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Movies / On DVD / The Door in the Floor
The Door in the Floor

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The Door in the Floor (2004)

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Reviews Counted:138

Fresh:91

Rotten:47

Average Rating:6.4/10

Consensus: Though uneven in tone, this is one of the better adaptations of John Irving's novels, with Jeff Bridges giving one of his best performances.

Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: The Door in the Floor explores the complexities of love in its brightest, most mysterious, and darkest corners. The Door in the Floor is directed by Tod Williams, whose screenplay is adapted from... The Door in the Floor explores the complexities of love in its brightest, most mysterious, and darkest corners. The Door in the Floor is directed by Tod Williams, whose screenplay is adapted from John Irving's best-selling novel A Widow for One Year. Set in the beach community of East Hampton, New York, the film chronicles one pivotal summer in the lives of famous children's books author Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges) and his beautiful wife Marion (Kim Basinger). Their once-great marriage has been strained by tragedy. The Coles lovingly parent their surviving child, bright 4-year-old Ruth (Elle Fanning), who takes everything in stride as perhaps only a child can. But Marion's equation of love with loss, coupled with Ted's infidelities, points towards a much-needed change in the relationship. That may come in the form of Eddie O'Hare (Jon Foster), the young man Ted hires to work as his summer assistant - and, Ted hopes, the catalyst to invigorate the Coles' bond of marriage. Eddie idolizes Ted, but Ted's erratic work habits soon leave Eddie to his own devices. Marion becomes an object of desire for Eddie, rekindling in her some surprising emotions as a mother and as a woman. To Eddie's surprise and delight, his yearning is potently reciprocated. As he becomes passionately entwined with the seemingly fragile yet increasingly bold Marion, Eddie comes to realize that, similarly, Ted's surface fecklessness hides something deeper within. As the summer draws to a close, Marion and Ted must make difficult decisions about the future of their family. A Focus Features and Revere Pictures presentation of a This is that production. Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger. The Door in the Floor. Jon Foster, Mimi Rogers, Elle Fanning, with Bijou Phillips. Composer, Marcelo Zarvos. Costume Designer, Eric Daman. Editor, Affonso Gonçalves. Production Designer, Thérèse DePrez. Director of Photography, Terry Stacey. Co-Producer, Marisa Polvino. Executive Producer, Amy J. Kaufman. Executive Producer, Roger Marino. Produced by Michael Corrente. Produced by Ted Hope, Anne Carey. Based the novel A Widow for One Year by John Irving. Screenplay by Tod Williams. Directed by Tod Williams. -- © Focus Features [More]

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, Mimi Rogers, Elle Fanning

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, Mimi Rogers, Elle Fanning, Jon Foster, Bijou Phillips

Director: Tod Williams

Director: Tod Williams
Screenwriter: Tod Williams
Producer: Michael Corrente, Ted Hope, Anne Carey
Composer: Marcelo Zarvos
Studio: Focus Features

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Reviews for The Door in the Floor

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
11/06/04
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

A finely made drama about a seriously disturbed family.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
10/31/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
03/07/05
Independent
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
01/18/05
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Basinger and Bridges embrace the challenge -- he comes off as a adulterous cad who'll never work through the tragedy; she is a cold woman who's left without feeling.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
07/16/04
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Jeff Bridges offers perhaps the wittiest and richest piece of screen acting by an American man so far this year in the best movie yet made from John Irving's fiction.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
07/14/04
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In an example of the film’s veneration of mature female sexuality, Mimi Rogers, approaching 50, fearlessly bares all in a scene heartbreaking in its cruelty.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
07/16/04
Annlee Ellingson
Annlee Ellingson
FilmStew.com

Leaves the viewer with lots to think about but not much hope for the human condition.

Full Review Source: Roanoke Times (Virginia) | comment Comment
08/16/04
Beth Jones
Beth Jones
Roanoke Times (Virginia)

Leaves the viewer with lots to think about but not much hope for the human condition.

Full Review Source: Roanoke Times (Virginia) | comment Comment
08/16/04
Beth Jones
Beth Jones
Roanoke Times (Virginia)

[Williams] maintains a well-judged equilibrium between the characters' agonies and forced exhilarations.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
07/14/04
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

Acute, introspective look at a dysfunctional family gets a boost from Jeff Bridges' performance.

Full Review Source: Denton Record Chronicle (TX) | comment Comment
07/15/04
Boo Allen
Boo Allen
Denton Record Chronicle (TX)

an alternately amusing and tragic portrait of post-traumatic eccentricity, focusing on two parents who are unable to get over the loss of their two sons after a car accident.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
03/03/05
Brian Mckay
Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
08/16/04
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
FilmJerk.com

Dark cinema, but also perceptive and revelatory in exploring how an ill-fated couple struggles to cope with tragedy.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
07/16/04
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

A sophisticated, intelligent, summer film for adults who yearn for something more than popcorn flicks.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
07/14/04
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

Bridges, a consistently under-appreciated actor, does arguably the best work of his career...

Full Review Source: AboutFilm.com | comment Comment
07/10/04
Carlo Cavagna
Carlo Cavagna
AboutFilm.com

The movie appears to be made for an audience whose highest aspiration is to be WASPs -- and it feels long enough to produce enough generations of them to fill an Andover reunion.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
07/20/04
Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor
Salon.com

If 'storytelling is all in the details', then the little moments add up to a movie worth seeing.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
07/14/04
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com
 
 
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Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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Latest News for The Door in the Floor

April 08, 2005: Frankie Muniz Aims to "Stay Alive"!
The Hollywood Reporter brings news of a rather drastic career switch for the young Frankie Muniz. Known throughout the universe as "Malcolm in the Middle" (or perhaps... More...

June 22, 2004: Not so easily cast was the role of Marion, a woman so traumatized by the death of her sons that she can’t properly mother her daughter. Opens in new window
More...

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