The Shipping News

Rating:
Summary: This film is "must see"
Review: I am now a hard-core Lasse Hallstrom fan. "Chocolat" and "Cider House Rules" were both top-notch films and anyone who appreciated these two films will love "Shipping News." Like "Cider" the new film is riveting -- it meanders in completely unpredictable directons, arriving at quite believable and endlessly fascinating destinations. While watching, I was continually struck by the thought "Man, this is a VERY GOOD film."
No one can quibble with the wonderful choice of settings, sometimes lush, sometimes stark, always captivating and believable. The acting is across-the-board excellent. Cate Blanchett will astonish you! Julianne Moore is completely breath-taking and never misses a beat. Kevin Spacey is remarkable, as usual. There are also innumerable supporting cast members, all of whom are quite effective.
This film cannot be overlooked for Best Picture nomination! I do not argue with those who rate the film five stars. I am very stingy with handing out five stars....

Rating:
Summary: Something of a Downer
Review: My friend Katie and I really were supposed to see something else, but it was sold out. "What about The Shipping News?", she proposed. I hadn't heard of it, but so what? I agreed, especially when I learned that Judi Densch was in it. She's like the female equivalent of Gene Hackman: always turns in a reliable performance.

This is a strange story, about an extremely passive, put-upon man who honestly believes the lines a trollopy Cate Blanchett uses on him, and marries her. Even after their daughter is born, she continues picking up men while he just hangs about, not conjuring up her or the audience's respect. Then, wham! Lots of intense personal tragedy for Kevin Spacey, with the upshot being that he heads out with newfound aunt Judi to Newfoundland, the place of the family's origin. Seems just about everyone in town--the aunt, Kevin's new girlfriend, you name it--has more than one skeleton in the closet. Kevin even learns about a REALLY big problem with his own deceased dad, not to mention his evil forbears. So in the end, everyone's got an armoire of dirty linen which all gets aired. Along the way, Kevin gains more self-confidence with his various revelations.

Highly atmospheric, interesting scenery of an inhospitable place. Quirky characters abound, Cate leading the pack. Not the best thing I"ve seen lately, but certainly not bad.

Rating:
Summary: Hallström's direction is felt throughout.
Review: "If a piece of knotted rope can unleash the wind, and a dead man can wake up, then I believe that a broken man can heal."

The lesson it takes Quoyle, the central character of "The Shipping News," almost a lifetime to learn. Of course we, as an audience, can already pinpoint the film's moral message, given the fact that this is a character-based meller with plenty of saccharine sentiment and gorgeous cinematography. The surprise here is the director, Lasse Hallström, instills the film with enough interest to keep it afloat, with a little help from his cast along the way.

The film stars Kevin Spacey against type as Quoyle, a boy whose life has been shaped by the years of physical and emotional torment at the hands of his father. Life as Quoyle experiences it is simple and colorless, until he crosses paths with Petal (Cate Blanchett), a drifter who happens into his life one day and becomes his everything. This woman is a class act: she stays out late while a despondent Quoyle remains home with their daughter, Bunny, all the while pleading with Petal to give their marriage another try.

One momentous day, Quoyle receives word of his father's death, and returns home from the funeral to find Petal and Bunny gone from his life. Enter Agnis Hamm (Judi Dench), his aunt from his father's side who has stopped by to pay her respects on her way back to Newfoundland, where their family's ancestry lies. After news of Petal's death and the return of Bunny, Quoyle makes the decision to travel to Newfoundland with Agnis in hopes of regaining some semblance of order in life once again.

Once the story makes the transition to the coldly atmospheric coast of Newfoundland, more characters are introduced, more of Quoyle's family history is revealed, much to the silent dismay of Agnis, who would rather keep the wrongdoings of her family hidden from view. Quoyle attain a job at the local newspaper, makes good with editor Jack Buggit (Scott Glenn), who takes a liking to the fact that his work stirs up interest in the town; later, he awards Quoyle his own weekly column. As Quoyle makes his rounds, he meets interesting faces, and takes a liking to the local daycare operator, Wavey Prowse (Julianne Moore), a conserved woman with a young boy who suffers from minor mental defects.

The movie has two main things going for it: its cast and its wonderfully dense appearance. As Quoyle, Spacey is required to express emotion through words and facial expression, and achieves both very convincingly despite the lack of development of his character. Dench does well in portraying Agnis as reserved and quiet, while Moore shows a great deal of warmth and emotion; both actresses succeed in keeping us mystified by their characters' pasts, making the revelations more impacting and heartfelt. Various actors, including Glenn, Jason Behr, Pete Postlethwaite and more, play the local townsfolk very well; also worth mentioning is the short-lived but effectively chilling performance from Blanchett, who proves her versatility as an actress in portraying Petal as one of the lowest forms of life.

The look of "The Shipping News" is nothing short of breathtaking, containing its fair share of beautiful vistas that evoke the grandeur and beauty of Newfoundland. Seeing this film's setting unfold reminded me of such films as "The Horse Whisperer" and "Snow Falling on Cedars," where the setting plays a role in the film. Here, the same type of approach is applied, and succeeds for the most part in grabbing our attention in between character development.

So what's the purpose of it all? Well, as far as I can tell, it's a coming-to-grips story in which people realize their fears and their hidden secrets and make peace with their inner torments. However, it seems that everyone but the intended character achieves this: both Agnis and Wavey face a part of their past they have long since ignored, while Buggit, after a near-death experience, reconciles with his son. Even little Bunny accepts her mother's death, but Quoyle himself spends more time helping these people deal with their emotional grief rather than devoting time to dealing with his own. One might gather that through helping those around him, Quoyle is making his own realization, which comes at the movie's weirdly cut-off ending.

Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. One could argue that the lack of developing his character does not merit this deduction about his coming-to-grips with life. Even still, Hallström keeps all of this moving at a pace where no one in the audience is required to put much thought into what they see, providing us a movie where one can simply relax and enjoy the experience. This is somewhat similar of one of his previous films, "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," which derived its complexity through its simplistic approach. And while "The Shipping News" may not be as complex as some of Hallström's previous efforts, his many artistic touches are felt throughout much of this acceptably melodramatic landscape of self-realization.

Rating:
Summary: Bad filmaking and a bad script!
Review: This film has a great cast of course, and Judi Dench does the most, as does Cate Blanchet. The rest are at sea in this melodramatic mess that has about as much credibility as Cider House Rules, diredcted by the same director. There are no characters here and the situations they are in or have been in are so false to the ear and eye, so Hallmark Card and it is filled with laughable revelations of the past that include incest and abortion, told in loud voices, with hilarious flashbacks, reminiscent of "serious" television.

Nothing has strength beacuse the director has no intelligence, nor does this dreary screenplay from a terrible novel, full of shock and schlock.

Julianne Moore is lovely and so talented; how did she get ionto this fray? Kevin Spacey is always good, but here he is really bad.

Avoid it.

Rating:
Summary: Headliner
Review: Rarely does a movie adhere to a book's story as well as Shipping News does to Annie Proulx' sparkling literary masterpiece, a novel about time, place, traditions and love.

The big lump of a main character, Quoyle, a sad, pathetic man (Kevin Spacey) is defined by a metaphor deftly recreated in this film: He cannot swim. As the movie opens, we find that he cannot do much of anything else either.

The inksetter for a Poughkeepsie newspaper drives into a gas station in the pouring rain and witnesses a lovers' quarrel between the driver and passenger in the first car. He doesn't get gas. A split-second courtship instigated by Petal (Cate Blanchett) saddles Quoyle with a disastrous marriage--and his child, Bunny--and ends more disastrously than it began. But Quoyle, lump that he is, unwinds after Petal leaves the picture and his parents die.

Quoyle's Aunt Agnes arrives, ostensibly to pay her respects, but with a caper in mind. Our befuddled man Quoyle leaves with her for his family's dilapidated homestead on Newfoundland's Quoyle point. The house, tied down with steel stays, appears like the ruin of Quoyle's life, and as the story unfolds it becomes clear that the sense of ruin plaguing him may be familial.

But Quoyle surprises viewers and himself as he reclaims his life. Hired to cover car accidents, he earns the respect of the paper's cranky fisherman owner, Jack Buggit, who shocks the staff when he assigns Quoyle a weekly column on the shipping news. Quoyle has no experience, but he his new friends teach him to think in headlines, providing welcome comic relief.

Like parents everywhere, Quoyle finds a friend in another parent, Wavey (Julianne Moore). The friendship takes several interesting turns.

Quoyle is haunted by flashbacks of his own life, and to events that occurred before he was born. The film's triumph, like that of Proulx' book, is in Quoyle's steadfast determination to overcome these seemingly insurmountable odds. The film's Newfoundland (like that in the book) appears dead. But as Quoyle lays the past to rest, both he and the town come to life.

Lasse Hallström aptly directed this film, whose score provides delight on a par with Quoyle's Shipping News headlines. Alyssa A. Lappen

Rating:
Summary: Quoyle is a man who bravely takes charge of his life
Review: Quoyle (Kevin Spacey) is a middle age man lacking in self esteem who is living a banal and unrewarding existence. One is reminded of Thomas Hobbes' famous aphorism that men often are doomed to endure lives of quiet desperation. He falls in love with Petal Bear (Cate Blanchett) only hours after they meet who does nothing to hide her manipulative dark side. They have a daughter Bunny and this selfish woman proves totally lacking in compassion and loyalty to the both of them. The movie industry has rarely put on the screen a more despicable mother in its entire history. It is regretful that Blanchett will not likely receive an Academy Award nomination for her too short time in this film.

The very promiscuous Petal Bear is ultimately found dead in a car accident with a new boy friend. Quoyle's Aunt Agnis (Judi Dench) entices him and Bunny to move back to their ancestral home located in Newfoundland. This is a part of Canada that the tourists make sure they don't visit. Summertime in May is dreary and the life of the locals indeed echoes the previously cited Hobbes as awful, brutish, and short. Death seems to constantly be lurking in the water and on the treacherously icy roads. People do not aspire to financial affluence, but a life that is barely one step ahead of grinding poverty. The publisher of " The Shipping News" Jack Buggit (admirably performed by Scott Glenn) offers Quoyle a job as a reporter, a position that our protagonist appears totally unqualified to handle. Lo and behold, however, Quoyle admirably grows into his new employment responsibilities and begins the process of evolving into a man of respect and dignity. A mother with a mentally impaired young son drifts into Quoyle's life. Julianne More portrays Wavey in a manner lacking authenticity. Never for a moment does she come across as a woman whose only option is to remain in such an abysmally hopeless environment.

Quoyle eventually finds out that it sometimes might not be best to learn about the past. His family tree is filled with dysfunctional and evil members. Nonetheless, these scenes of Quoyle finding his roots make the film worth while. I have not read the novel "The Shipping News" is based upon. Therefore, I can only speak about what is actually on the screen. This film doesn't deserve a five star rating, but it's sufficiently good that I recommend all Kevin Spacey fans make a point of seeing it. Spacey is one of the premier actors of his era, and by himself virtually guarantees an enjoyable movie going experience. He once again delivers the goods.

Rating:
Summary: My life as a dog......
Review: Although many recollect CHOCOLAT as Lass Hallstrom's "classic" film, longtime fans are more likely to connect THE SHIPPING NEWS with his earlier film MY LIFE AS A DOG. Hallstrom has a gift for eliciting excellent performances from children and oddballs living in northern climates. Like Ingmar in the older "foreign" film from Sweden, Quoyle has much to learn about being an adult.

THE SHIPPING NEWS is a beautiful psychological study about the transformation of a damaged man into a whole human being. NEWS reinforces the truth most of us already know -- unconditional love can heal. The most telling line of the story is spoken by Juliette Moore when she says that when she was at her lowest point, the people in her Newfoundland village lifted her up with their love.

I read THE SHIPPING NEWS (which one the Pulitzer) and I laughed until I cried. It is probably the most humorous book I have ever read. I took my husband who had not read the book with me to see the film and he said about 20 minutes into the film, I sure hope this thing gets happier. Those who have read NEWS know that the beginning is a bit sad but Annie Proulx makes Quoyle's travails hysterically funny. There are some funny moments in the film, and the film is quite faithful to the book, but the film is not the book, and it is not quite as funny. Words on the page do not always translate easily to film.

Still, Hallstrom and his multi-talented cast have done a wonderful job which is why I have given the film 5 stars. Judy Dench is clearly "on loan" from her portrayal of Iris Murdock where you can see her in IRIS beginning in mid-January. Her enactment of Quoyle's Aunt Agnes Hamm is quite accurate -- at least she matches the picture I formed in my head when I read NEWS.

Juliette Moore is perfect as Quoyle's love interest. I love Kevin Spacey, but this is not my favorite Spacy role. He definintly plays against type in this film. As Quoyle, his charcter is closer to the fellow he played in THE USUSAL SUSPECTS than the suave con man he plays in LA CONFIDENTIAL, MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF EVIL, SWIMMING WITH SHARKS, or GLEN GARRY GLEN ROSS. If you ONLY like the smart sophisticated Spacy you may be a bit disappointed.

When Spacey won his OSCAR for best actor, he said "Thank you Jack Lemmon where ever you are." You'll find the ghost of Jack Lemmon in THE SHIPPING NEWS.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: The imagery used to convey its messages was very poignant and subtle. Could we imagine what it is like to have other people telling us what we are thinking? All cast members related well to one another - there was an honesty in their interaction.
This is a story of self-discovery and personal growth that all can relate to. It is a wonderful film.
Jason Mokrane

Rating:
Summary: Without the sense God gave a donut
Review: In his previous films (THE USUAL SUSPECTS, AMERICAN BEAUTY, K-PAX, etc.), actor Kevin Spacey has played pretty much the sharpest knife in the drawer. In THE SHIPPING NEWS, Spacey is Quoyle, a dull man with the cutting edge of a plastic butter knife.

Quoyle is an ink loader for a local rag, the Poughkeepsie News. One day, he has the great good luck to score with the local tramp, Petal (Cate Blanchett). Then follows the enormous bad luck to impregnate and marry her. Now, Quoyle's raises his six-year old daughter Bunny while Petal continues to troll for studs. She even brings her lovers home, a practice that would enrage most husbands, but not the meek and lovesick Quoyle. Early on in the film, Quoyle is beset with a series of mind-numbing personal tragedies that result in his Aunt Agnis showing up on the doorstep. She convinces her nephew to bring himself and Bunny to Newfoundland, their ancestral place of origin, to start a new life. Quoyle's great effort to see this through despite a heavy load of emotional and psychological baggage is the essence of the movie. Along the way, Quoyle gets a correspondent's job to report THE SHIPPING NEWS - and thus the film's title - for the town paper despite the chief editor's comment that he hasn't the sense God gave a donut.

The movie was filmed in Newfoundland (and Nova Scotia), so the scenery is fabulous if you like cold, windswept, rocky shores. Unfortunately, the best performances are by relatively minor characters, Jack Buggitt (Scott Glenn) as the chief editor of the Gammy Bird, and Petal. Cate Blanchett as the latter is on screen for way too short a time, and is almost unrecognizable in her role as the bimbo that enthralls. Judi Dench as Agnis is predictably competent, but her great talent is so effortless that she must absolutely shine to stand out, and she doesn't here. Daughter Bunny is used simply as the occasional walk-on prop, and could've been eliminated from the script entirely. As the new woman in Quoyle's new life, Julianne Moore as Wavey doesn't call up whatever passion would seem necessary to re-ignite our hero's fire. (I'd forgotten, though, how attractive Ms. Moore can be in a cold sort of way.)

I can't say that this film isn't pleasant or entertaining. It's both; the cast is too good to fail miserably. However, every story needs conflict, and Quoyle's battle with his inner demons never reaches a fever pitch, nor does it necessarily stand out from the internal conflicts being waged by Agnis and Wavey. At the conclusion, I got the impression that whatever Quoyle gained he got by default rather than having to really work at it. The Quoyle persona was just too much of a milquetoast, and Spacey was, in my opinion, miscast.

Rating:
Summary: Some Books Should Not Become Movies
Review: Since reading the first words of "The Shipping News" I have been a devout fan of this incredible piece of literature. Being in many book clubs, I have seen to it that this work was always on the reading list. Whoever I recommended it to, thanked me profusely. It is such a touching story with the characters being developed in such a way, that you felt you were living thier hard life amongst them. Especially Quoyle who was always hiding his "monstrous" chin behind his hand, a gesture suggesting his insecurities about who he was and what he was doing. No way did this movie give the viewer this feeling. First of all, Kevin Spacey did not fit the part. It called for a very large, bulky, obese man, something that can't be achieved by layering clothing. As described in the book, Quoyle was so unsure of everything he did that it made the reader want to reach out to help him, for fear he would make a fool of himself. Then there was Bunny, a very unhappy, angry little girl who had no respect for her father and took every opportunity to let him know this. Judy Dench's part was probably the truest character with her mannerisms matching closest to those described in the book. All in all, a beautiful Pulitzer Prize winning novel was put to shame on the screen. It's sad that this happens so often.