larch’s orphanage is not a typical one. In addition to helping children find families, he both delivers babies and performs abortions. Dr. Larch’s primary reason for performing illegal abortions was because he could perform them safely for the pregnant woman, rather than having them attempt to do themselves and perhaps accidentally injure or even kill themselves in the process.

Homer becomes the protege of Dr. Larch and the person he is grooming to take over the orphanage when he can no longer manage it himself. Dr. Larch isn’t in the best physical health and is addicted to ester, which he breathes each night to help him sleep. The nurses and assistants at the orphanage try to keep this hidden from Homer, but he is aware. Homer himself was adopted twice but returned to the orphanage, once for being too quiet and the other because the couple who adopted him physically abused him. By the time he returned, Dr. Larch had become charmed by the young boy, while the staff took it as their duty to protect him. Though he had no formal training, Dr. Larch teaches Homer the ins and outs of becoming an obstetrician. Homer and Dr. Larch clash on abortion as Homer believes that the only circumstances in which the killing of a fetus should be an option are the cases of either rape or incest. Though it slightly strains their relationship, Dr. Larch is the teacher, and Homer is the student.

The life Dr. Larch has laid out for his pupil isn’t the one Homer chose by choice. When Candy (Charlize Theron – Monster, Mad Max: Fury Road) and Wally (Paul Rudd – This Is 40, Ant-Man), a young married couple about the same age as Homer, comes to the orphanage to end a pregnancy, Homer becomes smitten with their freedom and knows he wants to experience what the things in life that he has missed out on. Candy and Wally invite them to live with them at an apple orchard. Homer jumps at the chance to try something else, and while we can tell that he’ll eventually return to the orphanage, we are excited to see what life is like through his previously secluded eyes. While we get something formulaic, there are minor twists and turns. While a tame movie, it does touch on some sensitive topics, but in a way that never gratified them or went into a ton of detail.

The Cider House Rules was by no means a bad movie. It’s a movie that deserves a single watch. My most recent viewing of it was my fourth. The more I watch it, the more flawed I find it. The score certainly doesn’t carry the film as it does the first time. John Irving’s novel of the same name is over 500 pages long, and you can’t properly do justice to a book that long in two and a half hours. The entire story can’t be told, and many portions become nothing more than fragmented pieces. In the novel, I’m sure the affair between Homer and Candy is filled with numerous nights of passion and a time of truly falling in love. There was a glimpse of that in the film, and Homer’s coming of age as a man felt believable. But it felt like as soon as it began, it was over. Likewise was the story between Mr. Rose and Rose Rose. There was more of a beginning to that side story and more of an end to it. What we got was the middle. And while it certainly was poignant and further exemplified Homer’s innate character trait of doing the right thing as it pertained to others he felt needed protection, some gaps inhibited us from feeling truly connected to each character or situation.

The casting of Maguire, Theron, and Caine is well done. Though his role is relatively minor, this is one of the finest performances of Caine’s career. His care for all those in his orphanage, especially his love for Homer, is evident in his eyes. More importantly, he is so distraught when Homer leaves to explore the world that he can’t even say goodbye to him before he goes. Maguire’s optimistic outlook on life is captivating, as are his morals in doing the right thing (save his relationship with Candy). Candy’s character is so fresh, warm-hearted, and charming that you wouldn’t blame him for surrendering to her. You also can’t blame her for her attempt to escape and find true love in the world.

Overall, The Cider House Rules is a good movie that should be viewed once. The novel is probably better, as it would expand on these characters and these stories, but at 500 pages, I recommend devoting 150 minutes to watching this movie instead.

Plot 7.5/10
Character Development 9/10
Character Chemistry 9/10
Acting 8.5/10
Screenplay 7.5/10
Directing 8/10
Cinematography 10/10
Sound 10/10
Hook and Reel 8.5/10
Universal Relevance 9/10
85.5%

B

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