Cider House Rules

This was a great movie it made me laugh and cry. I was hooked into the story line five minutes into the movie. The movie started telling about Dr. Larch who lived in an orphanage and helped women with deliveries and abortions. One young boy in particular ended up being the “hero” in the movie, Homer. Homer grew up in the orphanage and learned everything there was to know about women’s health and procedures. He was also a positive role model for the fellow orphans. One day a young woman and her boyfriend came in to have their baby aborted and Homer decided to leave with them. Homer started to live a life of apple picking and lobster fishing. He also was able to see the ocean, which he loved, and drive-in movies. Prior to leaving the orphanage he had only seen the movie King Kong and it remained to be his favorite after he saw other movies. Leaving the orphanage was like moving to another world for Homer and he enjoyed it very much. Homer ended up falling in love with the woman who had an abortion. In one scene it was truly beautiful because the two (Homer and the woman) were enjoying the outdoors and playing, when all of a sudden Homer embraced her and didn’t let go. From that moment the two became intimate and shared more than just hands.
Another important part to the movie was Mr. Rose and the apple pickers. They came for apple season and Homer helped with the picking. Mr. Rose’s daughter Rose came back the second summer and was sick every morning. Homer with his past experience with woman knew that she was pregnant. Homer’s girlfriend found out that Rose’s baby’s father was her own dad. Rose decided to have an abortion and Homer performed the procedure. A few nights after the procedure Rose decided to leave and a miscommunication lead to the stabbing of her father. After Rose left Mr. Rose continued to stab himself and was almost dead when Homer came. Mr. Rose told Homer that the story to tell the police was that he killed himself because he had a broken heart.
After receiving news that Dr. Larch had died from an accidental overdose, Homer returned to the orphanage and accepted the role as doctor. Fulfilling this position was natural for Homer and was Dr. Larch’s wish. I was very happy to see Homer accept the role because it seemed so natural for him to help people.
I think that this movie was all about finding yourself and figuring out who you really want to be. There were many ethical components to this movie and I read many negative reviews about the acts of abortion. But this movie was based in the mid 1900’s before much was known about abortion and the development of the fetus. I think that the message was not that abortion is okay or that giving your children up for adoption was okay. I do however think the message was to follow your heart! Homer’s love for the young woman kept him away from the orphanage but his love for Dr. Larch and the children led him home to the orphanage.
Many famous lines have come from this movie, a few I recognized were as follow: “I’ve seen so many women, I have seen everything, but with you, to look at you it hurts.” (Homer), “I’m not sorry that I love you” (Dr. Larch), “some rules are not meant to be followed” (Mr. Rose), “sometimes you gotta make rules to put things straight” (Mr. Rose). I have heard these lines so many times in movies and in conversations with the general public, these lines are classics!
I think the title of this movie was excellent because the movie was all about breaking the rules in the “cider house” but then making new rules in the end. I like that the original rules were all about not going on the roof for many different reasons and to not smoke while laying in bed. The rules seemed funny to me but were only for the men’s safety. In the end the boys told Homer to burn the rules so they were tossed into the stove but as Mr. Rose died he implemented new rules. This is when Mr. Rose stated, “sometimes you gotta make rules to put things straight”, “that’s the honest truth”. I liked this part of the movie because throughout the whole movie things were going on that were morally wrong and this set the stage telling me that everything was going to turn out okay. This part of the movie led me to believe that Homer would follow his heart and go home, and he did!
This was an excellent movie and I had to watch it again with my mom, she liked it too. I like that the movie teaches people that they can explore the world but that eventually they must follow their hearts and do what they were born to do.