The Cider House Rules (1999)

How sad is this?

Boring

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This is a well done film, filled with nuance and careful character development. It shows humans with all of their foibles and how they cope. The lead actors are very good, and Michael Caine truly deserved his Oscar. The reason for the less than stellar overall rating is due to the anti-choice fanatics that obsess over the fact that women are given a choice and then give the film low marks. The anti-choice fanatics show their obsession to control lives extends well beyond another's womb, but want total control.

If I had children, I wouldn't allow them to watch this movie. Why? The entire movie is a propaganda for abortion. It only depicts pro-choice arguments. Pro-life arguments are completely left out.The most manipulative character in this movie is Doctor Wilbur who talks Homer into guilty feelings for being pro-life ("If this girl came to you few months earlier, and asked for an abortion, what would you have done? Nothing. You would have done nothing. And this happens by doing nothing" (a girl is dying after a badly performed abortion by an amateur). Besides Dr Wilbur, all pro-choice people are the good guys, whilst all pro-life people are the baddies. Homer is an exception to this rule because in the end, he changes his mind and becomes an abortionist himself.Dear author of this movie and the book. There are foster parents in this world who do love their adopted children, and who would never raise their hands against them. And there are mothers who live happily ever after with their rape-children. If Charlize Theron's character actually wanted to have some children so much, why did she abort her first child in the first place? Oh, let me guess, she was just not ready yet for being a mother.I rate this movie with 7 stars for two reasons. When I was a teenager, I didn't fully understand the message of this film. To me, it was a beautifully made movie about a boy searching for a home and a family before realising that the orphanage has always been, and always will be his true home and family. Now that I'm older, I understand the manipulative message ("abortion is not a crime, and should be legalised"). Because of its one-sided message, I think this movie is indeed a very dangerous brainwashing movie. If the author's intent was the legalisation of abortion, then well done! It's legal now in many states and countries. On behalf of thousand millions of aborted babies, THANK YOU very much!! I hope, you can sleep with all those painful screams of unwanted babies. Again, THANK YOU!

The Cider House Rules (1999): Dir: Lasse Hallstrom / Cast: Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Michael Caine, Delroy Lindo, Paul Rudd: Boring drivel staged as an art film. Too many disjointed subplots, none of which regard those stupid Cider House rules so the title functions on absolutely nothing. Tobey Maguire was raised in an orphanage by an abortionist played by Michael Caine. When a couple arrive for an abortion Maguire travels to the Cider House where he will pick apples and have sex with Charlize Theron while her husband is off to war. A real yawner with three pointless deaths that present nothing to the movie. There is a knife guy that is suddenly written out of the story. The incest factor leaves more questions than answers. Does any of this garbage matter? Director Lasse Hallstrom is backed with fine production. Maguire is miscast as this apple picking playboy who will ultimately make a controversial decision. Theron is there for no other purpose other than to sleep with Maguire then feel guilty when her husband turns up injured as oppose to dead. Caine begins well then witnesses pointless death scenes. Delroy Lindo is wasted as another apple picker. Paul Rudd has the misfortune of playing Theron's cuckold husband who was risking his life while she spread her legs. Its appeal depends on one's view of abortion. Overrated mess that should be aborted with a shotgun blast. Score: 2 / 10

"The Cider House Rules" has been in my wish list for years, and I finally found it on a local store. The movie's get go is made with simplicity and beautiful moments, making you feel like you're on a romantic cruise. The relationship between Homer Wells and Paul Rudd's character is a little awkward, and it feels very strange to see these two actors so young. Photography and overall directing are GREAT all the way through, delivering a nostalgic feeling of peace, mainly due to the simplistic yet complex subject we're given. Other than that, even thought I tend to enjoy dramatic stories that aren't filled with melodramatic situations, sometimes the lack of boldness in this plot frustrated me. I mean, maybe a stronger moment between the doctor and Homer would've made it a lot more memorable. "The Cider House Rules" is, in my opinion, a great movie involving parenting, growing up and letting go, but I understand why it's so unknown for most of the people.