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The Shipping News

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The Shipping News (2001)

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Reviews Counted:127

Fresh:70

Rotten:57

Average Rating:5.8/10

Consensus: Though solidly made and acted, The Shipping News is rather heavy-handed and dull, especially given the nature of its protagonist.

Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Dec 25, 2001 Limited

Box Office: $11,405,825

Synopsis: Lasse Hallstrom (CHOCOLAT, MY LIFE AS A DOG) presents this strong, quiet, chillingly deep adaptation of the popular novel by E. Annie Proulx. In a fishing port set in the Canadian province of... Lasse Hallstrom (CHOCOLAT, MY LIFE AS A DOG) presents this strong, quiet, chillingly deep adaptation of the popular novel by E. Annie Proulx. In a fishing port set in the Canadian province of Newfoundland, newspaper journalist Quoyle (Kevin Spacey), his young daughter Bunny (Alyssa Gainer), and his stern aunt Agnis Hamm (Dame Judi Dench) have reclaimed their ancestral home, which stood vacant for 40 years perched over the raging sea on the edge of a cliff. The fresh air and the mundane routine of the sleepy village act as a balm for Quoyle's wounds. Having grown up with unhappy parents who cautioned him that he'd never amount to anything, Quoyle thought he'd finally found a stroke of luck when he fell in love with Petal (a surprisingly slutty but no less beautiful Cate Blanchett), Bunny's mother. However, after Petal's sudden death, and the simultaneous passing of his loveless parents, Quoyle's migration from downtrodden Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to coastal Canada is his salvation. As Quoyle gains confidence and pride daily through his coworkers at the tiny newspaper the Gammy Bird, through his friendship with Wavey (a lovely Julianne Moore), and through his reconciliation with some spooky family secrets from the distant past, Quoyle, Bunny, and Agnis slowly find new direction, new hope, and the beginnings of a new life. [More]

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Scott Glenn, Rhys Ifans, Gordon Pinsent, Jason Behr, Larry Pine, Jeannetta Arnette, Robert Joy, Alyssa Gainer, Lauren Gainer, Kaitlyn Gainer, Will MCallister

Director: Lasse Hallström

Director: Lasse Hallström
Screenwriter: Robert Nelson Jacobs
Producer: Irwin Winkler, Leslie Holleran, Linda Goldstein Knowlton
Composer: Christopher Young
Studio: Miramax Films

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Release:

Jun 18, 2002

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • The Shipping News
  • 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.
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for The Shipping News

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    61 - 80 (sorted by date)
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    Solidly directed, evenly acted, and nicely filmed -- no real surprises, really.

    Full Review Source: Movie Boeuf | comment Comment
    01/15/02
    David N. Butterworth
    David N. Butterworth
    Movie Boeuf

    I like good newspaper movies. Most of them get it completely wrong. In this case, it's exactly right.

    Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
    01/10/02
    Richard Roeper
    Richard Roeper
    Ebert & Roeper
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Modamag.com | comment Comment
    01/09/02
    Brian Orndorf
    Brian Orndorf
    Modamag.com

    Some novels need to be left alone. Hear that, Hollywood?

    Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
    01/08/02
    Peter Travers
    Peter Travers
    Rolling Stone
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Where The Cider House Rules was one of the most exquisite examples of classical Hollywood filmmaking in years, Chocolat was no more than a trite, pleasant trifle. The Shipping News, well made as it is, isn't even up to that standard.

    Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
    01/08/02
    Charles Taylor
    Charles Taylor
    Salon.com

    Features fine, subtle work by just about everyone in the cast.

    Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
    01/06/02
    Jason Anderson
    Jason Anderson
    eye WEEKLY

    A sloppy, meandering morass of semi-realized ideas, half-baked characters and storylines that disappear before they come to a point.

    Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
    01/06/02
    Wade Major
    Wade Major
    Boxoffice Magazine

    Delivers a rewarding story about the return to one's roots and the human potential for renewal.

    Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
    01/05/02
    Erica Abeel
    Erica Abeel
    Film Journal International

    A movie that engrosses, hypnotizes and clings to the memory long after the final frame.

    Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
    01/03/02
    Rex Reed
    Rex Reed
    New York Observer
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    This is a highly amusing tale that is probably supposed to be more serious than it seemed to be on the screen.

    Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
    01/03/02
    Robert Roten
    Robert Roten
    Laramie Movie Scope

    A brilliantly filmed exploration into self-awareness.

    Full Review Source: Talking Pictures (U.S.) | comment Comment
    01/03/02
    Tony Toscano
    Tony Toscano
    Talking Pictures (U.S.)

    A passive film, playing it quiet and safe, hoping that the viewer will extend some good will towards it.

    Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
    01/03/02
    Michael Dequina
    Michael Dequina
    TheMovieReport.com

    There's nothing wrong with the performances here. It's the whitewashed writing and superficial directing that keep this decent movie from being a truly great one.

    Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
    01/02/02
    Eric D. Snider
    Eric D. Snider
    EricDSnider.com

    Lasse Hallstrom's tone poem on the lonely houses, rocky points, and foggy seas of Newfoundland

    Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
    01/02/02
    Marty Mapes
    Marty Mapes
    Movie Habit
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Nitrate Online | comment Comment
    12/31/01
    KJ Doughton
    KJ Doughton
    Nitrate Online

    Feels important, while also making you feel there are riches that remain untouched below the surface.

    Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
    12/30/01
    Brian Webster
    Brian Webster
    Apollo Guide

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
    12/30/01
    Russell Smith
    Russell Smith
    Austin Chronicle
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
    12/29/01
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch

    Review lunges clumsily at meaning. Did she like it? Hate the book, cannot finish it. No need; Spacey renders reading obsolete by showing so much with his body.

    Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
    12/28/01
    Karina Montgomery
    Karina Montgomery
    Cinerina

    Hallstrom and screenwriter Robert Nelson Jacobs, the team that gave us the spectacularly ordinary Chocolat, have concocted another box of mediocrity.

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    12/28/01
    Desson Thomson
    Desson Thomson
    Washington Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
    61 - 80 (sorted by date)
    Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
    all

    Latest News for The Shipping News

    August 01, 2005: Trailer Bulletin: An Unfinished Life
    Finally earning a (limited) release after sitting on a Miramax shelf for about a year is Lasse Hallstrom's "An Unfinished Life," which stars Robert Redford, Morgan... More...

    August 20, 2001: 'It's been a curious journey playing a character who just sort of responds,' says two-time Oscar winner Spacey. Opens in new window
    More...

    March 27, 2001: Before I started writing non-fiction, which I did simply to put meat and potatoes on the table, I was working on my doctorate in history. Opens in new window
    More...

    March 27, 2001: It's interesting to note that this is another tale of an ordinary man in the midst/crossroads of his life, which seems to be a recurring theme for Spacey. Opens in new window
    More...

    See All

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