Every night, the orphan children in "The Cider House Rules" doze off to a narration of Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield." Nothing could be more appropriate.
If you haven't yet had the privilege of discovering John Irving, you should. Every volume of Irving's canon is full of largesse, plenty of pages, rich characters, an overflow of emotions and yes, a good deal of ideology. He has consistently stated that he hopes people remember him as the Dickens of our time. Someday, they will.
"Cider," directed by Lasse Hallstrom, traces a young man's slow discovery of his place in the world and questions the true definition of family. It comments heavily on abortion, restriction of the individual and our own self-worth. Abounding with sentiment and real passion, it is Irving at his most Irving, and, consequently, his most Dickensian.
Irving's weaknesses are admittedly as great as his strengths. Some people don't appreciate the uncompromising aggrandizement with which he presents his themes. They don't get it. I got "Cider," and it got me.
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In 1943, the orphanage atop the snowy mountain is the only thing in St. Cloud's, Maine. Dr. Larch (Michael Caine), the foundling home's physician, has watched hundreds of children come and go, and while he has cared for all of them, he feels a distinct affection for the child he named Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire).
Having learned medicine despite not even having a high school education, Homer performs obstetrics alongside Dr. Larch. Larch, in turn, serves as a second father figure to the youth in the institution.
Life at St. Cloud's is starkly different from anything Oliver Twist ever experienced, and Larch is certainly no Wackford Squeers. The children are well cared for, surrounded by friends and are generally content. Homer too loves those around him, but he feels that something is missing. An orphanage isn't a place; it's a state of being. He wants to explore, to find his purpose. One day, a young couple (Paul Rudd and Charlize Theron) gets off at St. Cloud's station, and Homer gets his chance.
Abortion being illegal at this time, St. Cloud's is one of the few places where a woman can go for reliable surgery. Over the years, Dr. Larch has taken as many children out of the world as he's brought into it. He may not support the practice, but he feels it's inevitable. Having witnessed the tragedy connected with non-medical remedies, he tries to convince Homer that helping these people is the right thing to do. Homer, however, disagrees.
When Candy (Theron) and Wally (Rudd) come to Larch for an abortion, they agree to let Homer live with them. Wally's family gives the young man a job on an apple orchard, and Homer settles in with the other fieldhands in the cider house.
When Wally returns to fight in World War II, Candy and Homer begin to make eyes at each other. They equally want the companionship - Candy because she can't be alone and Homer because he always has been alone. Thanks to Candy, Homer gets to enjoy things he never has before, like big screen movies, lobster, and, of course, sex. Meanwhile, he gives her the kind of attention Wally never did.
The medical board, in response to the aging Dr. Larch's pro-choice views, recommends that the orphanage hire a second physician. He fakes Homer's med-school credentials, and begs him to return. Homer then has to decide where he belongs.
"Cider" sees the beauty in the darker side of life. It is about the deterioration of an old soul, about incest, rape, murder, war and race relations. The film is most effective when it regards the dangers that exist in obeying society's expectations.
The rules that hang in the cider house are irrelevant to the people that live there, and as we hear them being narrated, we see them being broken. All the characters shatter convention, committing infractions of adultery, fraud and termination of pregnancy, just to name a few.
Interestingly, however, the film stays very much within the boundaries (I guessed the last line 20 minutes into the movie). This is textbook Hollywood, but under Hallstrom's tender care, it is somehow resplendent. A beautiful musical score (courtesy of Rachel Portman), Oliver Stapleton's picturesque cinematography and heartfelt performances (particularly by Caine, at the top of his game here) convey a tale of infinite sadness and infinite celebration that everyone should see.
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