The Door in the Floor (2004)

Director:

Tod Williams

Writers (WGA):

John Irving (novel)
Tod Williams (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 September 2004 (Norway)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

The most dangerous secrets are the ones we're afraid to tell ourselves.

Plot:

A writer's young assistant becomes both pawn and catalyst in his boss's disintegrating household.

Plot Keywords:

Summer | Assistant | Author | Writer | Infidelity

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Elle Fanning	...	Ruth Cole
Jeff Bridges	...	Ted Cole
Kim Basinger	...	Marion Cole
Jon Foster	...	Eddie O'Hare
Larry Pine	...	Interviewer
John Rothman	...	Minty O'Hare
Harvey Loomis	...	Dr. Loomis
Bijou Phillips	...	Alice
Mimi Rogers	...	Evelyn Vaughn
Mike S. Ryan	...	Reception Fan
Libby Langdon	...	Woman at Reception
Louis Arcella	...	Eduardo Gomez
Robert LuPone	...	Mendelssohn
Rachel Style	...	Bookstore Assistant
Amanda Posner	...	Frame Shop Clerk

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality and graphic images, and language.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Japan:R-15 | Iceland:14 (theatrical rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Canada:R | South Korea:18 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Ireland:16 | Netherlands:MG6 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #40314) | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Brazil:16

Filming Locations:

Bridgehampton, Long Island, New York, USA

Company:

Focus Features

Trivia:

The deceased Cole boys, Thomas and Timothy, were played by director/screenwriter Tod Williams's cousins Tod Harrison Williams and Carter Williams, and the photographs featured in the film are their actual childhood photos.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Eddie and Marion are having dinner, Eddie's glass is nearly empty as he begins to tell her a joke. During the middle part of the joke, the glass is nearly full, and by the time he gets to the punch line, it is empty again.

Quotes:

Ted Cole: Everything in fiction is a tool: pain, betrayal, even death. These are, you know, these are like, uh, different colors on a painter's palette. You need to use them.

Movie Connections:

Features The Big Bend (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

My Neck, My Back

This is NOT The Cat In The Hat

As a huge follower of Jeff Bridges' work, I am here to tell you that if you're a fan too, you must jettison yourself out of your chair forthwith and propel yourself immediately to a theatre where this magnificent film is showing.

The Door In The Floor gives Bridges a chance to create a character truly worthy of his subtle (and generally overlooked) brilliance; his organic, from-the-inside-out approach makes what he does seem so effortless, so thoroughly not-like-acting that he's generally hardly given his due, and if he doesn't garner some serious recognition for what he brings to the table here, there's quite simply no hope for the world.

This is a film of deep, devastating power - a film where you, as an audience member, actually share space with the two main characters, Ted and Marion Cole (Bridges, of course, and an equally-brilliant Kim Bassinger, who once again reminds us why she won an Oscar a few years back). We inhabit their crumbled world, from the inside, not just as observers. By the end, we feel as if we have gone through their tragedy with them, and when I left the theatre, I felt as if my life had been changed by sharing with them what I just shared - as if time itself had stopped and left me suspended in there, with them.