When you find out that this movie was released by Miramax...remember it is a subsidiary of DISNEY.

Micheal Caine plays an abortionist, Wilber Larch. In the movie, he "delivers" women from the curse of pregnancy. He also runs an orphanage, so he can give a woman what she wants, either an orphan or an abortion. Nice touch, huh?
Toby Maguire, who plays Homer, has been trained to "do the Lords work" (their words, not mine) but initially feels bad about abortion, but a "miracle" occurs and the young man repents from his supposed "apostasy" as he is called on to perform an abortion on a woman who has conceived a baby from an incestuous relationship.

Not to go into great detail, the movie summarizes the theme in a book written by Joseph Fletcher, Situational ethics. That means that any given situation, be it abortion, murder, pre-maritial sex, lying or adultery could be right, depending on the situation.

The good doctor feels so badly for the "work" he is doing, he has to resort to drugs (in this case ether) to escape from what he is doing, namely abortions. Even this use of drugs is excused in the film.

Throughout the film, the idea of the sanctity of life is constantly attacked and down-played, while the idea of "quality of life" is pushed forward. The whole movie basically tells the viewer that it really might be OK to perform abortions, if the baby might not have a totally happy life. How does anyone know what type of life a baby might or might not have? Only God knows...not you or I...but this film says that we can have the power of death over life for anyone we deem not to have a quality life ahead of them.

Do not see the film, don't rent it and do not allow your children to see it...unless you want to further bias their thinking by moving them away from God and towards Satan.

This movie promotes abortion. It almost glorifies the act, giving some type of heroic status to a horrible act. Do not go see the movie. Do not even rent the movie. It has very deep hidden meanings. If you must see it, please do not take your children. It will send the wrong message to them. The message is "Anything is alright, given the right circumstances".

This movie is wonderful. Finally a movie that makes you feel good all over...with it's little messages. It tells you that ANYTHING is OK...given certain conditions...as long as those conditions are met, and you feel good, anything is OK.

It gives a wonderful message about abortion also. How even abortion is OK...as long as the mother wants it and does not want the baby...uhh...non-viable tissue mass...sorry, almost Politically Uncorrect.

Go see this movie and take your children...it really gets the proper messages across.

Yowza! Guess someone wasn't watching the same movie I was.

Cider House Rules is a story of an orphan who grows in ways which are both heartwarming and tragic. Tobey Maguire is superb as the orphan as is Michael Caine as his mentor. The movie does not gloss over life and pretend that it's full of nothing but happiness. Instead, it explores more complex relationships that deal in much more difficult topics of abortion, incest, drug use, infidelity, and death. Nowhere in the movie did I get the impression that these were "good things" or ideas that were "promoted" in any way. They were simply there, part of life, just as they are part of the real world.

The contrast between the tragedies of life and the innocence of childhood at the orphanage is beautifully shown as the movie travels between the two. The musical score blends in well, and the supporting actors and actresses are first-rate also.

Since Cider House Rules deals in many adult and difficult topics, it may indeed not be appropriate for many children. Judging from the aforementioned reviews, it's apparently not appropriate for some adults either.

Another great film by Hollywood. Could they push their agenda anymore? This movie is simply a movie that states that depending on the situation, ethics and morals are relative.

Of course the young "pro-lifer" is shown the error of his ways and the naivety of his feelings toward abortion. Quality of life, not quantity. This sounds like the Biosphere Treaty from the UN that Clinton and Gore stand so firmly behind. The less humans the better.

It's a film with an agenda - to show those who believe an infants life is worth something, that the mother's quality of life is worth more. Nice. I expect such sentiment from Hollywood and it's stars.

To quote Leonardo DiCaprio - "I'll vote for Gore, because he's for the environment". Poor sheltered Leo. And poor sheltered Hollywood. This movie is great if you are a Democrat and stinks if you are anything else.

This was a good movie, I thought, although not for young children, but the PG13 rating should tell you that.

It did not glorify abortion, Michael Caine's character also performed deliveries, and it was clear that was what he would rather do. But the fact of life is, sometimes a woman does not want or cannot have the child she is carrying and the doctor in the movie was willing to perform abortions for those women, rather than having them try to do it themselves or go to some butcher and have both baby and mother die horrible deaths (as that one woman did - or didn't some of you catch that message?)

And, in case you of the blanket generalizations were wondering, I'm a Republican!

"The Cider House Rules" is a well-made, gentle movie that is only kept from greatness by its seemingly stubborn refusal to stretch its legs and follow through on the issues is touches on. What it does it does well, yet I feel filmmakers as talented as these are capable of brilliance - instead, they settle for decency.

It is 1943. The story opens with a narration by Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine), the head doctor at the St. Cloud Orphanage in Maine. Actually, "head" doctor is even a bit of a stretch - he's the only real doctor in the place. His assistant is an orphan named Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire), who learned everything about medicine from Dr. Larch. The good doctor hopes one day young Homer will succeed him as St. Cloud's main medicine man. Homer, on the other hand, wants to experience more out of life. So, when young couple Candy Kendall (Charlize Theron) and Wally Worthington (Paul Rudd) arrive at the orphanage in need of Dr. Larch's services, Homer asks if he can leave with them. Of course, this enrages Larch, and the two part on not-so-good terms.

So, Homer ventures off with the young couple in search of a life outside that of the orphanage. He takes a job as an apple picker and immediately fits in with his new surroundings. He is well-liked by his boss, the seemingly benevolent Mr. Rose (Delroy Lindo) and his spirited daughter (Erykah Badu). Soon, the young couple is split when Wally is sent off to the war, leaving Candy and Homer together. "I'm not good at being alone" she tells him. They grow closer.

Complications arise and the characters are forced to make decisions which will
affect the rest of their lives, and the lives of those they feel closest to. All this is held together with a gentle touch by director Lasse ("What's Eating Gilbert Grape","My Life as a Dog") Hallstrom, who is a master at allowing the camera to simply observe the lives of the characters and letting the audience grow closer to their plight rather than trying to hammer home a particular point. His direction never seems intrusive. The best parts of the film are set in the orphanage. The movie is good at showing us the rituals which take
place within the sad walls of St. Cloud - the orphanage itself resting atop a hill engulfed by the quiet yet lonely Maine countryside. When one of the orphans is adopted, the head nurse (Kathy Baker) gathers the children around before bedtime and leads them in a kind of affirmation prayer - the kids are taught to be happy for the newly adopted child and to wish him or her a good night. There are also revealing moments when Homer leaves the orphanage; one involves a young female orphan who has a crush on Homer. She runs into the bathroom, looks at herself in the mirror - not as a heartbroken young girl, but the way an abusive parent would condescendingly look at a child - and slaps herself across the face. It's a scene that only lasts a couple seconds, but one that severs the heart in less that time. Moments like that are Hallstrom's staple mark.

Despite some truly brilliant moments, the movie doesn't feel the need to take that extra step and reach for greatness. It looks like it wants to lean in several different directions, but doesn't settle on any one. For example, I admire its willingness to acknowledge the issue of abortion by showing the difference of opinion between Larch and Homer - but the film ultimately backs off on the issue by not allowing the female characters to speak about how their respective situations have affected them. Later in the story (WARNING: PLOT POINTS REVEALED IN THE NEXT SENTENCE), the issue of incest is touched upon, showing its ugly head in the relationship between Mr. Rose and his daughter. But again here, the movie backs off the issue by dignifying the father without giving the daughter a chance to speak. Moments like that hold the film back - refusing its entry into the realm of perfect cinema.

And yet I recommend the film anyway because of the wonderful individual scenes - most notably in the orphanage. The look of the movie is magnificent, thanks to the exquisite cinematography by Oliver Stapleton. And Michael Caine's performance ranks among his best. Dr. Larch's addiction to ether is seen as the result of omnipotent compassion mixed with often insurmountable heartache, and is conveyed with an indescribable heartfelt beauty by Caine. The need of Homer Wells to branch out, explore new territories, and leave the orphanage is certainly understandable and absolutely necessary. It made him realize just how needed he was by those who love him - a passionate hope resting inside every human being, regardless of how far away they trek.

--Michael Brendan, "Mad Dog" Film Reviews (www.maddogreviews.com)

What can I say! I loved the characters in this film! It is a heavy responsibility to make one of John Irving's books into a movie, but I can not conceive of a more perfect depiction of "The CiderHouse Rules". It has always, apart from "Shogun" been my favorite novel.

Good cimetograhpy, good acting, strong story. That makes the film worth seeing at least once, but I am not sure there is much else to see.

There is a rule in bars -- no religion, no politics. I wish the film industry would follow the same rules. The Cidar House Rules follows the life of a young orphan coming of age in WWII Maine. His long time mentor teaches him medicinal skills he would need to continue work at the orphanage that has been his only home. Then after a period of disagreement the boy leaves to "find himself". In it's simplicity, the movie sets itself to be a good story.

Now comes the rest. Make no doubt, the writer(s) fully intended this to be a pro-choice epic. The overwhelming statment is "rules are made by the people who don't understand, and all of us have every right to break those rules if we feel right". I know they intedened this to mean only the abortion issue, but I couldn't forget the fact that this movie also glamorizes adultry, incest, and murder (the stabing part -- not the abortions). I will tell you before this movie, I had no opinion on abortion. Then this film makes it look like the only way to save the world is by scraping the uteruses of everyone. How am I supposed to enjoy that?

Isn't it bad enough that we are going to get this whole abortion subject shoved down our throats in an election year, that we don't have to get it at the big screen?

\"The Cider House Rules\" is a wonderful drama about a man who is raised in a orphanage/abortion clinic. Tobey Maguire played a man who wanted to go out in the world and Michael Caine plays the doctor with a heart of gold. Caine is the best thing about this movie. The film is based on the book by John Irving and is directed by Lasse Hallstorm.