Bijou Phillips, Elle Fanning, Harvey Loomis

Jeff Bridges demonstrates once again that he is one of the finest actors in film. Ted Cole (Bridges, Seabiscuit, The Big Lebowski), a successful writer/illustrator of children's books, i...( read more  read more... )nvites a young student named Eddie (Jon Foster) to be his assistant for a summer. Eddie doesn't realize he's being drawn into the middle of a dissolving marriage until Ted's wife Marion (Kim Basinger, L. A. Confidential) invites him into an affair--which Ted both condones and resents. Slowly, Eddie comes to understand the secrets that are tearing the marriage apart. Bridges never shows off; everything he does seems simple, natural, almost unavoidable, but it's also utterly watchable. Whether you like the movie will depend on whether you like John Irving (The Door in the Floor is based on part of his novel A Widow for One Year), but Bridges's performance is undeniable. Also featuring Mimi Rogers (The Rapture). --Bret Fetzer

Flixster Users

64% liked it

7,434 ratings

Critics

66% liked it

138 critics

R, 111 min.

Directed by: Tod Williams

Release Date: July 14, 2004

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DVD Release Date: December 14, 2004

Stats: 437 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (437)


  • September 12, 2008
    Poor Ruth. :(
  • March 16, 2008
    They do a great job of capturing the quirky, somber, earthy mood of the chunk of the book they adapted. Something missing that I can't put my finger on, though.
  • January 26, 2008
    I liked this film though I can't put my finger on what was so special about it.
  • September 22, 2007
    After the great reviews this got when it was released I was slightly disappointed. While the acting performances were really good, with Jeff Bridges standing out, it was still really hard to relate to the characters and the decisions they made. At times the movie was sad, then od...( read more)dly amusing, which created a rather strange mood. It wasn't until the end, when Bridges' character talks about what happened the day of the accident, that it all reaches the emotional level the topic deserves. Special mention also for a really beautiful soundtrack.
  • April 7, 2007
    Quirky! Odd movie but Bridges and Basinger make it work...
  • October 27, 2009
    Tod Williams skilfully adapts a portion of John Irving's "un-filmable" novel A Widow for One Year; A Door in the Floor is a wonderful, beautifully acted and photographed film and is an exploration on grief, guilt and love that feels both unique and, most importantly...( read more), completely real. Jon Foster, who plays Eddie as a mixture of confused hormones, has this almost monotone delivery, which, like Keanu Reeves' most honest performances (My Own Private Idaho, River's Edge), draws you in and makes you very aware of the actually quite complicated feelings beneath the words being said. Kim Basinger proves once more that she can be a remarkably good actor; Marion is a broken being, unable to be close to her daughter for the feelings that just being near to her bring up. But it is Jeff Bridges who really delivers. Initially what seems like his default 'slacker' mode (Ted wanders his house either wrapped in a sheet or naked, completely unbothered by embarrassment, and makes Eddie type the same lines out over and over, with minor grammatical adjustments, in search of the perfect sentence) is revealed to be a kind of survival mechanism, for he too is grief-stricken - in a very different way, but no less damaging. The film offers no real resolution but does allow at least two characters a kind of catharsis. The final images are sure to raise questions but it isn't the answers that are important, in this fascinating and unquestionably moving film.
  • October 14, 2009
    Wow ill never seen Kim basinger like that such a great performance

    Veanla y veran a Kim como nunca la han visto y la historia es buena
  • October 4, 2009
    Tod Williams' screenplay is a wonderfully written adaptation of one of my favorite John Irving novels. Jeff Bridges gives the stand-out performance in this film.
  • September 22, 2009
    A great film that is based upon John Irving's Book "A Widow for One Year". A shocking yet extremely enjoyable film.
  • September 20, 2009
    This film fails to maintain tonal consistency, which in a sense is intentional but not altogether successful. Director Tod Williams crafts it in such a way that there is a somber aura at the core of almost every scene, so the brief flashes of comedy are uncomfortable. It doesn't ...( read more)work as the tragicomic piece that it's supposed to be, but it is by no means a bad movie. The writing is so beautiful and profound, and the characters aptly played, that it's difficult not to find something to admire. Jeff Bridges is the standout, with Kim Basinger playing at a lower level than the actors surrounding her, but not to the detriment of the piece as a whole. In terms of composition and lighting, it's a striking and effective work as well. The final scene is one of the strongest conclusions in a film released during the year 2004.

Critic Reviews


July 14, 2004
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Showcasing three individuals whose spiritual and physical journeys are both repellent and mundane, the film is just a long and pointless slog. full review

July 14, 2004
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Extraordinary in every way, from the pitch-perfect performances to the delicate handling of explosive subject matter, The Door in the Floor is also a model of page-to-screen adaptation. full review

July 14, 2004
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Director Williams' tale never quite finds its footing. full review

July 14, 2004
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Jeff Bridges offers perhaps the wittiest and richest piece of screen acting by an American man so far this year in the best movie yet made from John Irving's fiction. full review

July 14, 2004
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Perversely gripping. full review

July 14, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Williams handles the main line of the story, the war between Ted and Marion, clearly and strongly. full review

July 14, 2004
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

A stunningly well-acted drama for grown-ups. full review

June 16, 2004
Nick Schager, Filmcritic.com

fails to even approximate reasonable human emotion or behavior full review

View more The Door in the Floor reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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The Door in the Floor Trivia


  • In "Jumanji," "Beware the ground on which you stand the floor is quicker than the sand." What does Sarah finally use to save Alan before his head sinks?  Answer »
  • In the movie "godzilla", in the madison square garden, Mathew broderick tries to escape from godzilla's babies. He enters an elevator, press the 2nd floor button and then there is a little mistake that the director didn't see...  Answer »
  • Which movie did Kim Basinger's character have sex with a teenage boy?  Answer »
  • Which movie starring Jeff Bridges is based on the John Irving novel "A Widow for One Year"?   Answer »

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