The Door in the FloorAn adult drama of a family coping with the loss of two children. Excellent performances on all fronts, not least of all Elle's, and even has the merit of challenging a few taboos. Recommended to all except those allergic to slow paced dramas.
For Elle, The Door in the Floor is by far the best of her previous films,
and easily her most serious. The first scene treats us to a sight of Ruth
Cole (Elle) slowly coming into focus. She's dragging a chair in a
beautifully lit, barren corridor, dressed up in only a large adult shirt
reaching to her ankles. Ruth climbs on the chair, and looks at a framed
photograph of her two brothers, Thomas and Timothy, who died in a tragic
traffic accident before her birth. Ruth can recite the stories behind every
one of the many similar photographs in the house, and gets anxious if the
pictures are moved. Her parents have equally troubled feelings about Ruth's
brothers, and that largely is what the plot of the movie revolves around.
 "I'm four!" Ruth's father Ted (Jeff Bridges) is a
successful writer of children's books. He comes to stand behind Ruth, his
hands fondly on her (supposedly) four-year-old shoulders, and talks about
what Ruth is watching. He comes across as a good father: pleasant, wise,
and loving. And perhaps he is, despite his callous and even malicious
traits that show best when he's engaging in his pastime of drawing
degrading pictures of nude women, wine and cheese by his side, and chaotic,
jarring music playing. Like all the characters, Ted's is well developed and
complex. His is also the most interesting role in the movie, a hedonistic
bohemian, a self-confident middle-aged man, with numerous eccentricities
such as using squid ink for his drawing, and a penchant for nudism.
Ruth's mother Marion (Kim Basinger) has
been in a deep, brooding depression ever since the death of her two sons.
In an attempt to improve her condition, Ted hires 16-year-old Eddie as
their driver and general aide, who, not coincidentally, resembles their
deceased son, Thomas. Shy and naive, though not stupid, the upper classman
does get a reaction out of Marion, especially after she discovers him
masturbating to her underwear. Instead of expressing shame or anger, Marion
approaches Eddie with understanding and tenderness, and the relationship
rapidly turns sexual.
 Ted with cheese, wine, and a naked model Sexuality has a strong undercurrent throughout the story, in a multitude of
ways and reaching to every character. For the most part, it is not the
glossy and easy sexuality favored by the blockbuster productions of
Hollywood. It is sexuality as it occurs in real life, and thus has a
stronger impact. The relationship of Marion and Eddie has obvious incestual
facets, what with Eddie having been picked specifically to fill the void in
Marion left by the death of her son. Ted has his obscene drawings, as well
as a willingness to exploit the admiration from the local young females due
to his status as a famous writer.
In Elle's second major scene, where Ruth tells her dad of the "sound of
someone trying not to make a sound" that she heard, we learn that Ted
sleeps naked, a fact underlined by Ruth's comment "your penis looks funny."
Taking place near the beginning of the film, a comment like that is bound
to make the audience wonder if it's a hint of something unpleasant, as
innocent as the words are from a small child. I always enjoy it when movies
– or other works intended for mass consumption – show such examples of
sanity and artistic courage, in contrast to the meek self-censorship of the
mainstream. Another example of this is Elle's comment "I got it in my
crack, too," when Eddie, about to bathe her, remarks how she has sand
everywhere. And there are other little bits; it's a movie full of
surprising detail.
The movie is based on the first third of a book by John Irving, which tells
the story from point of view of Ruth. The film adaptation, although
otherwise faithful to the tone of the movie, unfortunately diverges in this
respect, and so Elle's role isn't large, though fortunately not entirely
small either. Unlike some of Elle's earlier work, such as Daddy Daycare,
this film has a very capable writer/director who lets Elle act to the full
extent of her ability, which is quite promising, even when compared to
Dakota's. Not one of the many reviews I read of Door in the Floor comment
negatively of Elle's performance.
 Red and Ruth To some people – let's face it, to many – Door in the Floor is too
slow-paced, and too heavy on symbolism and subtle character development
(though there are great sprinkles of humor, too). To me, Elle's role in the
movie is its main attraction. However, there is a great deal more to Door
in the Floor than Elle, and while its style is not a perfect fit for my
preferences, it's hard not to appreciate the great overall package that the
movie is. This is drama and movie art at its best.
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Elle Fanning
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![[bio]](/images/common/biography.png "More about Elle"){kind=small}
