The Shipping News

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Starring: Kevin Spacey
Rated: R (Restricted)
Type: DVD
Directed By: Lasse Hallström
Studio: Miramax
Release Date: 2002-06-18
Running Time: 111 minutes
Academy Award(R)-winning stars Kevin Spacey (AMERICAN BEAUTY, Best Actor, 1998) and Judi Dench (SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, Best Supporting Actress, 1998) join talents with Julianne Moore (HANNIBAL) and Cate Blanchett (THE LORD OF THE RINGS) in this deeply moving motion picture from the director of CHOCOLAT and THE CIDER HOUSE RULES. After tragedy strikes, Quoyle (Spacey) moves with his daughter from upstate New York to his ancestral home in a small Newfoundland fishing village. With a job at the local newspaper and developing romance with a woman (Moore) who lives with her own demons, Quoyle is transformed by this place of magic, beauty, and hardship. In a compelling story based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Quoyle's past melds with his present in an inspirational journey of self-discovery and second chances.

Beautiful simplicity
What a beautiful movie. This is why we love Kevin Spacey. A rich cultural texture hidden inside simple surroundings. Who couldn't fall in love with Julianne Moore in this story?
The climate is severe & and weather may be deadly at times, but I think that these people here are more deeply happy with their lives than most anybody you'll find in New York or London. If I ever find a tiny little town like this to fit in to, I'll never leave.

Fascinating Character Study...
I enjoyed "The Shipping News" very much. Forgive me, but I didn't read Annie Proulx' book. As a film achievement, director Lasse Hallstrøm created a world that drew me in from the start. The journey that Kevin Spacey's character takes, from total dweeb to realist, is as well portrayed as can be done in a 2 hour narrative. The acting is flawless; Spacey, Dench, Glenn, and those characters in the news office, all perfect. Cate Blanchett was terrific, and let everyone know that she was a heartless slut, but it could've been more developed. There was real fire there. The main character is the Newfoundland coast, the weather and the gorgeous terrain. There's a fascination that held me to the final frames, and a satisfying ending. Surprises along the way added to my enjoyment, and I decided to buy the film. Low key, pensive, clever script, interesting characters...well, that's why I love films. This is a good one. Ms. Proulx wrote "Brokeback Mountain", and her attention to character is profound. Still, I'm reviewing the film, and NOT the book.

great movie, weak beginning
I liked the plot of this movie, Kevin Spacey was great in this role and did a great crying scene (one of two movies that I have seen so far). Which makes the character more believable. The scenery is great for anyone who has been to Newfoundland. The only thing I found confusing and didn't like was Quoyle being seduced and made into a idiot. Luckily he found a nice woman named Wavey and got a great job as a reporter.

Returning to your roots for healing
"Sink or swim" was the motto of Quoyle's (Spacey) father. We learn that fast when the man tosses his young son into the sea for a 'swimming lesson.' His father's expectations of failure marked Quoyle's early life.

The opening of the film shows Quoyle's meeting the first woman he loved, Petal (Blanchett) and having a whirlwind relationship. Petal abandoned Quoyle with their daughter, Bunny, only to return to take the child away and sell her to black market adopters for $6,000.

Bunny was returned to Quoyle after the police discovered Petal and her current companion in a fatal car crash and found the adoption paperwork. Shortly after, Quoyle's parents commit joint suicide after Quoyle's father sends him a note expressing his disappointment with his life, Quoyle, etc.

Quoyle and Bunny are still reeling from this double blow when his only living kin, Angis (Dench) shows up. She's going back to their family's native homeland in Newfoundland and offers him a chance to come with them.

Initially, Quoyle doesn't fit in with the locals. He's afraid of the water. He's shy and awkward, but a local newspaperman gives him a shot as a reporter with the shipping news and car crash beat and Quoyle quickly finds his place.

"Shipping News" is an intricate story that's well-acted and directed. The scenery and the music alone are worth at least 3 stars. I wish I had read the book first, but I'm planning on going back to do so.

Rebecca Kyle, March 28, 2008

Lumbering Idiot Stuns Crowd For a Change
One of my favorite movies of all time (and favorite books) is the Shipping News (based on the book by E. Annie Prouxl). Each time I watch it, I come away with a new understanding of what makes it good.

The story is about a man who had no breaks in life. He says he can remember thinking he was born to the wrong family, and that one day, his true family would rescue him from the one that he had. You can't blame him for feeling that way, he had a father that, to teach him to swim, threw him into the lake until he almost drowned. What kind of father can watch his child flounder in the water like that, in a panic, going under, gasping for air? But anyway, Quoyle (the main character acted by Kevin Spacey) survives his childhood only to grow up into a dreamlike existence, where he finds no happiness and nothing to live for. He fulfills his father's prophecies for him by dropping out of college and moving from dead-end job to dead-end job. Things begin to change for him when this crazy woman, "Petal" (acted superbly by Kate Blanchett) gets into his car at a gas station in order to leave her boyfriend with whom she's having a fight. She tells Quoyle to drive off, they go to a diner, and she talks about herself while Quoyle stares at her in wonder. What DOES he find so wondrous, you'll ask yourself? Anyone can see that this woman is trash. (And later events really do confirm this judgement.) But I think what Quoyle sees in her, is that she has something he doesn't have. She is so very alive. She is sensual--and I mean more than in a sexual way, she eats as if everything is the best thing she's ever tasted. She does what she pleases in life as if there is no one but her. She notices Quoyle staring at her and says to him, "You want to marry me, don't you?" And, after a romp in bed, he blurts out that he loves her. He loves her. And they marry and she is soon pregnant. She doesn't want anything to do with her child. Quoyle is the one who takes care of her while Petal continues her wild ways, including bringing men home to her bed. And what does Quoyle of the rubber backbone do after a night when Petal has done just that? Asks her, "Did your friend leave?" Yes, you'll cringe to see Quoyle accept this kind of treatment from Petal, but it just goes to show how hopeless he is.

Things turn around when an aunt (Judi Dench) that he never knew steps into his life, and they go to New Foundland together (the land of Quoyle's ancestors). Quoyle who used to be a printsetter at the paper in his old town, gets a job as a journalist for the little town's newspaper. A job he doesn't really think he can do, but has no choice. He has to write stories about car accidents, when there are no fishing stories, and in order to sell papers learns to turn dull stories into alluring headlines. Soon, everything that happens in this town in New Foundland holds a germ of a story idea for Quoyle and evokes great headlines as well. Little by little you see Quoyle begin to step out of his dream-like stupor and grow strong. One of my favorites lines in the movie comes after Quoyle writes an article about a nazi boat. It's probably the first time he is ever praised by anyone. He proclaims to himself, "Lumbering Idiot Stuns Crowd for a change." And you want to cheer.

I like this movie because to me it's a testament of hope that no matter what your beginnings are in life, no matter what your mistakes, you can overcome. You can be better. You can be somebody. You can be happy. I've probably given enough away, but check out The Shipping News. (And try the book too!)