The Door in the Floor
Encyclopedia
The Door in the Floor is a 2004 American drama film written and directed by Tod Williams
. The screenplay is based on the first third of the 1998 novel A Widow for One Year
by John Irving
.
, where children's book author and artist Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges
) lives with his wife Marion (Kim Basinger
) and their young daughter Ruth (Elle Fanning
), who usually is supervised by her nanny Alice. Their home is filled with photographs of the couple's teenaged sons, who were killed in an automobile accident; the tragedy left Marion deeply depressed and her marriage in shambles. The one shared experience that holds the family together is a ritualistic daily viewing of a home gallery of family photographs of the deceased sons.
Ted and Marion temporarily separate, each alternately living in the house and in a rented apartment in town. Ted hires Eddie O'Hare (Jon Foster
) to work as his summer assistant and driver, since his own license was suspended for drunk driving. An aspiring writer, Eddie admires Ted, but he soon discovers the older man is a self-absorbed womanizer with an erratic work schedule that leaves the young assistant to fill his time as best he can. Eddie and Marion soon engage in a sexual relationship, which seems not to bother Ted, who is enjoying trysts of his own with local resident Evelyn Vaughn (Mimi Rogers
) during sketching sessions at which she serves as his model. When Ruth walks into the room while Eddie and her mother are making love, Ted becomes upset with his wife and advises Eddie he may have to testify about the incident if Ted decides to fight for full custody
of the child.
Marion eventually leaves Ted and their daughter, taking with her all the photographs and negatives of her dead sons, save one that is being reframed after it was broken, injuring Ruth. Eddie takes the initiative to retrieve the one remaining reframed picture so that Ruth can have at least one partial image of her brothers.
Ted confides in Eddie the story of the car accident that caused his sons' deaths. Ted suggests his and Marion's drunkenness and Ted's failure to remove snow from the rear tail and turn lights likely contributed their sons' deaths. Eddie learns more about what may have contributed to Marion's intense despair, mental states, and choice to abandon her remaining child. At the end of the film, Ted does not fully understand why Marion left, and he questions, "What kind of mother leaves her daughter?"
of The New York Times
called the film "surely the best movie yet made from Mr. Irving's fiction" and added, "It may even belong in the rarefied company of movies that are better than the books on which they are based . . . If you examine the story closely, you can find soft spots of implausibility and cliché. But the shakiness of some of the film's central ideas . . . matters far less than it might . . . The Door in the Floor nimbly shifts between melodrama
and comedy, with a delightful and perfectly executed excursion into high farce
near the end, and it seems perpetually to be discovering new possibilities for its characters . . . Mr. Foster and Ms. Basinger are both very good, but the film is dominated by Mr. Bridges' performance . . . [He] not only dominates the movie, he animates it. He is heroically life-size."
Peter Travers
of Rolling Stone
rated the film 3½ out of four stars, calling it "extraordinary in every way, from the pitch-perfect performances to the delicate handling of explosive subject matter." He added, "It's bumpy going at times. But Williams is a talent to watch and a wonder with the actors. Basinger's haunted beauty burns in the memory – this is her finest work. And Bridges, one of the best actors on the planet, blends the contradictions of Ted . . . into an indelible portrait. You can't shut the door on this spellbinder. It gets into your head."
James Christopher of The Times
observed, "What's strange about the film is that it's pitched like a play. There are no obvious ructions yet it bristles with small riddles and puzzling inconsistencies . . . The chemistry is absurd and tragic. Bridges is the obvious pull; Basinger is a one-note trauma
. The story is curiously spellbinding, and fabulously ambivalent about their sins."
for Sideways
. Tod Williams was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay
but lost to Alexander Payne
and Jim Taylor
for Sideways, and was nominated for the Golden Shell
at the San Sebastian Film Festival but lost to Bahman Ghobadi
for Turtles Can Fly
. The film received the National Board of Review Award for Excellence In Filmmaking
.
Tod Williams (filmmaker)
Tod Culpan "Kip" Williams is an American director, producer and screenwriter.-Life and career:Williams was born and raised in New York City, the son of architect Tod Williams and a mother who was a dancer...
. The screenplay is based on the first third of the 1998 novel A Widow for One Year
A Widow for One Year
A Widow for One Year is a 1998 bestselling work of fiction by John Irving, the ninth of his novels to be published.The first section of the novel was made into the movie The Door in the Floor in 2004.-First section:...
by 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...
.
Plot
The film is set in an exclusive beach community on Long IslandLong Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, where children's book author and artist Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
) lives with his wife Marion (Kim Basinger
Kim Basinger
Kimila Ann "Kim" Basinger is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again , and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman . Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture...
) and their young daughter Ruth (Elle Fanning
Elle Fanning
Mary Elle Fanning , credited as Elle Fanning, is an American actress. She is the younger sister of actress Dakota Fanning and mainly known for her starring roles in Phoebe in Wonderland, Somewhere, Super 8 and We Bought a Zoo which will receive a theatrical release on December 23,...
), who usually is supervised by her nanny Alice. Their home is filled with photographs of the couple's teenaged sons, who were killed in an automobile accident; the tragedy left Marion deeply depressed and her marriage in shambles. The one shared experience that holds the family together is a ritualistic daily viewing of a home gallery of family photographs of the deceased sons.
Ted and Marion temporarily separate, each alternately living in the house and in a rented apartment in town. Ted hires Eddie O'Hare (Jon Foster
Jon Foster
Jon Foster is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the 2004 film The Door in the Floor, the 2006 horror movie, Stay Alive, and co-starring opposite Jenna Elfman in the CBS comedy Accidentally on Purpose.-Personal life:Foster was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of...
) to work as his summer assistant and driver, since his own license was suspended for drunk driving. An aspiring writer, Eddie admires Ted, but he soon discovers the older man is a self-absorbed womanizer with an erratic work schedule that leaves the young assistant to fill his time as best he can. Eddie and Marion soon engage in a sexual relationship, which seems not to bother Ted, who is enjoying trysts of his own with local resident Evelyn Vaughn (Mimi Rogers
Mimi Rogers
Mimi Rogers is an American movie actress and competitive poker player.-Early life:Rogers was born Miriam Spickler in Coral Gables, Florida, the daughter of Philip C...
) during sketching sessions at which she serves as his model. When Ruth walks into the room while Eddie and her mother are making love, Ted becomes upset with his wife and advises Eddie he may have to testify about the incident if Ted decides to fight for full custody
Child custody
Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...
of the child.
Marion eventually leaves Ted and their daughter, taking with her all the photographs and negatives of her dead sons, save one that is being reframed after it was broken, injuring Ruth. Eddie takes the initiative to retrieve the one remaining reframed picture so that Ruth can have at least one partial image of her brothers.
Ted confides in Eddie the story of the car accident that caused his sons' deaths. Ted suggests his and Marion's drunkenness and Ted's failure to remove snow from the rear tail and turn lights likely contributed their sons' deaths. Eddie learns more about what may have contributed to Marion's intense despair, mental states, and choice to abandon her remaining child. At the end of the film, Ted does not fully understand why Marion left, and he questions, "What kind of mother leaves her daughter?"
Cast
- Jeff BridgesJeff BridgesJeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
as Ted Cole - Kim BasingerKim BasingerKimila Ann "Kim" Basinger is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again , and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman . Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture...
as Marion Cole - Jon FosterJon FosterJon Foster is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the 2004 film The Door in the Floor, the 2006 horror movie, Stay Alive, and co-starring opposite Jenna Elfman in the CBS comedy Accidentally on Purpose.-Personal life:Foster was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of...
as Eddie - Bijou PhillipsBijou PhillipsBijou Lilly Phillips is an American actress, model, and singer. Phillips began her career as a model but soon transitioned herself into acting and singing. When she was 13, she started as a model and became one of the youngest people to grace the cover of Interview Magazine and Italian Vogue....
as Alice - Elle FanningElle FanningMary Elle Fanning , credited as Elle Fanning, is an American actress. She is the younger sister of actress Dakota Fanning and mainly known for her starring roles in Phoebe in Wonderland, Somewhere, Super 8 and We Bought a Zoo which will receive a theatrical release on December 23,...
as Ruth Cole - Mimi RogersMimi RogersMimi Rogers is an American movie actress and competitive poker player.-Early life:Rogers was born Miriam Spickler in Coral Gables, Florida, the daughter of Philip C...
as Evelyn Vaughn - Donna MurphyDonna MurphyDonna Murphy is an American stage, film, television actress and singer.Murphy has won two Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for her roles in Passion as Fosca and in The King and I as Anna Leonowens...
as Frame Shop Owner - John RothmanJohn RothmanJohn Mahr Rothman is an American film, television, and stage actor.Rothman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Elizabeth D. and Donald N. Rothman, a lawyer. He is the brother of film executive Tom Rothman. Rothman is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the Yale School of Drama...
as Minty O'Hare - Harvey Loomis as Dr. Loimis
Critical reception
A. O. ScottA. O. Scott
Anthony Oliver Scott, known as A. O. Scott , is an American journalist and critic. He is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with Manohla Dargis.-Background and education:...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called the film "surely the best movie yet made from Mr. Irving's fiction" and added, "It may even belong in the rarefied company of movies that are better than the books on which they are based . . . If you examine the story closely, you can find soft spots of implausibility and cliché. But the shakiness of some of the film's central ideas . . . matters far less than it might . . . The Door in the Floor nimbly shifts between melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
and comedy, with a delightful and perfectly executed excursion into high farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
near the end, and it seems perpetually to be discovering new possibilities for its characters . . . Mr. Foster and Ms. Basinger are both very good, but the film is dominated by Mr. Bridges' performance . . . [He] not only dominates the movie, he animates it. He is heroically life-size."
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
rated the film 3½ out of four stars, calling it "extraordinary in every way, from the pitch-perfect performances to the delicate handling of explosive subject matter." He added, "It's bumpy going at times. But Williams is a talent to watch and a wonder with the actors. Basinger's haunted beauty burns in the memory – this is her finest work. And Bridges, one of the best actors on the planet, blends the contradictions of Ted . . . into an indelible portrait. You can't shut the door on this spellbinder. It gets into your head."
James Christopher of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
observed, "What's strange about the film is that it's pitched like a play. There are no obvious ructions yet it bristles with small riddles and puzzling inconsistencies . . . The chemistry is absurd and tragic. Bridges is the obvious pull; Basinger is a one-note trauma
Psychological trauma
Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event...
. The story is curiously spellbinding, and fabulously ambivalent about their sins."
Awards and nominations
Jeff Bridges was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male but lost to Paul GiamattiPaul Giamatti
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
for Sideways
Sideways
Sideways is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by Jim Taylor and Alexander Payne and directed by Payne. Adapted from Rex Pickett's 2004 novel of the same name, Sideways follows two forty-something year old men, portrayed by Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, who take a week-long road trip to...
. Tod Williams was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay
Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay
The Film Independent's Spirit Award for Best Screenplay is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards.-1980s:* 1985: The Trip to Bountiful - Horton Foote** After Hours - Joseph Minion** Blood Simple - Joel and Ethan Coen...
but lost to Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne, born Alexander Constantine Papadopoulos is an American film director and screenwriter. His films are noted for their dark humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society.- Early life :...
and Jim Taylor
Jim Taylor (writer)
Jim Taylor is an American producer and screenwriter, best known as the writing partner of Alexander Payne. They are credited as co-writers of six films released between 1996 and 2007:Citizen Ruth ,...
for Sideways, and was nominated for the Golden Shell
Golden Shell
The Golden Shell is the highest prize given to a competing film at the San Sebastián Film Festival. It was introduced in 1957. In 1953 and 1954, the highest prize had been called the Gran Premio. In 1955 and 1956 it was replaced by the Silver Shell...
at the San Sebastian Film Festival but lost to Bahman Ghobadi
Bahman Ghobadi
Bahman Ghobadi is an Iranian film director of Kurdish ethnicity. He was born on February 1, 1969 in Baneh, Kurdistan Province. Ghobadi belongs to the so called "new wave" of Iranian cinema.-Biography:...
for Turtles Can Fly
Turtles Can Fly
Turtles Can Fly Kurdish: Kûsî Jî Dikarin Bifirin) is a 2004 film written and directed by the Kurdish Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi, with notable theme music composed by Hossein Alizadeh. It was the first film to be made in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein.-Plot:The film is set in a Kurdish...
. The film received the National Board of Review Award for Excellence In Filmmaking
National Board of Review Awards 2004
The 76th National Board of Review Awards, honoring the best in film for 2004, were given on 1 December 2004.-Top 10 films:#Finding Neverland#The Aviator#Closer#Million Dollar Baby #Sideways#Kinsey...
.