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I'll
be the first to tell you that I am not the biggest Lasse
Halstrom fan in the world. I didn't care too much for his
first film, "Life As A Dog" and I really had some
major problems with "The Cider House Rules".
About the only film of his I like is "What's Eating Gilbert
Grape" and I was less than ecstatic on the way to see
"The Shipping News". The primary reason I saw
the film was because Kevin Spacey is one of my favorite actors
and I just love Scott Glenn. Now, I have read countless
reviews of the film, finding most of them to be mixed, none
really saying they completely disliked it and none saying they
completely loved it. I am of the same opinion.
Kevin
Spacey stars as Quoyle, an inkman for the Poughkeepsie News.
After marrying Petal, the town whore, and raising her daughter
Bunny, life gets even more complicated when Petal is killed in a
tragic accident. Everything seems to be on a downward when
Aunt Agnis (Judi Dench) pays a visit and convinces Spacey to go
back with her to Quoyle Point, Newfoundland, where their ancestral
roots are planted. Quoyle agrees and he and Bunny retreat
to the Canadian fishing town. After arriving, they meet
the regular group of town eccentrics and Spacey begins writing
for the Gammy Bird, the town's newspaper. This is
kindhearted story about love and loss, though there are several
bizarre and ugly twists, including a severed head, close calls
with death, and--believe it or not--a resurrection. Lasse
Halstrom captures the small fishing town life, though it is
painfully obvious that this place could not exist in real life.
The
stand-out performance in the film come from Judi Dench as Aunt
Agnis, Scott Glenn, and the always fabulous Pete Postlethwaite
as Tert Card. Blanchett is barely recognizable and Spacey
walks over every role he is given with finesse and ease--he
makes it look so simple. The problems I had with this film
were that the lack of believability was almost non-existent.
Every inch of this film is dripping with fantasy and "like
hell that could happen". I also didn't see the need
for some of the other plotlines that popped up in this story,
plotlines that could have just as easily been left out. I
guess I would have liked this film more if it would have just
stuck with the main plotline and followed it throughout.
The
cinematography in this picture is beautiful and breathtaking,
but the wonderful camera work is evident in all of Halstrom's
films--I would have fallen asleep in "The Cider House
Rules" if not for the beautiful scenery (okay, and Michael
Caine). "The Shipping News" is a fable of sorts
that's suppose to leave us feeling warm and cozy inside--I don't
know how we're suppose to feel warm and cozy after being
subjected to severed heads and walking corpses. This is a
nice film, a comfortable film, and it will probably win some
awards--a few well deserved--but it is not a great film. I
would suggest waiting until video for this one and then sitting
down with a glass of wine and some Kleenex's (just in case).
And, be warned, this is not an easy film to absorb, but it is
easy enough to recommend--slightly.
-- Billy
Ray (
2 out of 4 pops )
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