As I mentioned yesterday, Focus Features is known for putting out relatively risky releases, ones that bigger named studios tend to be a little hesitant to put their name behind. The Door In The Floor is a solid example of that, focusing on the dysfunctional and sometimes unnerving summer in the slowly disintegrating Cole household.
Torn apart by the tragic loss of both of their sons, Ted and Marion Cole (Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger) have spent years drifting apart and have reached the point where they have both started satisfying the curiosities of what life would be like in the arms of other companions. Caught in the middle of this is Eddie O’Hare (Jon Foster), a scrawny, “still discovering what puberty means” writer’s assistant to Ted Cole, who claims he’s not a storybook writer and more an entertainer of children with the same enthusiasm as a pedophile at a playground claims the camera is just in case an accident occurs and they need to collect evidence.
Eddie has always admired Ted, though he did get famous with his childrens books, but particularly liked his book “The Door in the Floor” (hey! That’s the name of the movie!), a story about a door that many children have opened but have all disappeared when doing so and despite knowing it leads only to bad things, people still suffer the consequences when satisfying their curiosity about it. It’s basically designed as a darker, creepier version of my 5-year-old classic “The Dime in the Light Socket.”
Stuck in the middle of this separating marriage, Eddie quickly finds himself becoming the part of the problem as he discovers the promiscuous ways of his employer, and enjoys the promiscuous ways of his employer’s wife (nearly 60 times. The movie makes a point that that’s important…). To keep with the theme, he satisfies his own curiosity, despite the fact that he knows the consequences (har har, see? I can understand messages, too.). Apparently, they want you to feel like this summer sucks for Eddie but…60 times…
The Door in the Floor doesn’t try to do anything special with itself (let’s keep the sex jokes that could cum from that statement to a minimum…oh shit! Typo...). You go into the Cole household knowing where this family is going and you don’t leave unsatisfied (damn it…damn it…damn it…). What is interesting to watch is Eddie’s reaction to it all as he makes discovery after discovery of not screwed up these two individuals are, but also how little they care, as if they’ve both come to terms with some rule that “if two of your kids die, God says it’s over for you two.”
The movie is very provocative, but not shocking. It’s original, but not awe-inspiring in its uniqueness. It follows a central theme and does so nicely, but this is a story that one of the main characters wrote years ago…I can’t help but look at him and say “way to not listen to your own masterpiece, dumbass.” The performances from everyone were absolutely stellar (including young Elle Fanning) and the constantly faded, cloudy setting provided that depressing atmosphere that matched the mood of the story.
It was a good watch and enjoyed the consistency of theme, message, story, and performance even though it didn’t leave me saying “wow, I need a cigarette now.” (I needed to get one more in there…) As for if I would recommend it…I’m not sure. You’d really have to be up for that type of dysfunctional drama, but if you are basing solely off of my ratings, see what a 7 dustbusters out of 10 gets you.
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