Poetic and profound, "The Cider House Rules" is most assuredly the best transference of a John Irving novel to the silver screen. The richness of characters and the deep profundity of thought in his work is finally channelled correctly here. It should be no surprise then, that this is because Irving himself wrote the screenplay. But film is not script alone and due credit must, of course, be given to the actors, technicians and the director of the film. The work of all involved here culminates into one of the most powerful and beautiful films to come along in quite a while.

"The Cider House Rules" finds a beautiful setting for a film about the meaning of life by presenting the early action at an orphanage. It is here that young Homer Wells, played perfectly by Tobey Maguire, finds his life taking direction as the charge of the institution's doctor. Wells' story is the meat of the film. What Irving does so beautifully here, drawing from what must be another of his epic novels, is move the story from the realm of thought to the realm of actions. We understand deeply what the film is about by little breadcrumbs Irving peppers throughout the film. It's never heavy-handed, never conspicuous, always subtle. We just begin to have ideas and thoughts wash over us due to the skill of the script here. It's like reading a wonderful and poignant novel, where thoughts, ideas and expressions far outweigh actions or drama.

The actors in the piece, and there are a plethora of them, young and old, do flawless justice to the script. Maguire is pitch perfect. He never, ever misses a beat. He becomes Homer Wells. We have no doubt in our mind's that this is a young man who grew up in an orphanage without benefit of proper rearing or education (although it isn't exactly improper either). But what he has come to find is a world that opens up to him, flowers for him, while leading him oddly back to exactly from where he came. We see where the script is taking the character in a simplistic manner. But Irving doesn't telegraph it. The "playing out" of it lies in our own hopefulness and desires for good. Maguire perfectly plays the man/boy set out to seek the world. His story is epic and magnificent and Maguire never fails us or Homer. Even his character's name means something.

Michael Caine is a revelation as Dr. Larch. It's his best work in ages. Charlize Theron captures the essence of the war bride without truly being one. It's a wonderful portrayal, full of understanding and care, which makes us always sympathetic to her, not because of her beauty or her charm, but because of her honesty and reality. We like her and we understand her. We don't judge.

And at the perimeter of the main story are the subplots and side characters that add such richness and depths to the ideas being discussed here. Kathy Baker, Jane Alexander, Kate Nelligan, Paul Rudd, Kieran Culkin, Delroy Lindo, Erykah Bahdu, Heavy D., and a plethora of young actors at the top of their form, provide us with so much joy here. This film sweeps over us, seeps into our soul, because it is so delicate and so wondrous. We can't help but love every moment we spend with these characters, even when they can't live up to our moral expectations. Because, of course, in the end, they do.

Director Lasse Hallstrom provides the perfect pacing and the most sumptuous photography to accent the film. When the characters live in the outdoors, when the world blossoms for Homer, it's never Cinemascope technical marvel that sweeps us over, but rather quiet and beautiful pictures that do. They remind us so simply and so purely of the beauty of the natural world. When the characters eat outdoors by the riverside, Hallstrom doesn't "punch up" the surroundings with glowing waves of green reed or delicate sepia pictures of sunset illuminating the landscape in yellow. He just simply shows the setting. We don't need cinematics to enhance it's beauty. It simply is glorious. It harkens to the Earth of our youth and pulls us in even more assuredly to the film's themes about life, love and finding our place in the world. It's passionate and profound.

"The Cider House Rules" is one of the finest films I have seen in this or any other year. It explores the choices we all must make as humans. It discusses our places in the world and man's ability to make, and live by, his own rules. It explores the idea of ideals vs. real world experience. It's about man's own inherent morality, and how we judge ourselves when we cross our own judgement lines. It makes us think of eternal questions, and important ones too, such as: What is family? What is purpose? What is important? What is the meaning of it all? But it never once judges. It never once leads us to any conclusion. It simply exposes us to ideas and lets us experience and decide for ourselves. We learn, like an orphan let loose into the world, that the beauty and the wonder of it all always leads us home. To what is right. And to what is right for us.

Note:

Irving has a cameo as the "Stationmaster" in the film. His other novels brought to the screen include "A Prayer for Owen Meany" ("Simon Birch"), "The World According to Garp," and "The Hotel New Hampshire."

Score by Rachael Portman.

The film was nominated for several awards, including Academy Awards, SAG Awards, and Golden Globes, among others, for acting as well as technical achievements.

Clips from the film "King Kong" (1932) are used briefly.

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