FilmBuff1994 The Cider House Rules is a great movie with a well developed plot and a very talented cast. It is a very hard hitting movie that deals with some very surreal themes. As we follow Homer Wells leave the orphanage that he spent his whole life in, we get to experience a young, naive man seeing the world for the first time, and being put in to his shoes in such an effective way by the writer and director makes it feel like it is our first time as well. I have to agree with the late great Roger Ebert in saying that this movie has far too many sub plots that is barely gets a chance to touch on several of them. I understand that it is based on a book that had all these stories, which works out fine for a novel, with a movie, however, it would have been far easier to cut it down to under five stories that could fit in to a two hour gap effectively. The cast is phenomenal from beginning to end, Tobey Maguire delivers a rich, layered performance, and his chemistry with Charlize Theron makes for an effective on screen relationship that is without a doubt one of the movies highlights. Michael Caine delivers one of his most versatile performances to date in this role, playing a loud, well spoken Amerocan, he showcases his range and takes home an Academy Award for this role, which he could not deserve more. Slow moving plot that is a pleasure to watch unfold. Well written with top notch performances, The Cider House Rules is certainly worth the watch for anyone looking for a good drama. A young medic clashes with his mentor at the orphanage where he was raised and takes a job on a cider farm. Best Performance: Michael Caine

Hitchcoc This film takes a premise and lets its characters move in and out of it along the way. Each of the characters is fully developed and has baggage and ambitions. Nothing is black and white. That's the strength of John Irving, who gave us Gary, and has not stopped since. In this film, which takes place on an apple orchard, we have people coming and going. Some are there to be protected. Others are there because of the promise of an abortion. However, life keeps going on around them. War come and goes. People are whole, then disabled or fragmented. I'd forgotten that Toby Maguire appeared in this film as the protagonist. He is quite marvelous in it, with a simple innocence and a past that is humbling. Also, one can bank on Michael Caine to deliver the goods. I'm sure some will see this film as painful, but so is life. Life brings smiles and life brings grimaces. Life brings joys and life brings pain. A fine film made from a fine book.

Rick LaBonte (fixit-04669) Tobey Maguire pulls you in with is eyes and his hint of a smile, and you can't believe that Charlize Theron will throw him over. I love movies that get me choked up, and this one has a lot of great heart- tugging scenes. This is a movie I save for special times when I want to feel sad, but when Homer returns to the orphanage the tears are joyful. There is a purity about this movie and it comes from so many places not the least of which is the stunning Maine scenery, as well as the sparseness and closeness of the settings. The train station at the opening is bare. The orphanage is surrounded by forest. The apple farm is shot at close range, from above, only the buildings are seen. The ocean scene takes place in a closed cove. There are almost no wide shots, vistas, no crowds, no village, It's isolated, insular, a little world where Homer Wells becomes the benevolent father in a little lost world of love.

vitormoritzmoser The message of this movie is one of the most powerful messages I ever watched in cinema. In the cider house, Homer (Tobbey Maguire) discover some rules written in a paper nailed in the wall. The rules were there, all the time, but they were not respected since people there were not able to read. They were illiterate.The message here is so powerful, once it is a direct comparison with the Bible itself and the 10 rules written there for thousands of years. I would like to say I am completely against abortion based on my own convictions, but abortion is not the point here. Not to abort, or not to kill, is a rule, like the ones in the cider house walls. But when you are a doctor disposed to abort safely, intending to save someone which is intended to kill and also risking its own life in committing suicide? All that motivated as a victim of society's prejudice, of course! Are you disrespecting the rule? I do not know the answer and I suppose neither John Irving does.And we do not know only because we are not able to understand the rule itself and all its implications.Fantastic movie.