THE SHIPPING NEWS
Starring:
Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench, Jason Behr, Pete Postlewaite,
Rhys Ifans, Scott Glenn and Cate Blanchett
Director: Lasse Hallstrom
Running Time: 119 mins
Certificate: 15
Quoyle (Spacey) was told from been a small boy that he would never amount to anything. His father had no expectations of him making anything of his life and as he grew he became the disappointment everyone expected. His life changed one fateful day when he met Petal (Blanchett), a woman who was load, attractive and really just using Quoyle as a stopgap to her next man. They had a child called Bunny but after seven years of affairs and constant lying, Petal left on the same day as Quoyle's parents died. In the middle of all this he receives a visit from his long lost Aunt Agnis (Dench) who offers him the chance of a new start by coming with her to where their family history began, Newfoundland.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by E. Annie Proulx and coming from director Lasse Hallstrom, who directed the character driven films The Cider House Rules, What's eating Gilbert Grape and Chocolat, I expected abit more from this movie. What we get is a story of self-discovery that never really gets above interesting.
The performances are good, Kevin Spacey is always worth the price of a ticket and he has good support from Judi Dench, Julianne Moore and an extremely good if a tad short performance from Cate Blanchett. The direction and cinematography are exceptional at you'd expect from a Hallstrom movie and he makes Newfoundland look very bleak and beautiful at the same time but it is the lack of substance in the overall story that never really lets the movie pull you in.
This aside, the quality of the cast and the feel-good factor of the ending make this not a bad movie, but one you might have expected a lot more from.
Audio commentary from director Lasse Hallstrom, Still gallery, 'Dive Beneath The Surface' featurette, Interactive menu and Scene access
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The Usher 2002
