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Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR
For Ted and Marion Cole, in a marriage quickly recognized as having seen better days, the
untimely death of their two teenage sons widens their divide. With a four-year-old daughter
caught in the middle, and all three retreating into their respective worlds, 16-year-old Eddie
O'Hare (Foster) comes into their lives for the summer to assist children’s book writer Ted. What
Eddie isn't prepared for, though, is the distant Mrs. Cole (Basinger), his fantasy come true. While
the philandering Ted (Bridges) cuts a wide swath in the Hamptons, his wife and underling’s
relationship grows. Nicely portrayed, the cast lends itself well to the film’s complex
relationships. The greater issue at hand, however, is figuring out whose story it is. John Irving's
sprawling book, A Widow for One Year, serves as the basis for this adaptation.
Writer/director Tod Williams focuses entirely on the first of Irving's three-part novel, which can
and does stand as its own story. However in the novel, this section seems to function more as a
foundation upon which to build and reveal the subsequent lifelines and relationships of the main
characters. This allows Irving the license, in the earlier third of the story, to bounce more quickly
back and forth from character to character. Inasmuch as Williams' rendering is very faithful to the
novel, this stylistic faithfulness inadvertently makes the movie feel fragmented, giving the sense
of competing stories. Although a greater focus would ultimately help the film resonate more
cohesively, the story is still well played, and its moving themes of scarred lives, failed promises,
and wounded pride still come through. Max Rennix, actor/writer based in New York
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