Good cinema should take you to uncomfortable places. The Cider House Rules definitely takes you to uncomfortable places: orphanages, abortion clinics, migrant worker camps, war-affected households, and a through a variety of dark personal & familial traumas. But it's so well crafted, so well written, so well acted, & so well directed it's OK. It just shows you the discomfort without preachiness or excessive commentary, and let's you absorb & process on your own. It's a difficult film to get through, but it definitely hits an emotional nerve, like all good movies do.
A very strong film. It had stiff competition for the Oscars in 2000, it definitely deserved the Best Picture nomination if not the award itself.
A very strong film. It had stiff competition for the Oscars in 2000, it definitely deserved the Best Picture nomination if not the award itself.