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03/02/02
The Shipping News (2001)
55
%
Tomatometer
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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
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... [More]
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett
Director: Lasse Hallström
Reviews for The Shipping News
Top CriticThe simple build of comedy and meticulous build of tragedy are missing and so, in effect, is the movie’s heart.
02/26/02
...leads us from the alien to the comprehensible with a gentle, leisurely hand.
02/22/02
We gain pleasure from watching the actors, including Judi Dench as Quoyle's starchy aunt and Julianne Moore as his friend and potential lover.
01/31/02
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01/26/02
The movie has a modest but true feeling for the ways in which people are formed by the ravages of their natural surroundings.
01/22/02
With its sterling literary pedigree, picturesque setting, proven creative team and dream cast, "The Shipping News" ultimately ends up less than the sum of its parts.
01/21/02
The Shipping News is brilliant, heartwarming, and divinely sublime as the cast delivers one helluva film!
01/20/02
The last time I felt this let down was when Bill Buckner let a certain ground ball roll between his legs during the 1986 World Series.
01/18/02
The Shipping News creates and sustains a mood quite unlike any other.
01/18/02
Their performances are strong. But they can't keep the film from plowing through some disappointingly rough waters.
01/18/02
With The Shipping News, director Lasse Hallstrom reaffirms his talent for exploring emotionally scarred families and dysfunctional relationships.
01/18/02
Despite coming from the highly regarded Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Annie Proulx, the film is a generally unappealing drama that feels as icy as its setting -- and one that seems to miss the point of the story.
01/18/02
Spacey brilliantly shows Quoyle's transformation from a passive clod to a curious journalist.
01/17/02
Spacey ... resists the leading-man temptation to make Quoyle inconsequential with a capital 'I.'
01/17/02
Cate Blanchett as Petal, Judi Dench as Agnis, Scott Glenn as Jack Buggitt, and Julianne Moore as Wavey, now that is inspired!
01/16/02
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01/16/02
[Hallstrom] has created a town just unique enough, with characters just special enough, that you might want to drop by and pay a visit.
01/15/02
Spacey furrows his brow a lot when he isn't making confused-hurt puppy-dog eyes at everyone, [but] he’s really hard to feel any sympathy for when you just want to smack some sense into him.
01/15/02
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01/15/02
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. 
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.
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.
More...
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