The Cider House Rules

Impeccably crafted and utterly impersonal, Lasse Hallstrom's adaptation of John Irving's novel has many of the qualities Oscar is known to appreciate.

Leaves out portions of John Irving's novel that would have given it more balance and perspective, but the acting by Maguire and Caine is first-rate by any standard.

That Irving adapted his novel to the screen himself and, even more, that Hallström directed it, makes Cider House a far better film than other film adaptations of Irving's work.

Always consistently watchable, but you get the feeling that in the novel --- the treacle is cut with the nasty edge that Irving's writing is capable of.

What remains of the book's psychological underpinnings -- there are enough here to leave a permanent dent in the couch of any Freud-loving shrink

Oddly, most of the elements needed for a good movie are present here, but when added together they equal less than the sum of the parts.

The story touches many themes, lingers with some of them, moves on and arrives at nowhere in particular. It's not a story so much as a reverie about possible stories.

A beautiful coming of age story and and period-piece, The Cider House Rules is all at once delightful, horrifying, romantic, and epic. This is a great 1990s film with a charming and tactful script, incredibly evocative cinematography, top notch performances, and a soul that a lot of movies lack. This has aged almost perfectly, and is a must-see for fans of period drama.

Hallstrom has succeeded in adapting John Irving's novel into an incredibly refreshing period piece. With very touching performances from Maguire, Caine, and Theron, "The Cider House Rules" effectively portrays Irving's delightful coming-of-age tale.

If Maguire is a teenager, then Caine is his father, watch this relationship go up and down, and swing by gleefully being a carefree kid, once again. The Cider House Rules Hallstrom is a funny man when it comes to shine the humor on a mellow drama as such. With introducing characters smoothly as installing jokes in sensitive situations, the director, Lasse Hallstrom has perfectly timed the tracks of each character syncing in one melodious and also ironically chaotic room. And boy how sketchy it looks and how sitcom-y it feels. You'll be giddy up for this whimsical world rooting each perspective wishing them to be successful just to see how far do they push the boundary to tone the temperature to their preferences. I am drawn to this light-footed world because I grew up watching them (it defines the 90s at best) with my brother in a lazy Sunday morning, I may not be an unbiased judge, but it surely is thoroughly engaging and entertaining. What makes this script complete above all, is equal contribution of the characters in the final product. They come in with a new lexicon, fresh beat and originality in their opinions, they ought to stand alone, even the sinister ones, if thought about it, there is something sparkly about them; wrong definitely. Tobey Maguire proves it was a perfect casting, from being childish to a smart cookie- at least in his own field- he is the dream protagonist to such a rom-com. Charlize Theron is the most misleading person in the film, admittedly she is successively on the wrong track, bridging the equation with a balanced natural view. But to me, this will always be Michael Caine's film. He mourns, he guides, he mocks and he comforts. His eyes gazes into an object and it somehow comes alive, so beautiful is his language and so picturesque his notes to these so called adolescent beings- the letter are some of the best part of the film- that you feel you learned something new, outside The Cider House Rules.

While I get the moral of the story and I think the protagonist's character narrative arc ـــ besides that I was invested in it as a whole ـــ do the moral justice, the touchy themes that are tackled here feel utterly awkward and even strangely disturbing, especially given the sentimental tone the film approaches its story with. That overall resulted in a film that there's no right demography for. I wonder whether John Irving's novel itself is muddled like this or is it the screenplay, also written John Irving, intentionally glossed over said themes in order to match Hallström's sweet-natured direction, which I have no problem with to be clear. One last issue I have, I think the first 15-20 minutes are slightly overly-expository, unfocused and jumpy, and therefore it took me a while to be invested in the story. However, I think I liked it a little. I was quite invested in the character of Homer Wells as I mentioned but other than that, I think all all the performances are great: Paul Rudd really surprised me in this dramatic role; Michael Caine is great as ever even if I still believe Tom Cruise deserved the Oscar for best supporting role in Magnolia more than him; Charlize Theron really brought her character to life; and Tobey Maguire delivered one of his best performances to say the least. Moreover, I was somewhat moved by the many storylines that concern the orphanage. (6.5/10)

Homer Wells is one of the most boring characters I've seen in quite some time. Like mega boring. To the point where his blank expression, small, peach-like face, and ineffectual dialogue began making me madder and madder as the movie went on. So you can see why I thought it was completely over the moon that the hottest girl in the universe leaves the world's sexiest man for him.