Schiffsmeldungen

I had seen the good rating of Shipping News before I watched it, and I would like to give it a shot.

Lasse Hallström did a good job when he directed The Cider House Rules, and Kevin Spacey is of course a good actor with movies like The Usual Suspects, LA Confidential and K-Pax. Furthermore we got supporting actresses such as the lovely Julianne Moore and talented Cate Blanchett, it was promising.

The movie is mostly a drama, but it succeeds in giving the audience some laughs when needed, which is important to me. Dramas can be too depressing sometimes, but it is of course sometimes needed to make a statement. Anyway, it is not needed in Shipping News and Lasse Hallström understands this very well.

The acting is great, the stars I mentioned earlier deliver good performances, but we also get the pleasure to watch other good actors too, so the cast really gives us a good movie.

Actually there are mainly positive things to say about this movie, the picture quality was good and the environment at Newfoundland created a good atmosphere. The only thing I would critisise is that the movie maybe could have been a bit longer, there were a few issues that I would like to have seen sorted out.

I have rated this movie 7/10, but it maybe deserved a little more. It is definitely worth watching.

Often when watching a film with a cast which has more Oscar nominations in their careers than the film has minutes, a level of expectations will be engraved which exceeds far above a film than which one should. Such is an example with the poignant, touching and often funny film, The Shipping News.

The Shipping News is film about loss, recovery, pain, but most of all, recovery. When a person loses a loved one, or in this case, a person who loses someone they think they love, it comes with a package of emotional stress and remorse. The person they lose is immortalized within their thoughts, usually in a positive, memorable perspective.

The story begins with a narration by Quoyle (Spacey), and through this depressing and self defeating narration, we learn that Quoyle is man who has never succeeded in anything, is a failure in his family's eyes, and has never accomplished one thing in his entire life. He struggles through every miserable task he is given, he aches at the thought of one more day.

As a defeated man who has never loved, never laughed, and never succeeded, he is desperate for something, desperate for someone. When he meets a woman named Petal (Blanchett) he thinks he's in love. We see a woman who is looking for a costumer, looking for someone to spend the night with. Quoyle sees a wife, someone to spend the rest of his life with. So without hesitation, he takes a swing at this wild tiger. He thinks he has achieved that echelon of happiness. He has a darling little girl, he has a wife, and he has a steady job. But he soon learns that one person, a person he has known for little over a few years, can turn his life upside down. After a realistic and inevitable chain of events, he is back to his pitiful little life. Only this time, he's lost more than he can handle. His own emotional attachments have become his own emotional destruction.

In the midst of these happenings, Quoyle is met at the door by his Aunt Agnis (Dench), whom he has never met. She suggests they begin a new future, for she too has lost something. She decides that they should travel to their native roots, in Newfoundland. The future looks bleak to Quoyle, but only the happiest of times look ahead to Agnis. At least from our perspective.

Throughout the film we are met by several supporting characters played by familiar and not so familiar actors. These characters, while they may seem supporting, play the largest part in the film. For these characters are the building blocks which help Quoyle begin his `transformation'. These are the people which help Quoyle recognize his roots and why he must belong there. Throughout these characters, we are met with many intertwining storylines which could make a whole entire film by themselves. But these characters are all here to help one man find a reason. A reason for being.

Throughout this masterful tale of loss, recovery, and pain, we discover that problems exist within problems. We learn that the future may result in failure, but will always have an answer. The answer lies within Quoyle himself. While these supporting players may have an impact on Quoyle's job and home, Quoyle is the only one who can help find happiness for himself.

With a star-studded cast which shines with the inspiring score by Christopher Young, Lasse Hallstrom has created a film which should not be overlooked, but should be look upon as a film which displays how courage, love, and faith, can overcome loss, struggle, and pain.

I am a tremendous fan of the book and read it twice. I sense the movie missed the point here. Kevin Spacey does an admirable job with the difficult role of Quoyle, he is shot from strange angles to emphasize a height and width that is not there in real life. I had envisioned Gerard Depardieu in the role, big, hulking and awkward. I note also that one of the daughters was dropped from the movie, there are two in the book. Judi Dench's performance is incredible and her tough almost fatalistic Newfoundland character feels real. Moore is a disappointment, far too beautiful for the role and not as mysterious as depicted in the book. The scenery is incredible, wild and isolated. I enjoyed the soundtrack and the minor characters, all very well acted. I gave it an 8 out of 10 for the fabulous cinematography and Judi Dench.

"The Shipping News" is an exceptionally good film. However, it is so unconventional, so slow and so anti-Hollywood in style that I am pretty sure it's NOT a film that most folks would enjoy. However, if you appreciate a film that accentuates acting and story instead of explosions and breasts, then it may just be the film for you!

Kevin Spacey plays a man simply called 'Quoyle'. Quoyle is a sad sort of man--emotionally constricted and bullied by his uncaring father. Inexplicably, he falls for a woman who turns out to be a complete tramp--and this is being very kindly towards the woman to refer to her this way! The woman is simply no good and cheats on Quoyle--right in front of him. But, he's so dependent and thinks so little of herself that he accepts this. He even grieves when the woman dies after she leaves him AND tries to sell her daughter!! Quoyle has no idea what to do with his life when an aunt he doesn't know (Judi Dench) arrives. Together, they both leave the States and move back to the family homestead in VERY rural Newfoundland. What's next? See the film.

There is a lot more to the film than this but frankly describing the plot is silly, as it's more a slice of life film where the focus is much more on the characters and acting. In other words, what happens is far less important than seeing it happen. A slow but gentle film--I really liked it and wish there were more films like this. Well worth your time if you are patient and don't mind an unconventional story.

Director Lasse Halstrom continues to prove himself to be outstanding at presenting sensitive human dramas with this touching film about a broken man's retreat to his ancestral roots. This poignant tale unwinds deliberately and delicately as each of the main characters shares his or her dark secrets buried in the past.

Halstrom is an inspired actors' director who entices outstanding performances from his troupe. He has a wonderful ability to make simple characters appear bigger than life. I continue to admire his unobtrusive presentation, forgoing ostentatious directorial stylizing in favor of simple shots that let the story and the characters dominate. The cinematography and choice of locations in this film are understated and lovely without the need for garishness.

The acting is superb. Kevin Spacey, as Quoyle, once again shows his range, taking on an emotionally crippled character that is quite unlike the confident and clever characters that jump off his resume. Spacey relinquishes all traces of the cockiness that is his trademark and brilliantly renders a pathetic nebbish whose greatest daily struggle is to overcome his own ennui. For Spacey to suppress his natural dynamism to slip this character on so effectively is a testimony to his excellence as an actor.

While this is clearly Spacey's film, the supporting cast of accomplished veterans weaves a splendid tapestry. Julianne Moore is excellent as Quoyle's love interest with a delicate portrayal of a character that is simultaneously supportive and insecure. Judi Dench is marvelous as Quoyle's crusty old aunt, who drags him back to Newfoundland to find himself among the ashes of his unseemly clan. Cate Blanchett is bodacious as the impulsive vamp who ravishes Quoyle and stays with him only long enough to give him a daughter. Scott Glenn is terrific as the cantankerous publisher of the local newspaper who turns Quoyle from a typesetter into a reporter.

This film is not for everyone. It is extremely deliberate and will fray the patience of the average viewer. However, for those who have a love of human interest stories with flawed but lovable characters, this will be a treat. I rated it a 9/10. It is a gem of human foibles and interactions that is moving and insightful.