The Door in the Floor
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Movie Reviews of The Door in the Floor
Movie Review: A Heartfelt Cinematic Experience...
Summary: 4 Stars
The title alludes to a book created by Ted Coles (Jeff Bridges), an artist and writer, which tells a tale for children in regards to a woman that has a child and secretive door in the floor. The door is not to be opened under any circumstances, but can one ask such a thing from an innocently curious child?
The Coles' live in a prolonged twilight of sorrow, as the wife, Marion (Kim Basinger), does not seem able to cope the loss their two teenage sons. The husband, Ted, seems to be the only one who provides love and care for the daughter, Ruth (Elle Fanning), while Marion struggles internally. Ruth desires her mother's affection, however, through her father she has learned that she is suffering. This is explained through lengthy nighttime conversations between Ruth and her father while they look at old photos of her two deceased brothers.
In the beginning of the film, Ted receives a letter that inquires if he needs an assistant. A student, Eddie O'Hare (Jon Foster), from the prestigious boarding school Exeter where the Coles' two sons once attended, desires to become a writer and wants to do an assistantship to learn the tool of the trade. Amidst this difficult time Ted wants to separate from Marion. Eddie is forced to face difficult issues of the Coles' and awkwardly he fumbles in the emotional disarray to which he has arrived. Ted on the other hand requires a driver, as he has recently lost his drivers license and Eddie is this license.
The melancholic atmosphere that director Tod Williams generates remains hanging throughout the film, which provides insight to how Marion might feel. This is a very crucial part of the film, as she seems to shut herself as tightly as a clam. Despite Marion's difficulty to express how she feels, it becomes painfully evident how she might be feeling through Kim Basinger's excellent performance and the cinematography that captures the cold environment. Short, interrupted, and meaningless dialogues provide further notions to the introverted sorrow that remains in the air, which leaves the audience in an emotional no man's land.
Eddie surrenders to this melancholic atmosphere, as he has a very difficult time finding something to hold on to while spending his summer on this Atlantic seaside island. Other teens seem to get along while Eddie remains an outsider. The socioeconomic status of Eddie seems to build boundaries between him and the other teens on the island, as he could only have attended Exeter through his father who is a teacher at the school. In Eddie's search for someone he discovers the beauty of Marion, whom he secretively pursues.
There is a strong sense of detachment among the characters that furthers the melancholy, yet all that are involved long for closeness and tender affection. However, this affection is different when the audience examines the adults, Ted and Marion, compared to the warmth that Ruth and Eddie desire. The adults seem to have been severely hurt by something in the past while the two younger characters innocently wander in the presence of the adults trying to find a way into their lives. Ted escapes reality through his art and an erotically loaded relationship with a woman who models for him, yet it does not provide what he seeks. Suffering and sorrow cut Marion off from her family, as she dwells on her painful memories deep within herself. This generates a silence between all parties, which Ruth and Eddie attempt to crack due to their innocence to the cruelties of the world.
Door in the Floor illustrates all the visual details in a relationship between a few individuals and what keeps them apart. Iciness and self-loathing breaks any possibility for affectionate connection between individuals, yet within this detached environment affections thrives when innocence breaks the self-contempt. This notion is visually symbolized through the seasonally cold summer where leaves and flowers insist on remaining in hiding. Williams' tale of bereavement and culminating grief brings a heartfelt experience to the audience that will follow the suffering to the end.
Movie Review: Excellent and Enormously Disturbing Adult Film making
Summary: 4 Stars
The Door in the Floor is a disturbing film. It is a film that examines manipulation, tragedy, marriage, and death. What I found more disturbing are scenes of actor children with actor adult nakedness, a storyline of numerous teen masturbation attempts, and the inevitable older woman/teenage boy sexual relations, with a smearing of "art is the nude" in an smarmy, semi-comedic John Irving setting. Based on John Irving's novel, "A Widow for One Year," the story centers on the hedonistic children's book author Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges), his wife, Marion (Kim Bassinger), their four year old daughter, Ruthie (Ellie Fanning), and Eddie (Jon Forester), an Exeter high school student living with the couple as a writer's assistant/chauffeur to Ted. Depicted only in photographs are the dead sons of Ted and Marion, Timothy (age 15) and Thomas (age 17), whose photographs fixate Ruthie, and remain the only evidence of a once happy period in the lives of the parents.
The Cole's marriage has disintegrated into a series of eccentricities acted out by Ted a buffoonish celebrity- artist who romps naked across his Long Island estate, is the village debaucher of bored rich housewives with big breasts (Mimi Rogers), and the calculating seducer of mothers and daughters to pose for him. Marion is a cold basket case. A woman so withdrawn she shares an in-town apartment/family home arrangement with Ted and avoids Ruthie, a penance that brings forth the reality of maternal responsibility, a response she judiciously avoids. The thought of her sons and the accident which the family experienced killed more than just their sons as Marion becomes catatonic at the recollection. In this dysfunctional setting Eddie, a young, sexually inquisitive boy is introduced. Marion seduces him and narrates her side of the marriage to Eddie. She also realize the extent she has failed as mother, lover, and wife. Marion is "difficult" according to Ted, she is too high maintenance for both Eddie and Ted combined and abandons the home and family as well as her daughter, Ruthie, a point Ted can not fathom.
Manipulation of children seem to be the way Ted and Marion communicate: Ted "gives" Eddie to Marion because he resembles her dead son, Marion uses Ruthie's neurotic behavior to alienate Ted and underscore his inability to nurture her as a father, and both Ted and Marion use the memory of Timothy and Thomas to destroy everyone in their wake. This is the privilege lifestyle of the Long Island set and it reinforces the role of flanneur which Eddie maintains throughout the film. He is never an insider nor has the morals nor ability to develop them unlike Ruthie whose behavior is already warped and fragile. In a study of classism, privilege, and the disintegration of the family, The Door in the Floor is subtle storytelling unlike the typical American film.
Performances by Bridges and Bassinger have the right amount of stop and go, outrageousness and contained rage. Bridges informs young Eddie of his story in the narrative third person, a detachment to his role in the deaths of his sons. As young actors Fanning and the actor who plays Eddie are their victims in another death of the soul, which Eddie fights to salvage. And, while it is a beautiful setting at the surface, the undercurrent of warped values demonstrated by the wealthy Long Island community is not to be admired. With the emphasis on sexuality on display from both adult characters through Bridges and Bassinger, the carnal scenes between adult and children is at times off-putting and far from the pastoral "Summer of '42" initiation of youth to adulthood rite of passage. Eddie's initiation is a mental seduction as well as physical molestation by Ted and Marion.
All in all, The Door in the Floor requires numerous viewings to grasp the many threads and nuances which make it one of the better movies for thought provoking consideration.
Movie Review: The Door in the Floor DVD Review
Summary: 4 Stars
The Door in the Floor DVD Review
1 Disc Widescreen Edition (2004)
This movie is adapted from John Irving's best-selling novel A Widow for a Year. If you don't remember this author's name, you might remember the movie made from another one of his books, The Cider House Rules. This movie stars Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, Jon Foster, and Elle Fanning (yes, Dakota's little sister who often plays the younger version of Dakota in films).
Jeff Bridges plays Ted Cole, a cynical but wise children's book writer who is married to Kim Basinger's Marion Cole, but they've grown apart and he makes the decision they should have a trial separation to see if they can work things out. Things have been really hard on the family since their sons, Timothy and Thomas were killed in a car accident and Marion is very depressed and often goes into periods of time where she "turns to stone" and just stares off into space at the very thought of what she has lost. This results in a lack of attention towards her young daughter she had after the accident, Ruth (Elle Fanning).
Ted hires on Jon Foster's Eddie O'Hare, a teen aspiring to be a writer himself just to work for him for the summer doing various odds and ends but mostly as a driver. Eddie is attracted to Marion and unexpectedly, she responds to him for her own reasons. Being through such traumatic ordeals, however, she is not to be judged for her actions. Ted is completely aware of what is going on and just wants her to be happy. The three of them get very tangled up and it gets to a point where you just know you're watching real people. They have many layers and motives. As a result, you can like all of them and they are spared from judgement.
This won't be a film for everyone. Not if you don't like long films or films that are mostly about talking but it has some good comic moments as well as a bit of slapstick in one scene. If you want to be taken in and told a good story, you should see this movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The use of muted color with a one or two deviations in each frame really give a feel for the atomsphere and location of the film. I really like it but it didn't blow me away out of my seat.
DVD Extras:
The making-of documentary really explores how they case the actors. Jon Foster had to lose weight to appear more of a nerd in the beginning of the movie. Kim Basinger had a lot of doubts about taking on such a deep, emotional role but pulled it off beautifully. Jeff Bridges had a lot of influence in the editing process because he had such a great feel for the story.
For those who don't know, this movie is only based off the first third of the book, "A Widow For a Year". The story was told from little Ruthie's point of view but this movie focused on the beginning so if you want to know the complete story, you can read the whole book. There's a feature starring John Irving called "From Novel to Screen" where he goes into detail about differences and similarities between the movie and the book and reveals more about the characters.
There is feature commentary with the director Tod Williams and the production team. They talk a lot about the mood of the film, the colors and lighting to get a feel for that beach area and the addition of small things like a $400 block of cheese to throw in the money feel. Also they used a small element of color in each scene in one object to attract attention and kept the rest in muted tones. They explore individual shots and when there's a real slap and when there isn't, etc. It's very interesting for the person who is already a fan of the material.
Movie Review: Come hither boys and become men.
Summary: 4 Stars
I walked out of the screening of the oddly named The Door in the Floor quite satisfied and emotionally moved by the film. But, I must confess that afterwards, I did have some doubts about it; the film had a certain torridness and heavy handedness that detracted from the overall impact of the story. John Irving's novels are obviously providing fertile ground for movie adaptations; however, The Door in the Floor isn't the best Irving adaptation - that prize still remains with The Cider House Rules.
The Door in the Floor starts out rather slowly, even lurching inconsistently in some spots, but the film manages to come together to produce quite a rewarding cinematic experience. An alternately awkward and darkly lit tale of dysfunction, the story centers on Ted, Marion, and Ruth Cole who live in Rhode Island in a sprawling old farmhouse. Ted is a famous children's book author and illustrator who only draws with squid ink and has a penchant for branching out to participate in somewhat devious nude sketches with any woman he can convince to strip off her clothes. Mimi Rogers plays one of the spurned women who gravitate between innocence, modesty, degradation and shame. Ted's wife, Marion - played with a graceful elegance by the gorgeous Kim Basinger - is detached, and disconnected from the world as a result of a terrible car accident involving the death of their twin sons. Their daughter Ruth is precocious, crying out for love, and is bizarrely obsessed with black and white photographs of her older brothers, which line the walls of the house. When the young, horny Eddie, (Jon Foster) an Exeter student, is hired to be Ted's assistant for the summer, the family is thrown even further out of kilter as Eddie embarks on a clandestine, coming-of-age romance with Marion.
As the months unfold, Eddie becomes mired in adultery, debauchery, and the overall loss of innocence, and he becomes as pawn in the game playing between Ted and Marion. The title of the movie refers to the title of the most famous children's book that Cole has written - a dark fable about succumbing to the mysteries of life. Just like the child in the story, young Eddie cannot escape opening the door in the floor, thus forever changing his life. The film is also about the need and desire to preserve our memories - there is a constant battle going on in the household to see who will obtain ownership of the photographs. But the film is also a disturbingly poignant examination of when untainted youth collides with world-weary experience.
Viewers should stick with The Door in the Floor, because although the initial set-up is slow, and the subject matter at times is dark and morbid, they will be richly rewarded with several uncomfortably hilarious and awkward sequences involving masturbation. Both Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger give understated, and unfussy Oscar worthy performances, and the supporting actors all bring a rich authenticity to their respective roles. The Door in the Floor is probably one of the best movies in a long time that deals with the themes of a young man's life, where childhood is vanishing, only to be replaced by the cynical truths of adulthood. Mike Leonard July 04.
Movie Review: Every teenage boy's fevered fantasy
Summary: 4 Stars
In THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR, we have an older woman seducing and sexually exploiting a teenage boy. Since the older woman is the spitting image of Kim Bassinger, how lucky can a guy get?
Author Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges) and his wife Marion (Bassinger) live on the seashore in the East Hamptons with their daughter Ruth (Elle Fanning). The couple had also had two sons, but they were killed as teenagers in a particularly gruesome auto accident. Since then, Marion has withdrawn emotionally from her husband. It doesn't help that Ted, also a sketch artist, has sordid sexual affairs with his models, mostly local women drawn to his fame as a writer of children's books. So now, Ted and Marion begin a trial separation, the two alternating solo nights at home caring for Ruth with stays at the "apartment in town". In the meantime, Ted hires a high school junior, the 16-year old Eddie (Jon Foster, resembling a very young Ryan O'Neal), to help with the editing of his next book. Eddie immediately falls in lust with Marion, who subsequently seduces him with minimal effort, and who, by Eddie's reckoning, has coitus with him 60 times by the film's end.
THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR has manipulation as its theme; Ted and Marion manipulate Eddie and each other. Eddie is the innocent party here, though it could be argued that sleeping with another man's wife isn't blameless. For his part, Ted wants custody of Ruth if his troubled marriage leads to divorce, so he hires Eddie, who resembles the oldest, dead son, knowing the attraction he'll have for Marion, and vice versa. Ted wants Marion to have an affair with the boy, thus rendering her judicially unfit to be a guardian. On the other hand, Marion freely admits that having Ruth was a mistake, so perhaps she doesn't want custody anyway; her seduction of Eddie certainly seems calculated. Indeed, she wonders out loud if her oldest son ever had sex before he died, and substitutes the virginal Eddie for the former in her own private Sex Ed class.
This film has a superficial resemblance to 2004's CLOSER in that it's about adults assaulting one another using sex as the weapon. While the emotional violence in the latter is more spontaneous and heated, here it seems coldly calculated. The dramatic tone is better maintained in CLOSER, however. THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR includes a slapstick sequence wherein Ted's current mistress comes after him first with a carving knife, than an SUV. While this provides the audience with comic relief, it mars the film's consistency. For that reason, I'm subtracting a star.
Ted and Marion are two world-wise grown-ups emotionally exhausted with each other probing the limits of their residual relationship and seeking justification for the ultimate break-up, and Eddie is the means to an end. While I'm not an avid fan of Jeff Bridges, I've seen enough of his screen characters to suggest that this is perhaps his most complex and nuanced role to date. It's a performance worth an Oscar nomination. Bassinger's Marion is perhaps too controlled a character to provide the substrate for a great dramatic performance, but, at 51, Kim is still a Hot Babe, and that's enough for me.