Frankly, I didn’t know what to expect. These days, being nominated for Best Picture doesn’t automatically mean you’ll see a great flick. Though chances are good, and few would say that THE CIDER HOUSE RULES isn’t worth the effort. The cinematography and locations are indeed fabulous. The director also benefits from a good cast, most of which are hard to dislike despite their obvious character faults. But CIDER HOUSE, in its second installment, does become a little muddled in its themes and morals. For rather than center on one, they tend to overlap and lose focus. Afterwards, I wasn’t exactly sure which was to take precedence, if any.

      The conclusion though, I hate to say, is formulaic at best. Morals and plot clichés are piled on high, important characters start dying (some for no reason), and the main character, played by Tobey Maguire, ends up right back where you knew he would (not entirely by choice). And then the movie just ends, rather abruptly. If this was so in the novel, than the flaw lies there also. Of course, the film is good enough to ultimately see past this, but they are flaws nonetheless. Critics always seem to forget that a great film, in order to be that, has to be consistent throughout. And in my humble opinion, the makers had a much finer film within their grasp, but chose not to go with it.