The Door in the Floor

Last summer was kind to a trio of indies: Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite, and Open Water. Though overhyped and overrated, they managed very successful theatrical runs. Meanwhile, The Door in the Floor, based on John Irving's novel "A Widow For One Year," went all but unseen, quietly (and inexplicably) released by Focus during the middle of July. One of 2004's best films, hopefully it will find a wider audience now that it's on DVD.

It's unfortunate that come Tuesday morning, when the candidates for Best Actor are announced, Jeff Bridges will probably not hear his name read. His performance as children's author/philanderer Ted Cole is remarkable and ranks among the best work of the underappreciated actor's career.

Though not without moments of humor, The Door in the Floor is ultimately a melancholic tale chronicling the last gasps of a long marriage. While Ted drowns himself in his work and women, his wife Marion (Kim Basinger) realizes that she is unable to love their young daughter (Elle Fanning) for fear of losing her. Not exactly the type of movie people rush out to see in the summer months, regardless of how good it is.

There are several special features on the DVD and the disc is worth owning for these alone. The first is "Frame on the Wall: The Making of The Door in the Floor," a fairly standard behind the scenes documentary that consists of cast and crew interviews and rehearsal footage. Writer/director Tod Williams spends most of the time gushing about John Irving and the film's cast. There are a few interesting tidbits, including the fact that Jon Foster was an amateur boxer and had to lose 20 pounds to play Eddie, the scrawny teenager Ted hires to be his assistant.

There's also a 15-minute interview with Irving, in which he discusses his enthusiasm for Williams' idea to only adapt the first third of the novel, as well as the importance of not being entirely literal when transferring something from the page to the screen. Short and sweet, especially for fans of Irving.

The Sundance Channel's well-known "Anatomy of a Scene" feature is also included here. It dissects the film's lightest moment, the farcical scene where Ted attempts to escape from a woman he has been sleeping with while she tries first to stab him and then run him down with her SUV. It covers everything from production design to editing before playing the scene in its entirety. Here you also learn that Irving sold the film rights for $1.

Finally, a commentary -- including Williams, director of photography Terry Stacey, editor Affonso Goncalves, composer Marcelo Zarvos, and costume designer Eric Daman -- rounds out the disc's special features. The men sip champagne during a casual and slightly dry commentary. There is also a significant amount of dead-time considering the number of people present. However, Williams does offer one noteworthy anecdote: during a scene where Ted criticizes a short story Eddie has written, Williams based the dialogue on criticism he received for his previous feature, The Adventures of Sebastian Cole. He comes across as extremely articulate and humble. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a long and fruitful career. -- Paul Doro