The Door in the Floor
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Movie Reviews of The Door in the Floor
Movie Review: Interesting, Sexy, Pretty....
Summary: 5 Stars
The Door in the Floor
Jeff Bridges was very believable as the rough, relaxed writer and artist, father and eccentric. (and we get to see his naked aging ass, woopee!) Kim Basinger was, as always, beautiful but annoying.
The kid, Eddie, was great! Jon Foster (unknown to me) played the roll to perfection. shy, sweet, humble, eager to please... then, grew in confidence to be kind, helpful, and stood up for himself at the end. loved him.
The scene where Eddie and the girl went to the photo shop was priceless! the note he wrote to the woman. and did you notice - when she came back out from the back of the store, to bring him the photo - she had let her hair down? cracked me up big time! she wanted him! her voice got all sexy, and batted her eyes. was hilarious.
The daughter, Ruth, little blond girl, was played by Dakota Fanning's little sister, Elle Fanning, which I didn't realize till the credits at the end. she was adorable. When a film needs a cute little blond girl, and Dakota is getting too old, this little sister will, no doubt, be called.
Symbolism and innuendos concerning the sons, from the start, added a touch of mystery. The door in the floor, and the other children's stories written by the dad, Ted, were symbolic of his grief over his sons. Their death eluded to throughout the film, then explained near the end. how the tragedy affected the family, even the daughter that wasn't even born yet, at the time. well done.
The house was to die for lovely. the grounds and the beach, all very pleasant. oh, I liked the gardener of the lady... forgot her name.
My dear Norman laughed himself silly at the scene in the car, when the dad told the kid that he knew about things. you must see it! not going to give away too much here.
Overall, an entertaining and thought provoking film. Not too deep, mosly fun. well done acting and lovely scenery. funny in parts, sad in others.
Before closing, I must say, this film illustrates perfectly - my theory on the difference between a "crazy" person and a "eccentric." the difference is money.
thanks, sally
Movie Review: Where monsters dwell
Summary: 5 Stars
The Door In the Floor reminds us that children's stories are really pretty frightening. (Have you read the brothers Grimm recently?) Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges) writes such stories, among them one called The Door In the Floor, in which very bad things live beneath the titular door. Ted and his estranged wife, Marion (Kim Basinger), also live in a very bad place: a world bereft of their two sons, Thomas and Timothy, now dead for some years. How they cope, or fail to cope, with their loss is the subject of the film.
As Ted, Bridges gives as masterful a performance as I've seen in some years. He manages to make a manipulative philanderer into a sympathetic character. Without his magic, the tragedy of Ted's situation would be impossible to believe. If this isn't an award-worthy performance, I haven't seen one: its breadth is amazing, and it is apparantly effortless. Basinger invests Marion with a benumbed grief that is painful to witness. This performance makes her Oscar winning turn in LA Confidential seem almost facile by comparison. As Eddie O'Hare, the young pawn whom Ted brings into the game against his wife, Jon Foster is the weakest link in the trio. He has the requisite innocence, but not the much-needed sensitivity. He is simply too wooden. Elle Fanning is wonderful as the child the Coles had, hoping to replace their dead boys; Mimi Rogers is dead-on as one of Ted's conquests--one who turns on him in a welcome bit of comic relief.
If you are sensitive to such things, the movie deserves its R rating. There is male nudity, from the rear, and full frontal female nudity. The language is about what one would expect from an R rated movie.
The Door In the Floor is truly memorable for for two big reasons. 1)Jeff Bridges is spectacularly fine, without appearing to be spectacular at all. 2)When you reach the very last scene, you will realize the full import of Ted Cole's world-view, and you'll see the treatment of his character in the movie in a completely new light. This kind of ironic legerdemain, transforming the meaning of the entire film, lifts the whole thing onto a higher level.
Movie Review: Well, you're a fairly good driver
Summary: 5 Stars
What we have here is a very good bedroom drama with tragic overtones in the first half and surprising, comic overtones in the second. In the same way the overtones change, so does our views and sympathies or prejudices toward the characters.
The story is about the interactions between an "entertainer of children", Ted Cole(Jeff Bridges), his emotionally catatonic wife Marion(Kim Basinger), their 5 or 6 year old daughter, Ruth(Elle Fanning) and an young aspiring student writer Eddie O'Hare(Jon Foster) that Ted has invited to intern. By the end of the movie we see each of these people differently then we do initially. This takes place at Ted and Marion's beachfront house that they split time occupying as they take turns taking care of Ruth. They are going through a trial separation. Eddie, who has come for the summer to assist with whatever chores or personal needs the couple might place upon him in exchange for Ted's guidance and instruction in becoming a writer, instead gets a big lesson in life. He must interact with these three family members on separate and very different levels. In a sense he becomes a conduit for this increasingly dysfunctional trio. It's last form of communication.
The acting by all is terrific. The character development is subtle and at the same time very effective. The interaction is engrossing. The treatment is sensitive and mature. It shows how people are different and how with all their flaws they react differently to the same situations and how those differences make the world go around. Nothing in this movie is black and white but more like the gray of the eastern coastline where it takes place. This is first class adult entertainment
Movie Review: Crazy Rich Talented Long Island People
Summary: 5 Stars
I knew absolutely nothing about this film before seeing it. I had never heard of the John Irving novel on which it was based. So, I started out with a clean slate and with no expectations whatsover.
The first fifteen minutes of this movie did not enthrall me in any particular way. I wasn't sure if the characters would be interesting to live with or not. But I wanted to be patient. I just waited and watched.
Very gradually, I began to wake up to the subtle and twisted dynamics that were unfolding between the three main characters. I slowly become aware of the unfathomable depths of pain that the long-married and long-suffering couple (Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger) were experiencing. I learned that the newcomer, a handsome 16 year-old boy (Jon Foster), was actually a sexual gift from one spouse to the other. I was very surprised. I was very intrigued.
There are many sexual encounters presented in this story. Some people might see this as a "bawdy" escapade, but it isn't that type of movie at all. This is a film that is concerned with the infliction of pain upon the human soul and the crazy, weird attempts that human beings make to cope with the pain and to possibly heal from it. All in all, this is a hopeful story. It is also a helpful story. We can learn something from it. We might be able to help ourselves heal someday.
The acting in this film is at Academy Award levels. The Long Island summer scenery is poignant and elegant. There are many exquisitely delicate moments in this film that will linger lovingly in your mind.
Movie Review: Obliquely yours
Summary: 5 Stars
Jeff Bridges rarely fails to surprise or make me wonder if he's not half-cocked or just out there. This movie only adds to that weird mystique.
In a plot of mostly contained personalities, his character, Ted Cole, is the first to go off kilter and subsequently take everyone along with him. I'm a big proponent of knowing as little about a film outside of the rudimentary plot as is possible and being surprised. Surprised I was.
Although some of the scenarios were easily predicatble, many more were original and quirky and stimulating. Also very present is a high sexual tension. If you're looking for smut this is the wrong picture for you. Somes scenes are erotic enough but nothing overtly graphic. And Mr. Bridges walking about in the nude isn't quite my bag (I'm a guy, come on!) but for the most part it is in line with the tight script. The few times it(the nudity and eroticism) was a bit awkward are when the little girl, his daughter, is exposed to it. But I suppose that it was carefully edited and only shocking for it's realism.
The cast of characters and actors also were very engaging. From the young man who plays Cole's assistant, to the stoic(stony might be a better word) Kim Basinger (Mrs. Cole) down to Mimi Rogers' supporting act as an unstable debutante. Each character evolves into something almost comical despite the backdrop of tragedy which belies it. This ranks with American Splendor as one of the surprise releases of the year.