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The Door in the Floor - Movie Review |
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Written by The Creole Cat
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The Door in the Floor
A film by Tod Williams
Director and screenwriter Tod Williams adaptation of the first part of John Irving's book A Widow for One Year,
tells of one crucial summer during the marital separation of children's
book author and illustrator Ted Cole and his wife, Marion. Grieving
from the tragic loss of their teenage boys some years earlier, the
couple are living separate lives now with their only link being their
four year old daughter Ruth. Ruth is an absolute darling and was
basically conceived to help mend their grief. She spends most of her
time gazing over photos of her brothers who she never knew. I've always
wondered how directors get child actors to perform such tricky roles as
this, and explain to their young minds the concept of death. How much
can and should you tell them at such a young age?
Ted is played by Jeff Bridges and he is a sweet, rugged old salt. He
copes with his bereavement through drink, "engaging" in his models and
maintaining his own distance in his studio. He also provides some much
needed comic relief. Kim Basinger as Marion is absolutely beautiful.
She just keeps getting better and better. She's wonderful at playing
women who say very little; everything is conveyed through her gestures
and facial expressions. I really enjoyed watching her.
Ted hires sixteen year-old Eddie to intern for the summer as his
assistant, although he's barely given the task. Rather, he becomes
Ted's official driver and falls under Marion's tutelage where she
introduces him to his first sexual experience. We learn that Eddie was
not only hired under the guise of being a chauffeur to Ted, but as a
companion to the distant Marion. But towards the end of the film (when
everyone typically confesses up to stuff), we also learn that Ted chose
Eddie because his looks resembled one of the deceased sons. So
theoretically, Marion slept with her son. Or her "proxy" son, whichever
way you want to look at it. Until Ted made that revelation, I really
didn't have a problem with Marion and Eddie being together. I figured
they were useful to each other. And no one really seemed to be bothered
by it all.
Ted maybe loopy, but he is the only consistently reliable force in
Ruth's life; Eddie is, at once, intrigued, disturbed and disgusted by
this family. And Marion is just apathetic to everything; the depth of
her anguish has made her dead inside. She has no interest in salvaging
her marriage or maintaining any kind of relationship with her daughter.
On the one hand, I understand the relentless dynamics of grief and how
people experience it in different ways and to different degrees. And
whether mentally or physically or both, you do shut down for a period.
But how is it that this woman was able to leave her child? If anything,
you would think Marion would cling to Ruth even more so. Perhaps she
felt she would not have been able to provide Ruth with the love she
needed. Maybe the Irving book explains it.
From the white summer clothing Marion wears, to the black and white
photos that adorn the walls of the house, to the East Hampton locale
with its chilly white beaches, the texture of the film reminded me of a
piece of gauze; rough, cold, thinly veiled and fragile.
A good character study film.
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