Word: novels
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...AFFAIR This may be Graham Greene's best novel; surely Neil Jordan's starkly disciplined film is the best screen adaptation of any of Greene's fictions. An account of a slightly slutty woman's unlikely transformation into something like sainthood, it is acted with stunning austerity by Julianne Moore and Ralph Fiennes...
...Cider House Rules, based on the John Irving novel of the same name, is the story of Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire) trying to be his own hero. Raised in an orphanage in the era leading up to World War II, Homer fashioned his own version of a family. Besides having the other orphans as siblings, Homer develops a strong father-son bond with Dr. Wilbur Larch, played by Oscar-winner Michael Caine...
...Translating the 600-odd-page novel to screen wasn't an easy task. Previous attempts at movie adaptations of Irving's novels have disappointed. Hotel New Hampshire, even with the talents of Jodie Foster and Beau Bridges, was pretty bad, and The World According to Garp, starring Robin Williams, wasn't much better. The worst, however, was Simon Birch, the big-screen "adaptation" of A Prayer for Owen Meany. It was so terrible, in fact, that Irving forced Disney to remove the original characters' names from the movie, leaving only a "loosely inspired by" credit. These films were missing...
...also learns quite a bit more than medicine from Michael Caine's Dr. Larch. Caine perfectly embodies the Dr. Larch of the novel. Although he has a gruff exterior, Larch loves all of his orphans, especially young Homer. It breaks his heart when Homer leaves, but he never gives up--just like, you might say, a real father. His signature line, spoken to the orphans before bed, "Goodnight you princes of Maine, you kings of New England," belies an overly optimistic hope for the future all of his young ones, a love and faith that he passed on to Homer...
...that at the very least professionals will ensure that it's safe? The movie gives answers to such questions, but only if you're willing to open yourself up to them. It's the mark of a layered work, one that preserves the spirit of Irving's own novel--and one which thankfully doesn't skimp on its complexity in order to fit into a precise category...