The Door in the Floor
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—Review
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections
John Irving is one of my two favorite authors of all time, and the only one still writing. I look forward to each new novel from him. However, when it comes to adaptations of those novels into films, I am always a bit worried. His books are so involved that the briefer format that film provides makes it hard to fit everything in. Cider House Rules (which Irving adapted himself) is the best adaptation from his work. Simon Birch (adapted from A Prayer for Owen Meany) was so disappointing that Irving asked them to change the name of the film from his book's title; it's not a bad film, but it is very inferior to the novel.
The Door in the Floor is the latest adaptation of an Irving novel, based on A Widow for One Year. Actually, it's only based on the first third of the novel. Although this means viewers don't get to see where this story ends up going, the decision to limit the film was a good one. It allows the film to remain faithful to the story Irving wrote and may even encourage some people to read on for the continuation. Writer-director Tod Williams, working with Irving in the process, gives Irving fans another chance to enjoy seeing the story come to life.
It should be pointed out, that even though only a section of the book is used in the film, it is a complete story in itself. The novel begins with this section, (set in 1958 in the book, but made current in the film), then jumps ahead to 1990, then a third section in the mid-90s. Although the film doesn't point to the rest of the story, there is just a little bit of wondering what happens to these people. To satisfy that longing, there is always the book.
The Door in the Floor focuses on a family that has been traumatized by the death of two sons. The parents have moved to a new area and had another child, but they are still dealing with the grief and the loss of faith and hope that the deaths brought. Ted Cole, a writer and illustrator of depressingly eerie children's books, hides his grief behind alcoholism and manipulative, misogynistic affairs. Marion Cole has emotionally shut down - unable to love or find any joy in life. Their four year old daughter Ruth (the focus of the latter sections of A Widow for a Year) defines her life by the stories of her dead brothers who she only knows from the many photographs that fill every wall in the house.
Into this grieving family come Eddie O’Hare, a young preppie whom Ted has hired as his assistant for the summer. Eddie becomes the catalyst for the passions that need to be released, even if they are not released in the healthiest ways. For Ted, Eddie represents another way of manipulating his wife, because in many ways Eddie is very like one of the dead sons. He says Eddie was to be his gift to her. And he is.
For Marion, Eddie becomes someone to attend to in a motherly fashion, but that maternal feeling soon shifts to a sexual caring. After catching Eddie fantasizing about her, Marion slowly become Eddie's introduction to the carnal side of life.
For Ruth, Eddie is a disruption, rather it is when she walks in on her mother and Eddie making love or when Eddie moves one of the precious pictures of Ruth's dead brothers. And yet, in the end, it is only Eddie who really shows any concern for Ruth in the midst of all this uproar and dysfunction.
The performances all capture the spirit of Irving's writing - a full mixture of farce and tragedy. Jeff Bridges especially does a wonderful job, portraying Ted as a man who is both loathsome and lovable.
“The Door in the Floor� refers to one of Ted's children's books, that draws on the stories of Eden and of Pandora's Box. There are all kinds of evil things closed up by the door in the floor, but will we open the door anyway?
In the film, the adult characters are all tempted to open that door in the floor and see what is there. It is really opening a door into themselves and finding strengths and weaknesses, blessings and woes, sorrows and joys. It is a dangerous thing to open that door, but how can we resist?
Many of Irving's novels have a central theme dealing with grace that enables life. In A Widow for One Year that really come through more in the longer story as we see Ruth in her 40s finally ready to love. But A Door in the Floor also ends with a note of grace. Even though there is great sadness in how things work out for the family, we also see the beginnings of the life that goes on in the midst of such tragedy -- life that had not been found in the aftermath of the death of the two sons. The new beginnings that have come into everyone's life at the end of the film hold promise of brighter days for all.
—Review
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections
John Irving is one of my two favorite authors of all time, and the only one still writing. I look forward to each new novel from him. However, when it comes to adaptations of those novels into films, I am always a bit worried. His books are so involved that the briefer format that film provides makes it hard to fit everything in. Cider House Rules (which Irving adapted himself) is the best adaptation from his work. Simon Birch (adapted from A Prayer for Owen Meany) was so disappointing that Irving asked them to change the name of the film from his book's title; it's not a bad film, but it is very inferior to the novel.
The Door in the Floor is the latest adaptation of an Irving novel, based on A Widow for One Year. Actually, it's only based on the first third of the novel. Although this means viewers don't get to see where this story ends up going, the decision to limit the film was a good one. It allows the film to remain faithful to the story Irving wrote and may even encourage some people to read on for the continuation. Writer-director Tod Williams, working with Irving in the process, gives Irving fans another chance to enjoy seeing the story come to life.It should be pointed out, that even though only a section of the book is used in the film, it is a complete story in itself. The novel begins with this section, (set in 1958 in the book, but made current in the film), then jumps ahead to 1990, then a third section in the mid-90s. Although the film doesn't point to the rest of the story, there is just a little bit of wondering what happens to these people. To satisfy that longing, there is always the book.
The Door in the Floor focuses on a family that has been traumatized by the death of two sons. The parents have moved to a new area and had another child, but they are still dealing with the grief and the loss of faith and hope that the deaths brought. Ted Cole, a writer and illustrator of depressingly eerie children's books, hides his grief behind alcoholism and manipulative, misogynistic affairs. Marion Cole has emotionally shut down - unable to love or find any joy in life. Their four year old daughter Ruth (the focus of the latter sections of A Widow for a Year) defines her life by the stories of her dead brothers who she only knows from the many photographs that fill every wall in the house.
Into this grieving family come Eddie O’Hare, a young preppie whom Ted has hired as his assistant for the summer. Eddie becomes the catalyst for the passions that need to be released, even if they are not released in the healthiest ways. For Ted, Eddie represents another way of manipulating his wife, because in many ways Eddie is very like one of the dead sons. He says Eddie was to be his gift to her. And he is.For Marion, Eddie becomes someone to attend to in a motherly fashion, but that maternal feeling soon shifts to a sexual caring. After catching Eddie fantasizing about her, Marion slowly become Eddie's introduction to the carnal side of life.
For Ruth, Eddie is a disruption, rather it is when she walks in on her mother and Eddie making love or when Eddie moves one of the precious pictures of Ruth's dead brothers. And yet, in the end, it is only Eddie who really shows any concern for Ruth in the midst of all this uproar and dysfunction.
The performances all capture the spirit of Irving's writing - a full mixture of farce and tragedy. Jeff Bridges especially does a wonderful job, portraying Ted as a man who is both loathsome and lovable.
“The Door in the Floor� refers to one of Ted's children's books, that draws on the stories of Eden and of Pandora's Box. There are all kinds of evil things closed up by the door in the floor, but will we open the door anyway?In the film, the adult characters are all tempted to open that door in the floor and see what is there. It is really opening a door into themselves and finding strengths and weaknesses, blessings and woes, sorrows and joys. It is a dangerous thing to open that door, but how can we resist?
Many of Irving's novels have a central theme dealing with grace that enables life. In A Widow for One Year that really come through more in the longer story as we see Ruth in her 40s finally ready to love. But A Door in the Floor also ends with a note of grace. Even though there is great sadness in how things work out for the family, we also see the beginnings of the life that goes on in the midst of such tragedy -- life that had not been found in the aftermath of the death of the two sons. The new beginnings that have come into everyone's life at the end of the film hold promise of brighter days for all.
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