Cider House Rules has long been one of my favorite novels, one of the few I have read twice, and one I frequently recommend to close friends. I think this colored my impression of the movie. I was hoping for the depth of the written work, but didn't see it. Compared with the character development in the novel (which is probably an unfair comparison) the film's characters seemed more two-dimensional. This said, I think the film's casting is true to the novel.