The Cider House Rules

"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anyone else, these pages must show."--Charles Dickens' David Copperfield, as read by Homer Wells.

The Cider House Rules, based on the John Irving novel of the same name, is the story of Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire) trying to be his own hero. Raised in an orphanage in the era leading up to World War II, Homer fashioned his own version of a family. Besides having the other orphans as siblings, Homer develops a strong father-son bond with Dr. Wilbur Larch, played by Oscar-winner Michael Caine.

Larch is more than just the head of the orphanage. He also performs illegal abortions. As Homer gets older, and it becomes more obvious that he will never be adopted, Larch begins to train him not only in obstetric techniques but also abortion methods. Homer, however, has other plans. He's not against abortions; he just doesn't want to perform them himself. Larch can't understand his reluctance, using a woman who died because of an underground abortion by an amateur as an example. "That's what doing nothing gets you," Larch cries. "It means that someone else is going to do the job--some moron who doesn't know how!"

This stake begins to drive the two apart. Tensions rise until Homer finds an escape in the arrival of young Wally and Candy (Paul Rudd and Charlize Theron), who came to the orphanage to terminate Candy's pregnancy. Homer, around their age, returns to Wally's farm with him and joins the apple-picking migrants in their seasonal labor. From there, Homer begins an even greater journey to make his own way in the world, a society with which he is almost completely unfamiliar because of his sheltered existence with Larch and the orphans.

Translating the 600-odd-page novel to screen wasn't an easy task. Previous attempts at movie adaptations of Irving's novels have disappointed. Hotel New Hampshire, even with the talents of Jodie Foster and Beau Bridges, was pretty bad, and The World According to Garp, starring Robin Williams, wasn't much better. The worst, however, was Simon Birch, the big-screen "adaptation" of A Prayer for Owen Meany. It was so terrible, in fact, that Irving forced Disney to remove the original characters' names from the movie, leaving only a "loosely inspired by" credit. These films were missing one key piece: Irving himself. The Cider House Rules is the first screenplay he wrote himself, and it shows. He manages to capture the spirit of the novel without making caricatures of the main players. The people in the movie are drawn with attention to reality and complexity--plausibility never lapses.

Part of this believability comes from the strength of the acting. Tobey Maguire plays Homer perfectly. He bings an ideal mix of innocence and naivete to the role, but he also imparts a mature intelligence gained during his days in the orphanage. Homer might be innocent, but he certainly can't be labeled stupid. When dealing with expectant mothers, he learns to read between the lines and sense what's really going on behind the expressions on people's faces.

He also learns quite a bit more than medicine from Michael Caine's Dr. Larch. Caine perfectly embodies the Dr. Larch of the novel. Although he has a gruff exterior, Larch loves all of his orphans, especially young Homer. It breaks his heart when Homer leaves, but he never gives up--just like, you might say, a real father. His signature line, spoken to the orphans before bed, "Goodnight you princes of Maine, you kings of New England," belies an overly optimistic hope for the future all of his young ones, a love and faith that he passed on to Homer.

The antics of the orphans, most of whom are newcomers to the business, provides perfect comic relief to the sterile walls of the institution. Especially endearing are Curly, whose desperate attempts to be adopted results in his telling everyone who visited that he was "the best, really," and Fuzzy, whose illness forces him to live in a breathing dome.

The movie not only plays wonderfully, it looked gorgeous. From the stark isolation of the mountainous orphanage and the gray and white sterility of its interior to the rolling shores of the coast and the vast stretches of the apple farms, the movie is set against a stunning landscape. Director Lasse Hallstrom (What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, Something to Talk About, Abba: The Movie) strikes a balance between the dourness of the orphanage with the optimism of the coast, while not letting the movie get too caught up in either locale.

Besides telling a great story, the movie brings up several controversial arguments about abortion. Can it ever be appropriate? Even if it is inappropriate, since it will inevitably be done, shouldn't it be legalized so that at the very least professionals will ensure that it's safe? The movie gives answers to such questions, but only if you're willing to open yourself up to them. It's the mark of a layered work, one that preserves the spirit of Irving's own novel--and one which thankfully doesn't skimp on its complexity in order to fit into a precise category.