Drama adapted by John Irving from his own novel, starring Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron and Oscar-winning Michael Caine. Having grown up in a New England orphanage under the care of the kindly Dr Larch, young Homer Wells has the opportunity to spread his wings further afield.
The third John Irving novel to reach the screen (after The World According to Garp and The Hotel New Hampshire) here becomes a rich, evocative period piece that makes the most of its stunning New England locations. Tobey Maguire (before he took to webspinning in the Spider-Man franchise) plays Homer Wells, a foundling who decides to seek new pastures after spending all his young life at an orphanage run by Michael Caine's kindly abortionist. Alas, he finds the codes he lives by of little use in the real world. Although drastically slimmed down from Irving's original tome (Homer's 15-year odyssey is reduced to a mere 15 months), Lasse Hallström's film has a simple integrity that fills every frame. Caine won his second best supporting Oscar - his first was for Hannah and Her Sisters - for his scene-stealing performance as the ether-addicted Dr Larch.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Homer Wells | Tobey Maguire |
| Candy Kendall | Charlize Theron |
| Arthur Rose | Delroy Lindo |
| Wally Worthington | Paul Rudd |
| Dr Wilbur Larch | Michael Caine |
| Nurse Edna | Jane Alexander |
| Nurse Angela | Kathy Baker |
| Buster | Kieran Culkin |
| Olive Worthington | Kate Nelligan |
| Station master | John Irving |
| Rose Rose | Erykah Badu |
| Peaches | Heavy D |
| Ray Kendall | J K Simmons |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Lasse Hallström |
