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Movies / On DVD / The Door in the Floor
The Door in the Floor

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The Door in the Floor (2004)

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Reviews Counted:37

Fresh:21

Rotten:16

Average Rating:6.1/10

Consensus: Though uneven in tone, this is one of the better adaptations of John Irving's novels, with Jeff Bridges giving one of his best performances.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong sexuality and graphic images, and language

Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Jul 14, 2004 Limited

Box Office: $3,634,359

Synopsis: The Door in the Floor explores the complexities of love in its brightest, most mysterious, and darkest corners. The Door in the Floor is directed by Tod Williams, whose screenplay is adapted from... The Door in the Floor explores the complexities of love in its brightest, most mysterious, and darkest corners. The Door in the Floor is directed by Tod Williams, whose screenplay is adapted from John Irving's best-selling novel A Widow for One Year. Set in the beach community of East Hampton, New York, the film chronicles one pivotal summer in the lives of famous children's books author Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges) and his beautiful wife Marion (Kim Basinger). Their once-great marriage has been strained by tragedy. The Coles lovingly parent their surviving child, bright 4-year-old Ruth (Elle Fanning), who takes everything in stride as perhaps only a child can. But Marion's equation of love with loss, coupled with Ted's infidelities, points towards a much-needed change in the relationship. That may come in the form of Eddie O'Hare (Jon Foster), the young man Ted hires to work as his summer assistant - and, Ted hopes, the catalyst to invigorate the Coles' bond of marriage. Eddie idolizes Ted, but Ted's erratic work habits soon leave Eddie to his own devices. Marion becomes an object of desire for Eddie, rekindling in her some surprising emotions as a mother and as a woman. To Eddie's surprise and delight, his yearning is potently reciprocated. As he becomes passionately entwined with the seemingly fragile yet increasingly bold Marion, Eddie comes to realize that, similarly, Ted's surface fecklessness hides something deeper within. As the summer draws to a close, Marion and Ted must make difficult decisions about the future of their family. A Focus Features and Revere Pictures presentation of a This is that production. Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger. The Door in the Floor. Jon Foster, Mimi Rogers, Elle Fanning, with Bijou Phillips. Composer, Marcelo Zarvos. Costume Designer, Eric Daman. Editor, Affonso Gonçalves. Production Designer, Thérèse DePrez. Director of Photography, Terry Stacey. Co-Producer, Marisa Polvino. Executive Producer, Amy J. Kaufman. Executive Producer, Roger Marino. Produced by Michael Corrente. Produced by Ted Hope, Anne Carey. Based the novel A Widow for One Year by John Irving. Screenplay by Tod Williams. Directed by Tod Williams. -- © Focus Features [More]

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, Mimi Rogers, Elle Fanning

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, Mimi Rogers, Elle Fanning, Jon Foster, Bijou Phillips

Director: Tod Williams

Director: Tod Williams
Screenwriter: Tod Williams
Producer: Michael Corrente, Ted Hope, Anne Carey
Composer: Marcelo Zarvos
Studio: Focus Features

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Release:

Dec 14, 2004

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Reviews for The Door in the Floor

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Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Since when are dullness and realism synonymous?

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
08/07/04
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine
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A fundamentally depressing piece of work -- not because it deals with tragic events and memories but because the characters seem hapless and even stupid, and the writer-director can't, or won't, take control.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment Comment
08/01/04
David Denby
David Denby
New Yorker
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Not one enigmatic person in The Door in the Floor asks to be liked, but you like them anyway.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
07/23/04
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer
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I can't say I minded the movie too much, but I can't say it ever grabbed me, which is how I feel about every other movie adapted from an Irving novel.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
07/23/04
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If The Door in the Floor is good enough for Irving, who's often distanced himself from films based on his books, it's certainly good enough for the rest of us.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
07/22/04
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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The movie appears to be made for an audience whose highest aspiration is to be WASPs -- and it feels long enough to produce enough generations of them to fill an Andover reunion.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
07/20/04
Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor
Salon.com
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Little more than tony melodrama.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
07/16/04
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
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Irving writes about the consequences of the choices we make with endless and honest empathy for the flawed and damaged, and Williams does that too, allowing us to feel deeply for Ted, Marion and the future of Ruth.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
07/16/04
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
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We're asked to care about a self-absorbed children's author, his depressive, self-absorbed wife and their self-absorbed 16-year-old assistant.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
07/16/04
Michael Booth
Michael Booth
Denver Post
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Feels more about a situation than actual people. It's sensitively rendered, filled with those necessary evocative details, and it never rings true.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
07/16/04
Mark Caro
Mark Caro
Chicago Tribune
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It's easily the most robust and compelling movie ever spun off from Irving's work.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
07/14/04
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
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A carefully conceived, thoughtfully orchestrated effort in taste and restraint that ultimately is too restrained and tasteful.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
07/14/04
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
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After Garp, this is the best screen treatment of the bunch.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
07/14/04
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today
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An American tragedy, exquisitely shot in the muted tones of the New England painter's scenes of desolation and disappointment.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
07/14/04
Susan Walker
Susan Walker
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Bridges] bursts through The Door in the Floor like it was made of plywood and, in the process, delivers the year's first full-bodied dramatic performance.

Full Review Source: San Jose Mercury News | comment Comment
07/14/04
Glenn Lovell
Glenn Lovell
San Jose Mercury News
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Showcasing three individuals whose spiritual and physical journeys are both repellent and mundane, the film is just a long and pointless slog.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
07/14/04
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
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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 Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
07/14/04
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
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Director Williams' tale never quite finds its footing.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
07/14/04
Steven Rea
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer
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The transformation of what Irving wrote to what Williams filmed is a classic case of diminishment by movie convention.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
07/14/04
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday
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Latest News for The Door in the Floor

April 08, 2005: Frankie Muniz Aims to "Stay Alive"!
The Hollywood Reporter brings news of a rather drastic career switch for the young Frankie Muniz. Known throughout the universe as "Malcolm in the Middle" (or perhaps... More...

June 22, 2004: Not so easily cast was the role of Marion, a woman so traumatized by the death of her sons that she can’t properly mother her daughter. Opens in new window
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