The Cider House Rules (film)
Encyclopedia
The Cider House Rules is a 1999 American drama film
directed by Lasse Hallström
, based on John Irving
's novel of the same name
. The film won two Academy Awards
, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
, along with four other nominations at the 72nd Academy Awards
. John Irving documented his involvement in bringing the novel to the screen in his book, My Movie Business.
John Irving
won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, while Michael Caine
won his second Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
(his first came in 1986 for the film Hannah and Her Sisters
).
), an orphan
, is the film's protagonist
. He grew up in an orphanage
directed by Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine
) after being returned twice by foster parents. His first foster parents
thought he was too quiet and the second parents beat him. Dr. Larch is addicted to ether
and is also secretly an abortion
ist. Larch trains Homer in obstetrics
and abortions as an apprentice, despite Homer never even having attended high school.
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. They had come to the clinic to have an abortion. 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 is paralyzed from the waist down. When he returns home, Candy takes care of him and leaves Homer.
While he is away from the orphanage, Homer lives on the Worthington estate. He goes to work picking apples with Arthur Rose's (Delroy Lindo
) team. Arthur and his team are migrant workers who are employed seasonally at the orchard by the Worthingtons. Mr. Rose impregnates his own daughter
(Erykah Badu
), and Homer, who disapproves of abortions, realizes that in Rose's case, he must perform one for her. Later, when Arthur makes another amorous advance toward his daughter, she stabs him, and as a last request, the dying Arthur asks the other workers to tell the police that his death was a suicide. Eventually Homer decides to return to the orphanage after Dr. Larch's death from inhaling an ether
overdose, and works as the new director.
At the end of the film, Homer learns that Larch had faked Homer's medical record to keep him out of the war, and later made fake credentials for Homer in order to convince the board overseeing the orphanage to appoint him as the next director. Finally, Homer fills the paternal role that Larch previously held for the children of the orphanage.
of the Chicago Sun-Times
awarded it just two stars, saying: "The story touches many themes, lingers with some of them, moves on and arrives at nowhere in particular." By contrast, Leonard Maltin
awarded the film a rare four-star rating. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
it holds a favorable 72 percent rating.
, 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.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Lasse Hallström
Lasse Hallström
Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström is a Swedish film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for My Life as a Dog and later for The Cider House Rules .-Life and career:...
, based on John Irving
John Irving
John Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp in 1978...
's novel of the same name
The Cider House Rules
The Cider House Rules is a 1985 novel by John Irving. It is Irving's sixth published novel, and has been adapted into a film of the same name and a stage play by Peter Parnell.-Plot:...
. The film won two Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
, along with four other nominations at the 72nd Academy Awards
72nd Academy Awards
The 72nd Academy Awards ceremony took place at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium, and was Billy Crystal's seventh time hosting the Awards. The ceremony attracted 46.53 million viewers, an audience 3.7% bigger than the previous ceremony.The Academy Awards ceremony was dominated by two films...
. John Irving documented his involvement in bringing the novel to the screen in his book, My Movie Business.
John Irving
John Irving
John Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp in 1978...
won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, while Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
won his second Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(his first came in 1986 for the film Hannah and Her Sisters
Hannah and Her Sisters
Hannah and Her Sisters is a 1986 American comedy-drama film which tells the intertwined stories of an extended family over two years that begin and end with a family Thanksgiving dinner...
).
Plot
Homer Wells (Tobey MaguireTobey Maguire
Tobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire is an American actor and producer. He began his career in the 1980s, and has achieved his greatest fame for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films.-Early life:...
), an orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
, is the film's protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
. He grew up in an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
directed by Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
) after being returned twice by foster parents. His first foster parents
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
thought he was too quiet and the second parents beat him. Dr. Larch is addicted to ether
Diethyl ether
Diethyl ether, also known as ethyl ether, simply ether, or ethoxyethane, is an organic compound in the ether class with the formula . It is a colorless, highly volatile flammable liquid with a characteristic odor...
and is also secretly an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
ist. Larch trains Homer in obstetrics
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
and abortions as an apprentice, despite Homer never even having attended high school.
The film continues as Homer decides to leave the orphanage with Candy Kendall (Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron is a South African actress, film producer and former fashion model.She rose to fame in the late 1990s following her roles in 2 Days in the Valley, Mighty Joe Young, The Devil's Advocate and The Cider House Rules...
) and her boyfriend, Wally Worthington (Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
), a young couple who work at the Worthington family apple orchard. They had come to the clinic to have an abortion. Wally leaves to fight in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. While Wally is away, Homer and Candy have an affair. Later, Wally's plane is shot down and he is paralyzed from the waist down. When he returns home, Candy takes care of him and leaves Homer.
While he is away from the orphanage, Homer lives on the Worthington estate. He goes to work picking apples with Arthur Rose's (Delroy Lindo
Delroy Lindo
Delroy George Lindo is an English actor and theatre director. Lindo has been nominated for the Tony and Screen Actors Guild awards and has won a Satellite Award...
) team. Arthur and his team are migrant workers who are employed seasonally at the orchard by the Worthingtons. Mr. Rose impregnates his own daughter
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
(Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical...
), and Homer, who disapproves of abortions, realizes that in Rose's case, he must perform one for her. Later, when Arthur makes another amorous advance toward his daughter, she stabs him, and as a last request, the dying Arthur asks the other workers to tell the police that his death was a suicide. Eventually Homer decides to return to the orphanage after Dr. Larch's death from inhaling an ether
Diethyl ether
Diethyl ether, also known as ethyl ether, simply ether, or ethoxyethane, is an organic compound in the ether class with the formula . It is a colorless, highly volatile flammable liquid with a characteristic odor...
overdose, and works as the new director.
At the end of the film, Homer learns that Larch had faked Homer's medical record to keep him out of the war, and later made fake credentials for Homer in order to convince the board overseeing the orphanage to appoint him as the next director. Finally, Homer fills the paternal role that Larch previously held for the children of the orphanage.
Cast
- Tobey MaguireTobey MaguireTobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire is an American actor and producer. He began his career in the 1980s, and has achieved his greatest fame for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films.-Early life:...
as Homer Wells - Michael CaineMichael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
as Dr. Wilbur Larch - Charlize TheronCharlize TheronCharlize Theron is a South African actress, film producer and former fashion model.She rose to fame in the late 1990s following her roles in 2 Days in the Valley, Mighty Joe Young, The Devil's Advocate and The Cider House Rules...
as Candy Kendall - Paul RuddPaul RuddPaul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
as Lt. Wally Worthington - Delroy LindoDelroy LindoDelroy George Lindo is an English actor and theatre director. Lindo has been nominated for the Tony and Screen Actors Guild awards and has won a Satellite Award...
as Arthur Rose - Erykah BaduErykah BaduErica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical...
as Rose Rose - Heavy D as Peaches
- Kieran Culkin as Buster
- Jane AlexanderJane AlexanderJane Alexander is an American actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film and has committed...
as Nurse Edna - Kathy BakerKathy BakerKatherine Whitton "Kathy" Baker is an American stage, film and television actress.-Career:Baker began her career at San Francisco's Magic Theatre, performing in several of Sam Shepard's plays before getting her break in an off-Broadway production of Fool for Love opposite Ed Harris...
as Nurse Angela - Kate NelliganKate NelliganPatricia Colleen "Kate" Nelligan is a Canadian BAFTA award winning stage, film and television actress.-Early life:Nelligan, the fourth of six children, was born in London, Ontario, the daughter of Josephine Alice , a schoolteacher, and Patrick Joseph Nelligan, a factory repairman and municipal...
as Olive Worthington - Paz de la HuertaPaz de la HuertaMaría de la Paz Elizabeth Sofía Adriana de la Huerta , better known by her professional name Paz de la Huerta, is an American actress and model...
as Mary Agnes - J.K. Simmons as Ray Kendall
- Evan ParkeEvan ParkeEvan Parke is a Jamaican actor perhaps best known for his role as Hayes in King Kong. Originally from Jamaica, Parke was raised in Brooklyn, New York and then on Long Island...
as Jack - Jimmy FlynnJimmy FlynnJames P. "Jimmy" Flynn is an American teamster and film actor. He was a reputed member of the famous Winter Hill Gang....
as Vernon - Erik Per SullivanErik Per SullivanErik Per Sullivan is an American actor best known for his role as Dewey, the younger brother to middle child Malcolm, on the FOX series, Malcolm in the Middle which was on air for 6 years.-Personal life:...
as Fuzzy S. - Skye McCole BartusiakSkye McCole Bartusiak-Life and career:McCole Bartusiak was born in Houston, Texas, where she lives today with her parents Raymond Donald Bartusiak and Helen McCole. She attended St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal school for her elementary education....
as Hazel - Jessica Leigh Stern Orphan girl on staircase in opening scene (Melony)
Reception
The film received a generally positive reception from critics. Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
awarded it just two stars, saying: "The story touches many themes, lingers with some of them, moves on and arrives at nowhere in particular." By contrast, Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
awarded the film a rare four-star rating. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
it holds a favorable 72 percent rating.
Differences from novel
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 IrvingJohn Irving
John Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp in 1978...
, 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.
Academy Awards
The Cider House Rules won two Academy Awards and was nominated for an additional five:- Won - Best Actor in a Supporting RoleAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
: Michael CaineMichael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
; - Won - Best Adapted Screenplay: John IrvingJohn IrvingJohn Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp in 1978...
; - Nominated - Best PictureAcademy Award for Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
: Richard N. GladsteinRichard N. GladsteinRichard N. Gladstein is a film producer based in Los Angeles. His production company is FilmColony. His films include Finding Neverland, The Bourne Identity, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Hurlyburly, and The Cider House Rules. His two Academy Award nominations came from Finding Neverland and The...
; - Nominated - Best DirectorAcademy Award for DirectingThe Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
: Lasse HallströmLasse HallströmLars Sven "Lasse" Hallström is a Swedish film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for My Life as a Dog and later for The Cider House Rules .-Life and career:...
; - Nominated - Best EditingAcademy Award for Film EditingThe Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
: Lisa Zeno ChurginLisa Zeno ChurginLisa Zeno Churgin is an American film editor with more than 25 film credits; she was nominated for the Academy Award for Film Editing for the 1999 film The Cider House Rules . Since 2002, Churgin has also served as the president of the Motion Picture Editors Guild...
; - Nominated - Best Music, Original ScoreAcademy Award for Original Music ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
: Rachel PortmanRachel PortmanRachel Mary Berkeley Portman, OBE is a British composer, best known for her film work. She was the first female composer to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Original Score...
; and - Nominated - Best Art DirectionAcademy Award for Best Art DirectionThe Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
: David Gropman and Beth A. Rubino.
Cultural references
- "The Cyber House RulesThe Cyber House Rules"The Cyber House Rules" is the nineth episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired April 1, 2001. The title comes from the John Irving novel The Cider House Rules.-Plot:Leela is invited to a reunion at her old orphanarium...
", an episode of FuturamaFuturamaFuturama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
set in an orphanage, makes several references to The Cider House Rules. - "Radio Free Sealab", the pilot episode of Sealab 2021Sealab 2021Sealab 2021 is an American animated television series. It was shown on Cartoon Network's adult-oriented programming block, Adult Swim. It premiered on November 23, 2000 and the final episode aired on April 25, 2005...
, sees Captain Murphy close a broadcast with the line "Goodnight you princes of Sealab, you kings of the ocean" as part of a Michael Caine impersonation. - "Return to Spider-Skull Island", an episode of The Venture Bros.The Venture Bros.The Venture Bros. is an American animated television series that premiered on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on February 16, 2003. The series mixes action and comedy together while it chronicles the adventures of the Venture family: well-meaning but incompetent teenagers Hank and Dean Venture; their...
, sees Dr. Orpheus looking after the titular brothers. In his usual bombastic manner, after putting them to bed, he proclaims "Goodnight, you princes of Venture, you kings of sleepovers." - "Gang Gets a New Member", an episode of It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaIt's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...
, the gang opens up a time capsule filled with "valuables" including "The Cider House Rules" on laser disc. - Music from Rachel Portman's original score has been used for the Pure MichiganPure MichiganPure Michigan is the nationally known brand of the State of Michigan, administered by the state's marketing arm, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation...
tourism campaign in television and radio advertisements.