‘Goodnight, you princes of Maine, you kings of New England...’
The Cider House Rules is not The Shawshank Redemption. Despite the fact that the colour palette is identical, the score is cut from the same cloth and the themes are familiar also. That being said, very few films are out there to compare to Shawshank. The Cider House Rules was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, however, and it actually won Best Screenplay for writer John Irving as well as Best Supporting Actor for Michael Caine. And yet…
Raised in an orphanage, Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire) studies at the feet of the kindly orphanage doctor Wilbur Larch (Caine). After glimpsing the exciting life of a fighter pilot vicariously through the spectacularly named Wally Worthington (Paul Rudd), Homer decides to spread his wings and move away from the orphanage. Upon arriving at an apple orchard, he falls deeply in love with Wally’s girl Candy (Charlize Theron) while Dr Larch schemes to bring Homer back to the orphanage to take over as head doctor.
Everything is in place here for a classic. Great cast. A director in the shape of Lasse Hallström with a number of hits under his belt (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? Chocolat. My Life as a Dog etc). The Cider House Rules takes big emotional leaps and mostly lands them. Maguire is outstanding. Caine also (despite his dodgy American accent). For reasons unknown, however, I personally struggled to connect to this film on an emotional level. Maybe it reminded me too much of Shawshank. Maybe the plot is too convoluted. Or maybe I was just hungry. It’s impossible to say.
One day I might revisit this film and try to see what others see in it. For now, I must admit defeat. I just didn’t get it. That final line is pretty awesome though—credit where credit is due.