Depression in the Floor
Boasting a stellar cast, a crisp, literate script and solid direction, The Door in the Floor is one of those rarities of the summer—a serious picture for the over 35 crowd. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most depressing movies of the year filled with beautiful people who spend two hours being noble and stoic and, yes, beautiful, in the face of a lingering tragedy.
Based on the John Irving novel A Widow for One Year, The Door in the Floor chronicles the last gasp of the marriage of children's author Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges) and his wife Marion (Kim Basinger). The couple has decided on a trial separation for the summer spending alternate nights at the family Hampton's home caring for their 4-year-old daughter Ruth (Elle Fanning). While the movie is about the disintegration and rebirth of the Cole family, it is also a ghost story. Ted, Marion and Ruth are haunted by the memory of the couple's oldest children, Timothy and Thomas, who died in a freak accident some years before. While the Coles are working to salvage what's left of their marriage, Ted arranges for a summer intern Eddie O'Hare (John Foster), a 17-year-old student from his dead sons' alma mater Exeter, to come and see what the life of a writer is all about.
Eddie's primary duties include ferrying Ted to his daily trysts with his mistress (Mimi Rogers) and continuously retyping the same children's story over and over. During his downtime, Eddie develops a friendship with Marion, which quickly turns into a sexual relationship.
The plot of The Door in the Floor is predictable and surprising at the same time. Every event that occurs has a sense of tragic inevitability, reflecting Ted's theory of plotting his dark children's stories. But there is moments of whimsy, joy and even downright comedy. Ted's "break up" with his mistress is played with comic effect, and Rogers chews the scenery with abandon.
The plot, though, is little more than window dressing for Basinger, Bridges and newcomer Foster's performances. Basinger, in particular, turns in her best work in ages, her fading beauty in stark counterpoint to the sorrow her Marion displays in almost every scene—including the rather explicit and purposely empty sex scenes with Foster. Foster is slightly less effective, but he does play his lovestruck teenager with the right sense of gravity and seriousness. Bridges has the most difficult role in the movie. He has to balance between the darkness of a grieving parent and boozy excess of a successful, celebrity writer.
All in all, writer-director Tod Williams delivers a standout piece of work except for one glaring omission, which could be a flaw in the source material as well. There is nothing redemptive in The Door in the Floor. We are presented with the story of these three noble, sad people's lives and in the end all we have is the end. There is little to take away from the suffering that has gone before other than the promise that life will go on somehow for these damaged, sad, albeit noble people.
Except for that one fatal flaw which permeates the entire picture, Williams could have delivered a knockout. Instead he has given us a picture worthwhile only for its parts, but worthwhile all the same.
Based on the John Irving novel A Widow for One Year, The Door in the Floor chronicles the last gasp of the marriage of children's author Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges) and his wife Marion (Kim Basinger). The couple has decided on a trial separation for the summer spending alternate nights at the family Hampton's home caring for their 4-year-old daughter Ruth (Elle Fanning). While the movie is about the disintegration and rebirth of the Cole family, it is also a ghost story. Ted, Marion and Ruth are haunted by the memory of the couple's oldest children, Timothy and Thomas, who died in a freak accident some years before. While the Coles are working to salvage what's left of their marriage, Ted arranges for a summer intern Eddie O'Hare (John Foster), a 17-year-old student from his dead sons' alma mater Exeter, to come and see what the life of a writer is all about.
Eddie's primary duties include ferrying Ted to his daily trysts with his mistress (Mimi Rogers) and continuously retyping the same children's story over and over. During his downtime, Eddie develops a friendship with Marion, which quickly turns into a sexual relationship.
The plot of The Door in the Floor is predictable and surprising at the same time. Every event that occurs has a sense of tragic inevitability, reflecting Ted's theory of plotting his dark children's stories. But there is moments of whimsy, joy and even downright comedy. Ted's "break up" with his mistress is played with comic effect, and Rogers chews the scenery with abandon.
The plot, though, is little more than window dressing for Basinger, Bridges and newcomer Foster's performances. Basinger, in particular, turns in her best work in ages, her fading beauty in stark counterpoint to the sorrow her Marion displays in almost every scene—including the rather explicit and purposely empty sex scenes with Foster. Foster is slightly less effective, but he does play his lovestruck teenager with the right sense of gravity and seriousness. Bridges has the most difficult role in the movie. He has to balance between the darkness of a grieving parent and boozy excess of a successful, celebrity writer.
All in all, writer-director Tod Williams delivers a standout piece of work except for one glaring omission, which could be a flaw in the source material as well. There is nothing redemptive in The Door in the Floor. We are presented with the story of these three noble, sad people's lives and in the end all we have is the end. There is little to take away from the suffering that has gone before other than the promise that life will go on somehow for these damaged, sad, albeit noble people.
Except for that one fatal flaw which permeates the entire picture, Williams could have delivered a knockout. Instead he has given us a picture worthwhile only for its parts, but worthwhile all the same.
