The Door in the Floor (2004)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Anthony L

  
  Adapted from John Irving's novel A Widow for One Year, the makers (including Irving himself) made the sensible design of only concentrating on part of the book - leaving the death of a prostitute section out. Although it would be interesting to see the whole book adapted, maybe… More
  Adapted from John Irving's novel A Widow for One Year, the makers (including Irving himself) made the sensible design of only concentrating on part of the book - leaving the death of a prostitute section out. Although it would be interesting to see the whole book adapted, maybe in a darker style, this works very well and achieves everything the book does. The actors were well cast too, Jeff Bridges in particular although maybe that's because there is an element of 'The dude' about him.

• Jim H

  
  A philandering childrens book writer and his depressive wife invite a young writer into their home as they're still coping with the traumatic deaths of their sons. Based on a part of a John Irving novel, this film features a truly exceptional performance by Jeff Bridges. During… More
  A philandering childrens book writer and his depressive wife invite a young writer into their home as they're still coping with the traumatic deaths of their sons. Based on a part of a John Irving novel, this film features a truly exceptional performance by Jeff Bridges. During the film, I thought about how this character was perfect practice for his role in <i>Crazy Heart</i>. And the film's mood follows Bridges's performance - earthy and sullen yet always forcing a pained grin. Under the strong direction of Tod Williams, there are a few moments when I wondered how or if the same effect could be accomplished in Irving's prose, which I have always liked, but I never thought it deserved the accolades it received. For example, toward the end there is a silent goodbye that is almost impossible to render in words, and the images of the dead sons deftly render the loss this family experienced. However, not everything about this film shines. Numb and dead with grief, Kim Basinger's Marion isn't a very compelling character, and until the third act, Jon Foster's Eddie seems like he's on his way to another movie. Also, the film's climax is essentially expository. Though it's delivered effectively, structuring the film so that this revelation comes earlier would have made the film much stronger. Overall, Jeff Bridges and some truly effective moments rendering the depressing realities of this family's life make <i>The Door in the Floor</i> a fine drama.

• Leigh R

  
  Poor Ruth. :(

• Julie B

  
  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.

• Jens S

  
  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 oddly… More
  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 oddly 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.

• Nate Z

  
  [center][font=Arial][color=darkred][img]http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/5201/photo065mz.jpg[/img][/color][/font][/center] [font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]John Irving is one of the most accomplished and popular fiction writers of our times. His… More
  [center][font=Arial][color=darkred][img]http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/5201/photo065mz.jpg[/img][/color][/font][/center] [font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]John Irving is one of the most accomplished and popular fiction writers of our times. His pulpy, unconventional, and compassionate novels have translated into many films with varying degrees of quality (World According to Garp, good; Cider House Rules, okay; Simon Birch, dreadful). The Door in the Floor is an adaptation of his novel, A Widow for One Year, but it only adapts the first third of the novel. This time around, will the absence of quantity directly shape the quality of an Irving adaptation?[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]The plot for The Door in the Floor almost sounds like something you’d see late at night on Cinemax. Eddie (Jon Foster) is a teenager learning what it takes to be a writer. He becomes an assistant to Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges), a giant in the world of children’s literature but a playboy at home. Eddie spends the summer at Ted’s quaint cottage and is instantly smitten with Ted’s estranged wife, Marion (Kim Basinger). Their’s has been a loveless marriage ever since a tragic accident killed their two sons. Both are handling the grief in their own ways. Ted has become bitter and takes his anger out on his manipulation of other women, notably a neighbor (Mimi Rogers) who poses nude for his paintings. Marion has become insular and turns into a stone whenever the accident is mentioned.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Eddie tires of his glorified chamfering duties for Ted and his mistress. He spends his lonely days fantasizing about Marion, including masturbating to the image of her clothes. When Marion accidentally stumbles into this embarrassing situation, she not only calmly apologizes, but lays out additional pairs of clothing for Eddie to get his kink. This opens the door for Eddie to engage his fantasy, and embark on a deflowering tryst with Marion. Ted’s reaction isn’t one of anger or resentment, but more of a “job well done.” It is around this time when we realize that Eddie looks remarkably like her two lost sons.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]The film’s best moments are not the colorless, tepid tryst between Eddie and Marion, or the broader comic moments with Ted’s assault on tact; oh no, the best moments are when anyone onscreen shares time with Ruth (Elle Fanning), Ted and Marion's precocious 4-year-old daughter. She’s a tad demanding, like insisting to know where every picture of her family remains, but comes across as adorable without stepping over into cloying. Her interaction with Bridges is wonderful, her wide-eyed questioning is sweet, and her acting is much more authentic and less robotic than her sister, the more seasoned Dakota Fanning (I Am Sam, Man on Fire). Hopefully the Fanning family has learned some do’s and don’ts from the Culkin family.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Bridges’ performance is amazing. He bares more than just his backside in this film. The role of Ted is very meaty, and Bridges’ is the perfect actor to sink his teeth right into it. Bridges is alarmingly coy, blending a disarmingly comic roly-poly ability, as well as a brooding, stinging anger barely masked by ego and affability. I cannot imagine anyone else stepping into Ted’s shoes and delivering a better performance. Bridges’ tortured and droll work may be Oscar material.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Basinger’s performance is equally amazing. Amazingly bad, that is. Her character is supposed to be shattered by the loss of her sons, but Basinger plays the role so heavily intoxicated by grief that Marion becomes nothing more than a walking ghost. She’s so zombie-like for the entire film, that her performance could be rivaled by a coma patient. For some reason unbeknownst to me, ever since winning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1997, Basinger has yet to follow with a good performance. Then again, the same could be said for Mira Sorvino, Angelina Jolie, and the list goes on.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]The Door in the Floor is Jon Foster’s real big break as a young actor. His previous roles amount to little, including Kevin Costner’s son in 13 Days and the vitally integral Gas Station Cashier in Terminator 3. Some awkwardness is apparent in his rise to larger material, but Foster’s apprehension serves his character best, like a dinner scene between him and Marion where he tells a bad joke to break the ice. Foster’s performance is a bit bland, but that’s because his character is more of a transparent adolescent fantasy.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Poor Mimi Rogers, a.k.a. Mrs. Tom Cruise Number One. She’s a talented actress, and a fine-looking woman for her age (as her full-frontal nude scene exhibits), but she’s been given such a small one-note character that it seems almost exploitative that such a well-known actress spends the majority of her time with her robe around her ankles. A late scene involving her violent hysteria at Ted dumping her is meant to be comic, but it seems more like a fizzy tantrum. All this and she gets the dubious notoriety of having a drawing of the most sensitive part of her anatomy projected in glorious widescreen.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]By now an audience is more or less used to Irving’s mix of slapstick and grief, of pathos and situational humor. The Door in the Floor follows this tried-and-true recipe and provides a healthy amount of entertainment for an audience. It can effectively make an audience laugh and supply knots in their throat at separate turns; however, in the harsh light of day, if you strip away at The Door in the Floor you’ll find that most every character is self-involved, curt, closed off, and just plain unlikable. Ted is a jerk. Marion is a zombie, and not so great a mother. Eddie is bland. The only real character worthy of empathy is Ruth.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Now, movies don’t necessarily all have to have likable characters, and in fact some of the most interesting and memorable characters are unlikable, but for a family melodrama it’s important to feel [i]for[/i] their grief instead of [i]feeling[/i] their grief. If you can’t feel for the characters then you’re just watching without any baited interest. Many films can make you feel bad by watching someone on hard times, but it's a true accomplishment if you feel the character's personal pains (and somehow the films of Lars von Trier accomplish both). There’s little investment beyond the surface level of amusement. So, The Door in the Floor is amusing, but it struggles to be anything beyond because of the limitations of its characters. For some, a movie that provides surface-level amusement from polished actors is good enough, and in some instances I’d agree.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Director Tod Williams (The Adventures of Sebastian Cole) also served as the adapter of Irving’s dense work. Williams knows a thing or two about family melodrama and the denial of guilt, and he keeps the pacing brisk and the laughs at an even pace. Williams’ best decisions are on the small visual notes he hangs on, like a stunning, visually alluring final image that will stay with you after the film ends. The story is a bit uneven in tone, thanks to Irving’s eccentric source, but Williams saves his narrative whammy for the very end, and Bridges brilliantly delivers the backstory we’ve been holding our breath for.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]The Door in the Floor is a solid, if surface-level enterprise in the exploration of guilt and mourning in a family setting. Bridges gives an amazing and memorable performance that helps make you forget about the rest of the film’s somewhat lackluster acting. Fans of Irving’s works will likely be taken back in pleasure, and fans of adult melodrama will not likely walk out disappointed. The Door in the Floor has glimpses of something more, but settles for being a well-acted, nondesript affair.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: B-[/color][/font]

• Mark A

  
  This proved a nearly perfect rendering of the first part John Irving's wonderful novel, A Widow for One Year. Kim Basinger was the perfect choice to play Marion Cole, a woman who has failed to rejoin life after a horrible family tragedy. Her ability to convey the profound sadness… More
  This proved a nearly perfect rendering of the first part John Irving's wonderful novel, A Widow for One Year. Kim Basinger was the perfect choice to play Marion Cole, a woman who has failed to rejoin life after a horrible family tragedy. Her ability to convey the profound sadness of a mother who has suffered an unspeakable loss and still come across as "the most beautiful woman" in young Eddie's life was flawless. Eddie was played by relative unknown, Jon Foster. He combined an awkward shyness with his undeniable good looks to keep Eddie from becoming a cliche. Jeff Bridges, as Ted Cole, a children's author, artist, and incorrigible womanizer and Mimi Rogers, as Mrs. Vaughn, his current target of lust were both excellent choices. But the real gem here was Elle Fanning, who played Ted and Marion's four year old daughter, Ruth, who grows up to become the widow of the book's title. What an amazing young actress! The scenery and cinematography combined to evoke the Hamptons beautifully and never overwhelmed. The script followed the arc of the novel nearly perfectly. Rarely has this viewer been able to stomach a film based on a book he has read. This is one of the rare exceptions. Having just finished the book, I found this treatment one of the best adaptations I have ever seen, faithful and true. Screenwriter and director Tod Williams has set a high bar indeed!

• Jake B

  
  A nimble and faithful adaptation with wonderful performances from skilled actors who are given fully realized, three-dimensional characters. It truly captures the Irving spirit (especially in the final third when pathos, tragedy, and comedy combine into a powerful and moving… More
  A nimble and faithful adaptation with wonderful performances from skilled actors who are given fully realized, three-dimensional characters. It truly captures the Irving spirit (especially in the final third when pathos, tragedy, and comedy combine into a powerful and moving conclusion.)

• Naughtia N

  
  Ted is a succesful author and he invites a student to be his assistant for the summer. When the assistant arrives he soon discovers that Ted's marriage is falling apart and the situation gets even worse when the assistant starts an affair with Ted's wife. I thought this… More
  Ted is a succesful author and he invites a student to be his assistant for the summer. When the assistant arrives he soon discovers that Ted's marriage is falling apart and the situation gets even worse when the assistant starts an affair with Ted's wife. I thought this movie was interesting and very good. This is the first movie I've seen which starred Dakota Fanning's little sister and she's aspiring to be a real good actress just like her sister. This movie is definetely worth watching.

• Daniel P

  
  Tod Williams skilfully adapts a portion of John Irving's "un-filmable" novel <i>A Widow for One Year</i>; <i>A Door in the Floor</i> is a wonderful, beautifully acted and photographed film and is an exploration on grief, guilt and love that feels… More
  Tod Williams skilfully adapts a portion of John Irving's "un-filmable" novel <i>A Widow for One Year</i>; <i>A Door in the Floor</i> is a wonderful, beautifully acted and photographed film and is an exploration on grief, guilt and love that feels both unique and, most importantly, 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 (<i>My Own Private Idaho</i>, <i>River's Edge</i>), 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.

• Mike T

  
  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… More
  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 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.

• George K

  
  Enjoyed this film. Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger turn in a wonderful performance. Dakota Fanning's younger sister Elle plays the daughter. Jon Foster did a stellar job with his role. Lucky guy did a love scene with Basinger :)

• Kevin L

  
  This has got to be one of the most funniest non-comdies I have ever seen! You take well known actors such as Jeff Bridges and Kim Bassinger and throw Jon Foster in the mix.What you will get is an amazing movie,such power this movie gave off to me the first time I saw it. I mean plot… More
  This has got to be one of the most funniest non-comdies I have ever seen! You take well known actors such as Jeff Bridges and Kim Bassinger and throw Jon Foster in the mix.What you will get is an amazing movie,such power this movie gave off to me the first time I saw it. I mean plot is about a young man who stays with the brillant writter Ted Cole( Bridges) for the summer working as his asistant. Mean while he meets the amazingly sexy Wife( Kim Bassinger),who is going through a seperation with her husband. The movie starts out all incent,but then some strange akward things happen to this young man.He gets caught masterbating several times,once by Jeff Bridges and then again by Bassinger,its like come on kid!! Lock the fucking door! haha Then it almost becomes the graduate in a way.The kid gets lucky and you guessed it he hits it off with the wife and they have an affair. Throughout the film you keep wondering just how the husband can put up with all of this(since he quickly finds out). I mean I was amazed at how he kept his cool,not that he's happy about it... Flat out amazing perfomance from both Bassinger and Bridges! The subtle humor of Bridges,some the things he says,the word choice ,makes me laugh gasping for air. A film that isnt for everyone,but for me it was quite the ride! Loved the messed up charcters,but perhaps the akward situations for Jon Foster more!

• Sunil J

  
  Kim Basinger and Jeff Daniels are reallly great in this smaller movie of a marriage falling apart.

• Sarah P

  
  Superb acting, the story is good, but again is just highlighted by the actors performances.

• FanGirl B

  
  I just wanted to smack Jeff Bridges character.

Read all 16 featured audience ratings