The Door in the Floor

I say surprise because I had never heard of this film until it popped up on a UK satellite channel recently. Like so many other 'smaller' films from across the world, I suspect it never achieved significant cinema release in the UK. This is a real quality film in all departments, the story, the direction, the acting, the location, everything. Bridges confirms his status as one of the most interesting actors of his generation, not only because his laconic style and obvious craft are always a pleasure to watch but because he has this knack (or intelligence and skill) to select material that is never less than good and occasionally excellent. Kim Basinger continues to grow more interesting and watchable with age and the other cast members are professional, discreet – they can act! Each to their own I know but for me, this film represents the best that American cinema can produce and equal to anything from anywhere is the world. A delight for the film-goer that has a mature outlook and enjoys seeing stories about human drama, no guns, no CGI special effects, just good honest quality. If you have the chance to see it, I recommend this film highly.

This well-acted tragedy pulls us through an exploration of the complexities of love in both the darkest and brightest corridors. Adapted from John Irving's best-selling novel, `A Widow For One Year', the film carefully weaves its way through the painful and tragic aftermath of a deadly accident, alternating between comedy and disaster.

The setting is in the privileged beach community of East Hampton on Long Island, New York where our hero, a children's book author, Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges) resides with his beautiful wife Marion (Kim Bassinger). Once upon a time, they had a happy marriage until the bliss was shattered by the accidental death of their two sons. The aftermath resulted in a general despondency and bizarre infidelities that did little to assuage the pain and dysfunction of their deteriorating relationship. The remnants of a once great love are hinted at in almost every scene, although alas are clouded over by their inability to regroup to face the future and put away the past.

Eddie O'Hare, (Jon Foster) the college junior Ted hired to work as his summer assistant and protégé, becomes the couple's unwitting, yet willing pawn, who ultimately evolves into the catalyst in the transformation of their bitter lives. Ted's recent children's book, `The Door In The Floor' in due course becomes the surviving metaphor for transforming their lives.

The evolving story seems to beg for something really horrific to happen, yet offers a kind of relief when this fear is unrealized. One senses that if this couple had only handled their loss differently, a far better result would have followed. It is also a poignant tale of a young boy's rite of passage becoming a man and another man sinking into an emotional immaturity and then hopefully climbing back out.

Directed and written by Tod Williams, this tale is quite apart from the usual Hollywood drivel that may leave you mired in an introspective quandary for quite some time.

I loved "Widow For One Year" and was a bit skeptical about "A Door In The Floor". I just didn't see it translating well on screen and I have to admit I'm not a Kim Basinger fan either. Well I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the screenplay and the acting. Yes I felt sad that the other complex part of the story was omitted but after hearing John Irvings comments in the bonus features he put my sadness to rest. I completely see where he was coming from on the difficulties of portraying the other events to be true to the intended meaning. Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger were very compelling. Kim Basinger did a brilliant job at coming across as a sympathetic character while remaining emotional hardened in a state that allowed her to leave her daughter and sleep with a young teenage boy. One of the things I love best about John Irving is that he creates characters so flawed yet so redeemable and complex. He show the other side of the coin to making bad choices vs. good. He shows that to each screwed up life there are stories of how people get there and how everything around them contributes to who they become. Because of pain some submit to fears, some submit to pleasures, some submit to sorrow. And although some learn to conquer the emotions and pains of life, some don't, and for them it seems Irving wants us to see that they do the best they can to survive it and protect those they love in their own messed up ways. Underneath these characters that seem morally challenged is pain and the desire to survive it. I guess having said that it is sad that Ruth's story was never told. All things considered this was a very good movie based on a brilliant book.

My wife and I just got back from "The Door in the Floor", and I have to say that I found the film to be complex, deep, and intense. We will be hearing about nominations at Oscar time. There are many, many ways that people react to tragedy, and withdrawing the way that Marion Cole did is certainly common. We have friends that lost their eldest daughter to a congenital heart problem a year and a half ago, and I can tell you that he (the dad) reacted just that way, although he went down the alcoholic route, along with distancing himself from his other two children, because he couldn't face his daughter's death. He finally walked out on the entire family much like Marion did. If you think that it can't happen the way that it did in the film, think again.

The performances by Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger were spot-on perfect. Henry Fonda once said the secret of great actors was that they never let the audience see the wheels turning. I thought that Jeff's performance was one of his best, maybe even better than he was in "Fearless", although that is certainly arguable. I still liked Kim Basinger better in "L.A. Confidential", but this performance is certainly up there at the top.

I certainly intend to see this again, and will end up buying the DVD for my video library. I just love well-written character-driven dramas, and this is certainly one of the better ones.

Spoilers

A few days after watching the movie and reading an assortment of reviews from IMDb, local magazines, New York Times to Ebert, I still have not made up my mind how seriously I should take this one.

The two names alone, Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger, should make any serious moviegoers sit up and take note. As well, the subject matter itself is not something to be taken lightly, the tragic loss of children and the devastating aftermath to the parents. (Two films dealing with this subject matter immediately come to mind, Moonlight Mile and In the Bedroom, both quite 'serious' in a sense, particularly the latter). The movie losses no time in coming directly to the point, in a scene where the silent gloom freezes the air, with children books author Ted (Bridges) suggesting to Marion (Basinger) that they should have a trial separation. However, as the events unfold, it seems as if the moviemakers are worried that the audience wouldn't be able to take this heavy stuff, and start to lead us through a maze of eccentricities that almost become noire.

The catalyst is 16-year-old writing student Eddie (Jon Foster) hired by Ted as a summer apprentice. It soon becomes quite evident that Ted has little intention to get Eddie involved in literary pursuits, but wants him rather as a chauffeur (Ted has lost his own license through drunk driving charges) and maybe also as a backup baby sitter for little Ruth (Elle Fanning). (A deeper reason for choosing Eddie was revealed much later). A little reminiscent of The Graduate, Marion's seduction of Eddie is however handled with much more gentleness and even some comic relief. Meanwhile, Ted's licentious relationship with a neighbour becomes noir-ish as we see him chased around the swimming pool by her with a butcher knife.

The 'hook' in the movie is the delay in revealing to the audience the details of the tragic events that led to the death of the couple's two sons (one of whom looked remarkably like Eddie). The revelation, when it comes, isn't exactly earth shattering, but does serve to give the strained relationship between Ted and Marion another dimension. And we will recall that throughout the movie, we see very little of direct interaction between them. After Eddie's arrival they seem to be communicating through him.

Bridges and Basinger are definitely the reasons for watching this movie. From underneath the eccentricity of Ted and the sensuality of Marion, Bridges and Basinger portray beautifully the depth of helplessness of these two characters. Little known Jon Foster is perfectly cast to bring out convincingly the innocence of Eddie. Little Elle Fanning ably demonstrates the family acting tradition. I noticed from her filmography that she played the 2-year-old stage of the character her sister Dakota played in I Am Sam.