MovieChat Forums > The Cider House Rules (2000) Discussion > Ages of two main characters

Ages of two main characters

posted 10 years ago by drivenkick43
3 replies | jump to latest

I pictured Homer between 17-19 years old. He still seemed like a kid at the orphanage (though clearly the oldest, but still bunking with the kids), and when he left it seemed like he had "graduated" and was now leaving the nest, as most 18 year olds do.

Candy I pictured in her early to mid-20s, engaged to an officer.

So when Homer embraced Candy from the back and they had that first kiss/love scene, it seemed a little awkward to me.

So I was pretty shocked when I looked them up and found that Tobey Maguire is actually several months older than Charlize Theron. I would have honestly guessed that Charlize was anywhere from 5 to 10 years older than Tobey. Don't get me wrong, Charlize looked spectacular in this movie. It's just that Tobey looks so dadgum young. Add in their characters in this movies as well as other characters they play (Maguire famous for playing the teenage Peter Parker) and I was taken aback to find that Tobey was the older of the two.

[–] leah-sees 9 years ago

My thoughts exactly - and I also even went so far as to check the ages of the actors. She just seemed too old for him.

[–] vinidici 9 years ago

Homer is 21 or 22. The nurses at the orphanage made reference to his birth year (1922) and the story is set in 1944.

[–] piperatthegate 8 years ago

Ok thanks for clarifying, that was bothering me. He just seemed like a kid when he was still at the orphanage(remember Candy and Wally were all nervous because they thought he was too young to perform the abortion). But when he leaves the orphanage its as if he becomes an adult overnight, adult enough to have a affair with Candy.