Being a Michael Caine fan carries with it many risks. The
main one is that he makes any movie offered to him. He once remarked that,
"I am an actor, and that's what I do. I don't write the stuff." He’s
right, so I am always willing to take a chance on one of his films, hoping that
it will be another gem; such as "The Man Who Would Be King", "Secondhand
Lions", or this beautifully scripted film from the book of the same name
by John Irving; screenplay by Peter
Parnell.
Although this film deals with the thorny subject of
abortion, I don’t think it ever really preaches to the issue one way or
another. The orphanage where Homer Wells; played by Tobey Maguire works takes
in unwed mothers; offering them a choice of an abortion or giving the child up
for adoption. That means that there are always children waiting to be taken
away by a loving family.
Homer has been at the home since he was born there, and
Dr. Wilbur Larch; played by Michael Caine; has raised him almost like a son. He
has even taught him obstetrics and also how to perform an abortion. Homer doesn’t
have a real “problem” with the choices other people make; he just doesn’t like
to perform that procedure. As a child who was given up at birth he often
wonders what would have happened had his mother chose to abort him. It is the
source of constant debate between Dr. Larch and Homer.
The film successfully portrays all of the characters who
inhabit the book by John Irving. There is Nurse Edna; played with great
sympathy by Jane Alexander. She is not only a caring nurse and surrogate mother
to the children in her charge, but she is also in love with Dr. Larch, although
she knows that nothing will ever really become of her feelings. Dr. Larch is in
love with his work, as well as the ether he inhales to help him cope with the
sadness he sees all around him.
When a young couple; Candy Kendall, played by Charlize
Theron; and Lt. Wally Worthington, played by Paull Rudd; arrive to have an
abortion, something awakens in Homer which causes him to leave with the couple
on their departure. When events with the two lovers change the circumstances of
their relationship Homer finds that he is confronted by love for the first
time.
Meantime back at Candy’s family apple orchard, its apple
picking time. With nowhere else to go, Homer decides to stay on at the orchard
and work with the migrant workers who pick the apples and make the cider each year.
He lives in the bunkhouse; also known as the Cider House. There is a wooden
sign in it that has a list of the Rules. Nobody but Homer can read, so it’s
kind of silly to have them posted in the first place. The workers feel that the
rules were made with no input from them, so why should they be bound by them?
The Rules were made by people who never have to face their particular set of
problems; making the rulers, and their rules, irrelevant.
Arthur Rose; played by Delroy Lindo; has been picking
apples for the Kendall’s for years. He arrives with his “crew”; including his daughter
Rose Rose; played by Erykah Badu. Homer is the only white person in the bunk
house, and although they are uneducated people, Homer is drawn to them. And, in
turn, he is as much a mystery to them as they are to him.
But Homer has a way with people; he is very much Dr.
Larch’s son in many ways; and he develops an easy camaraderie with the whole
crew. He is particularly drawn to Rose Rose, seeing her as a figure of tragedy
and lost opportunity. And when something happens to her that causes him to use
the very skills he detests righting a greater wrong, he is both shocked and
enlightened by his experience.
Back at the orphanage Dr. Larch finds that the board is
going to replace him. He has to do something to salvage his position. This
orphanage is the only family he has ever known. While Nurse Edna reads to the
girls each night at bedtime, Dr. Larch does the same with the boys. He reads
them exciting classic adventures and each night as he leaves the dormitory he
says the same thing; "Goodnight you princes of Maine, you kings of New
England!" He says this as both a blessing and a way of making them feel
valued. He is deeply loved by all.
Faced with the prospect of losing his orphanage Dr. Larch
fakes credentials for Homer to convince the board to appoint Homer as the next
director. This is not the first time Dr. Larch has falsified a document on
Homer’s behalf. Unbeknownst to Homer, the heart condition he has been diagnosed
with is not real, but it did keep him out of the war.
In the end Homer sees things less in terms of black and
white. He still doesn’t like performing abortions, but he has seen some things
which change his opinion of Dr. Larch. In the end he is the one tucking the
boys in at night. And as he continues to send them off to sleep with the same
hopeful thought; “Goodnight you princes of Maine, you kings of New
England!" he finally realizes what his coworkers at the orchard meant
about the Rules.
Note: They spelled Michael Caine's name wrong on the cover.
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