It works as a fascinating and often very funny character study/satire of a famous author, though it loses interest the harder it tries to be profound and falls apart completely toward the end.
The Door in the Floor (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:138
Fresh:91
Rotten:47
Average Rating:6.4/10
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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Reviews for The Door in the Floor
[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.
Showcasing three individuals whose spiritual and physical journeys are both repellent and mundane, the film is just a long and pointless slog.
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.
I hope that Bridges will be remembered at Oscar time, but he probably won't be, and that will be further proof that he has given another typically first-rate Jeff Bridges performance.
The transformation of what Irving wrote to what Williams filmed is a classic case of diminishment by movie convention.
If Ted Cole were writing this, he would have sailed it toward his wastepaper basket.
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.
That Williams occasionally comes close to the author's layered spirit is a tribute to his passion. But the film fails on a number of levels.
[Williams] maintains a well-judged equilibrium between the characters' agonies and forced exhilarations.
A sophisticated, intelligent, summer film for adults who yearn for something more than popcorn flicks.
Well-acted, well-shot, humorous, touching, thoughtful and sharp, it nonetheless is missing that certain spark that lifts solid work above itself.
A masterwork? Not really, but Door in the Floor has been made with devotion to the spirit of the material that inspired it.
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. ![]()
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