The Cider House Rules (1999) was based on a 1985 novel by John Irving. Homer Wells grows up in an orphanage run by the kindly Dr. Wilbur Larch, an ether addict who performs abortions secretly. He takes Homer under his wing after he is returned twice by foster parents, and trains him in obstetrics and abortions, although Homer is against abortion and refuses to do them. He eventually leaves the orphanage and falls in love with Candy Kendall while her boyfriend, Wally Worthington, is reported missing in World War II. Wally returns from the war paralyzed, and with the death of Dr. Larch, Homer leaves to run the orphanage as Larch wished.

Actors from Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, James Franco, and Matt Damon were considered for Homer, but it was Tobey Maguire who won the role. Liv Tyler and Tori Spelling were rumored to have been up for the role of Candy, which went to Charlize Theron. Irving had wanted his son, Colin, to play Wally, a character based on the father he never knew, who survived being shot down over Burma in World War II. By the time the film was made, Colin was too old to play Wally (which went to Paul Rudd) and was given the role of Major Winslow. John Irving himself appeared in a cameo role as the St. Cloud stationmaster. Four directors were considered in the fifteen years it took to get the film made, including Canadian filmmaker Phillip Borsos, who died of leukemia in 1995 at the age of 41. He was replaced with Lasse Hallström, best known for My Life as a Dog (1985).

A co-production of FilmColony, Nina Saxon Film Design, and Miramax Films, the film also starred Michael Caine as Dr. Larch and Jane Alexander as Nurse Edna, with Erykah Badu, Kate Nelligan, and Kathy Baker. With a modest budget of $24 million, The Cider House Rules went into production in November 1998 and was shot at various locations in the Northeastern United States, including Northampton State Hospital in Massachusetts (a former mental institution which was used for the orphanage), Sand Beach in Bar Harbor, Maine, and Brattleboro, Vermont.

Released in October 1999, the reviews were generally positive, although Roger Ebert, writing for The Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "I left the theater wondering what the movie thought it was about and was unable to say. It's almost deliberately unfocused; it shows us many events without guiding them to add up to anything definite." The Cider House Rules earned seven Academy Award nominations, and won two: Best Adapted Screenplay for Irving and Best Supporting Actor for Michael Caine.

By Lorraine LoBianco

SOURCES:

Gussow, Mel "A Novelist Builds Out From Fact To Reach The Truth; John Irving Begins With His Memories." The New York Times 28 Apr 1998
The Internet Movie Database
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-cider-house-rules-1999