The Cider House Rules
1999
***½
Director: Lasse Hallström
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Michael Caine, Delroy Lindo, Paul Rudd, Erykah Badu, Kieran Culkin, Jane Alexander, Heavy D, Kate Nelligan
Homer Wells grows up at St. Cloud's, an orphanage where people abandon their unwanted children, before or after birth. During WW2, Homer leaves the only home he’s ever known to explore the world. John Irving won an Academy Award for adapting his own sprawling 1985 novel. The film contains only the bare bones of the book, but it is a captivating, moving, and well-acted drama, albeit a bit middle-of-the-road. Michael Caine won an Oscar for his warm performance as the abortionist at St Cloud's.
