The Door in the Floor
July. 18,2004 RThe lives of Ted and Marion Cole are thrown into disarray when their two adolescent sons die in a car wreck. Marion withdraws from Ted and Ruth, the couple's daughter. Ted, a well-known writer, hires as his assistant a student named Eddie, who looks oddly similar to one of the Coles' dead sons. The couple separate, and Marion begins an affair with Eddie, while Ted has a dalliance with his neighbor Evelyn.
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Reviews
Very well executed
a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Successful children's author Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges) lives with his wife Marion (Kim Basinger) and his young daughter Ruth (Elle Fanning) and reside in the East Hamptons. Ted takes in young intern, Eddie (Jon Foster) to do menial jobs. The Cole clan is not on happy terms after the tragic death of their two adolescent sons. This is where Eddie faces up to a more complex initiative. It appears as though Ted and Marion have visions of one of their sons placed in Eddie's soul but they take the approach in more contrasting way.This is a very engaging drama about trying to cope with grief and what kind of steps must be taken in order to move forward. "The Door in the Floor", is very much about character understanding not only towards the audience but towards each other. Writer/director Tod Williams approaches this very sensitive story and handles it with the greatest of care. The movie is truly saturated with loads of emotion and the performances by veterans like Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger.The once loving relationship between Ted and Marion became lost after the tragic death of their sons. The worse part is that they each know one another's vulnerabilities and take their grief in very contrasting perspectives. Ted has grown to becoming an alcoholic and has been a philanderer towards the ladies. Marion's just can't believe that her boys were taken away too soon and has lost all emotions. It wasn't until a young man comes into the fray and their lives have taken a sudden impact.Even though book-to-movie adaptations have been frowned upon by the many audience members mostly because they tend to leave out a lot of details and at times very important ones, Williams focuses on the first third of John Irving's novel "A Widow for One Year". The movie script was provocative and the characters are what we might have expected them from the novel to be.Bridges' character as a children's author seems like a guy who has no patience for nonsense. He's everything you would expect from an eccentric artist, not afraid of roaming around the house in the nude and exposing his complex lifestyles towards his fresh new intern Eddie. Eddie is still green and inexperienced, and is used as nothing more than a designated driver, so that Ted may continue pursuit his sorrows in the drink. He shows no care in helping the young man in improving his writing skills. Marion seems to be living a double life. She has now become a stone-faced beauty of wonder where she touch no one and no one touches her. The other life comes out from a past which a myriad of framed photographs hanging across the corridor of her two sons when they were alive. This kind of grief is about as real as it can get as she can't get past the fact that her sons are dead and just doesn't want to let go. She enjoys the company of her four year old daughter, Ruth played by the younger sister and equally talented Elle Fanning. When she freely lets Eddie lure his sexual fascinations with her, it's like she is giving him his liberation as token of appreciation and nothing more. Which is contrary to Ted's seductive ways towards his model for hire Evelyn Vaughan which shifts from fondness to utter forcefulness.The final moments of the film is quite abrupt. Eddie starts to take a pivotal step towards his writing career. It's like everything he encountered has been forgotten as goes away at doodling words on a notepad at a framing shop.It's just those little nuances that make this film more than just the typical psychological drama. The sights, the smells, and the colours all add significance to this emotionally charged psychological drama. The title of the movie is a metaphor. It's the door that awaits you to world that's too grim to converse with even further. The door in the floor is symbol of a final resting place for the soul that one can not escape from. Where the world is a cruel place and the grief and pain is something that you must overcome, but can ever be completely erased.
Plodding action and not believable characterizations throughout. Nudity by Bridges in lead role with child actor present in scene shows bad judgment on everyone's part, especially the director and the child's real life parents.Kim Basinger is mostly one dimensional and near catatonic in some scenes. Script copies other, better films like "The Summer of '42". Mimi Rogers is a nude body in one scene and a flaming hysteric in another scene; just another case of desperation and overacting on her part.Don't believe the glowing reviews. An irresponsible boring mess of a movie.
This movie got off to a promising start in its depiction of Jeff Bridges's self-centered Ted, a womanizer who never gives much thought to his serial manipulations. However, "The Door" quickly deteriorates into a ripoff of "The Summer of '42" and the real-life Mary Kay Letourneau story as Ted's depressed wife Marion (Kim Basinger) is set up to seduce the horny high-school student Ted has brought into the home for the summer. As pretty as Basinger is, I didn't believe for a minute that Eddie would fall for her instead of the family's sexy young nanny or all the nubile young girls we're shown on the Hamptons beach. The movie made me cringe when we witness Eddie's attempts at masturbation, and I finally deleted the film once Marion walked in and he was too ashamed to face her. I may be biased but I don't think people go to the movies to squirm through this kind of trash. Admittedly I am the parent of a teenager and a pre-teen, but I found the intrusiveness of these scenes to be highly distasteful. If kids are going to explore their own bodies, please directors of the world, let them do so in privacy and dignity! I also found it offensive to have little Ruth, who looks to be about 4, tell her father, "your penis looks funny." I guess we're supposed to assume she saw Ted's erection -- another violation of a child's boundaries. This actress is a tiny little girl. Why was it necessary to give her this dialog? Call me a prude if you like but I found this movie to be so disrespectful to children that I lost interest in any surrounding storyline involving the presumptive grown-ups in the tale.I'm surprised that Jeff Bridges, an actor I've always respected, would allow himself to appear in garbage like this.
'The Door in the Floor' is uneven in tone, but yet it delivers some convincing moments. But, more than it's potential as a film, it is it's Lead-Star, Jeff Bridges, who makes this film a must watch, for his under-stated yet loud performance, that is well-balanced & even stunning at times. 'The Door in the Floor' tells the story of how, A writer's young assistant becomes both pawn and catalyst in his boss's disintegrating household. Based on the first third of the 1998 novel A Widow for One Year by John Irving, 'The Door in the Floor' appeals in parts. Firstly, this human- drama caters to a niche audience. This film is not meant for those who admire and live to watch films such as 'Avatar' & 'Transformers'. This disturbing & mostly unspoken story, is meant, mainly, for the pseudo intellectuals. Tod Williams direction is convincing, while his Screenplay is decent. However, the uneven tone & slow-pace act as a speed-breaker. The film definitely could've been faster, in terms of pace. Cinematography & Editing are worth a mention.Performance-Wise: Obviously, Jeff Bridges steals the show with a performance, that is easily amongst his finest works. It's a performance that is loud, yet under-stated, it's a performance that is unspoken yet expressive. In many ways, Bridges makes his misery-friendly character stunning to look at. Bridges carries the film on his shoulders and once again proves his caliber as an actor. Kim Basinger is impressive. Jon Foster plays his part with honesty. Elle Fanning is superb. Others lend good support. On the whole, Watch it for Jeff Bridges! An Actor who never disappoints!