The Shipping News

Released 2001
Stars Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench, Scott Glenn, Rhys Ifans, Pete Postlethwaite, Cate Blanchett, Jason Behr, Alyssa Gainer, Kaitlyn Gainer, Lauren Gainer
Directed by Lasse Hallström

Quoyle (Kevin Spacey) is a timid, unremarkable individual working in a newspaper printing department. His life is at a low ebb - his wife, Petal (Cate Blanchett), is openly cheating on him (to the point where she brings her one-night stands back to their house) and his father has just died. When Quoyle returns from the funeral, he discovers that Petal has taken their six-year old daughter, Bunny (played by sisters Alyssa, Kaitlyn, and Lauren Gainer), and run off. Petal is killed in a car accident after selling Bunny to an illegal adoption agency. After recovering his daughter, Quoyle decides to move to Newfoundland with his aunt, Agnis (Judi Dench). Once there, he gets a job writing the Shipping News column for the local paper. Along the way, he develops a few friendships and a romantic attachment to a widow, Wavey (Julianne Moore), who, like Quoyle, was once involved in an unhappy marriage.

Many movies of this ilk are about the triumph over adversity. The Shipping News takes a different approach - it's about surviving adversity through adaptation. None of the characters in this film undergo a sudden transformation as a result of circumstances. Instead, they change gradually, as circumstances dictate. Quoyle becomes more assertive, Agnis confronts a dark secret in her past, Wavey learns to open up, and Bunny becomes able to move forward without her mother. The bleak Canadian coastline provides an externalization of the grim struggles playing out within the hearts and souls of the protagonists. There is guilt and redemption, although little catharsis as a result of the latter.

Summary by James Berardinelli

This movie has a decent story, but it fails to emotionally involve the viewer. I never felt any empathy for any of the characters, because they all had some character flaw that prevented me from caring. For example, there was no way to feel anything but relief when Petal died. I couldn't connect with Quoyle, because I didn't know if he was supposed to be timid or mentally slow. I don't think the movie or Kevin Spacey ever decided that either. Also, Bunny was so snotty and distant, I never felt anything for her. Now I remember there was actually a moment when I did feel something. It was the ice-skating flashback, and I didn't really feel for the character of Agnis. It was more for a girl in that situation. There were times like this when the movie tried to draw us in, but it never succeeded. It's full of colorful characters, but the movie's as emotionally bleak as the Newfoundland landscape. It just doesn't work. --Bill Alward, July 29, 2002