No element and no character in this story is simple. We were drawn into their dilemmas, and we sympathized with their weaknesses. We recognize the difficult challenge of drawing villains in a sympathetic way. If there is a villain in Cider House Rules , it would be Mr. Rose, not because he creates major obstacles in Homer s journey, but because his ignorance challenges Homer s conviction. Delroy Lindo performs magnificently to allow us an inside view of the cracked psychology of a man who is brutally possessive of his daughter and at the same time protective and kind toward her and others.
People are strange, complex, unavoidably flawed, and yet noble in many ways.
Cider House Rules dignifies their nobility and their flaws. Ultimately, Mr. Rose pays a heavy price for his weakness by realizing and living the pain his actions have caused. In many ways, Mr. Lindo steals the show with his performance. The story makes a distinction between often meaningless posted rules and the rules of the human heart and spirit. Those who break the latter pay a heavy, though often poignant, price for acting in a way that diminishes or demolishes their personal integrity.