The Shipping News Review
by John Sylva (DeWyNGaLe AT aol DOT com)August 19th, 2002
THE SHIPPING NEWS (2001)
Reviewed by John Sylva
(C) 2002, TheMovieInsider.com
In one of the more showy casting choices of the year, young triplets Alyssa, Kaitlyn, and Lauren Gainer all portray the same character of the bashful Bunny in Lasse Hallström's The Shipping News. Though graced with the always interesting direction of Hallström and a cast with an incredible pedigree, The Shipping News suffers because of these very elaborate decisions. A script that feels obligated to pack in as many conflicts and subplots of the novel by E. Annie Proulx within a 111 minute running time as possible is what does the most damage here: Just as one actress isn't enough to play a rather one-dimensional role, one startling revelation regarding a character must be topped with three more with minimal development given to each, while one glimpse to a time when the central Quoyle family existed as pirates, looters, and murderers isn't enough, with the screenplay's electing to take the film on a different thematic tangent altogether with additional flashbacks. While Hallström does bring poignancy to the script's central theme that "a broken man can heal," Jacobs' scattered, incoherent adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel is too weak a foundation for the director to build a great film upon. However, The Shipping News does find success at many turns, featuring incredible cinematography by Oliver Stapleton and a spirited score by Christopher Young that, along with Hallström's confident directorial hand, are almost reason enough to pardon the film's unnecessarily overstuffed screenplay.
The icy, earthly Newfoundland setting is perfectly suited to lead character Quoyle (Spacey), visiting his homeland for the first time with his Aunt Agnis (Judi Dench) following the disappearance of his unfaithful wife Petal (Cate Blanchett). Like his new home of broken-shingled walls and floors that'll likely show you the level below if stepped upon, Quoyle's life has been an endless string of dead-ends and crumbled ambitions ever since suffering the abuse of his father. As this unusual character, Spacey never once hints at the trademark persona that he's earned a reputation for in Hollywood, giving a performance so restrained that some might claim he's been drugged. Spacey proves with The Shipping News not only that he's willing to play against type but that he doesn't mind having his critics, who insist on the actor's sticking to personas like American Beauty's Lester Burnham. His role here is largely reactive--much like Tobey Maguire's in Hallström's The Cider House Rules was--with the character's uncovering disturbing secrets related to both his left-behind life as an ink setter in Long Island, New York and to the alarming events of his family's history. The man endures an almost implausible number of misfortunes throughout the course of the film, making the viewer's feeling toward him one of pity more than sympathy. Several sequences do part this emotional distance, however: one being a rain-drenched diner-set sequence in which the lethargic Quoyle first meets the vivacious Petal, exceptionally acted by both Spacey and Blanchett; the others involving Quoyle's touching relationship with single mother Wavey (Julianne Moore, in an incredibly tender performance), who harbors her own demons as well.
Though his third high-profile film in as many years, Hallström is showing few signs of wear as a filmmaker. Much as he did in his last two outings (The Cider House Rules and Chocolat), the director presents a postcard-perfect presentation of a distinct way of life in a community that can only be fully understood by those who exist as a part of it. However, as suggested by Hallström's three-films-in-three-years contract, executives at Miramax Films are far more interested in the director's efficiency than they are his trademark lyrical style that puts his films in high regard with both moviego ers and critics alike. The first twenty minutes are proof enough of this: So many events and tragedies are piled on without any logical flow or further mention that it seems this just might be the Cliffs Notes edition of the final cut. While some may jump the gun and point the finger at editor Andrew Mondshein (whose work here is as seamless as always), blame would be more appropriately cast upon not only screenwriter Jacobs but executive producer Harvey Weinstein as well, who has a reputation for holding high demands for his Oscar bait fare. Quoyle, who's frequently attempting to devise sharp, pointed headlines at his job as a journalist for the local newspaper might observe of Weinstein: "Miramax exec. eyes potential greatness; much to dismay of others, limits filmmakers to his own liking." Thankfully, Weinstein's "own liking" does allow The Shipping News room enough to succeed in becoming a memorable motion picture experience--if not the one it should have been.
GRADE: B
Film reviewed August 17th, 2002.
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