JOHN IRVING NOVELS have proven very hit-and-miss in terms of screen adaptability. If The Door in the Floor, derived from A Widow for One Year, rates as one of the better efforts, that may be in large part because it whittles down the book's sprawl to one compact little narrative. Director-scenarist Tod Williams preserves only the section having to do with the breakup of a couple's marriage, thus rendering the book's central character a devastated but inarticulate bystander (she's four years old here); he also shifts the setting from the 1950s to our current era. Those more flamboyant streaks of humor, violence, and wild fate one might expect from Irving on the page are pretty much MIA, but in narrowing the focus, the movie achieves a dramatic precision. Aspiring writer Eddie (Jon Foster) is nervous and starstruck upon arriving at the East Hampton home where he'll spend the summer as an assistant to famous children's author Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges). The latter is friendly but a bit much for the gawky teenager to take at first, what with Ted being a casual nudist, not-especially-discreet womanizer, and brutal racquetball opponent. More disturbing, however, are the signs that all is not well in Ted's household. He and wife Marion (Kim Basinger) seem to be leading nearly separate lives, with the parenting of little Ruth (Elle Fanning, very good in a non-cute performance) falling to her dad by default. Marion, it emerges, has withdrawn from everything – even her remaining maternal instincts – since their two sons died in a car accident. Even her Mrs. Robinson-like seduction of virginal Eddie can't quite halt the slow encroachment of an emotional ice age. As Marion's pain becomes clearer, so do genial Ted's considerable faults, making for one tough summer of maturation for their wide-eyed guest. Somber but not without comedy or intrigue, The Door in the Floor provides Bridges with one of his best recent roles – something that would be the worth the admission price even if the movie as a whole weren't so quietly rewarding. In a just world, the competent Basinger and perennially undervalued Mimi Rogers (somewhat wasted as Ted's latest conquest, though fans will enjoy seeing her stark naked once again) would swap roles. Still, this oasis of adult intelligence amid the floating summer behemoths merits pretty much unconditional gratitude. (Dennis Harvey)