The Shipping News (2001)

An emotionally-beaten man with his young daughter moves to his ancestral home in Newfoundland to reclaim his life.

Director:

Lasse Hallström

Writers:

Annie Proulx (novel), Robert Nelson Jacobs (screenplay)

Stars:

Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Spacey	...	Quoyle
Julianne Moore	...	Wavey Prowse
Judi Dench	...	Agnis Hamm
Cate Blanchett	...	Petal
Pete Postlethwaite	...	Tert Card
Scott Glenn	...	Jack Buggit
Rhys Ifans	...	Beaufield Nutbeem
Gordon Pinsent	...	Billy Pretty
Jason Behr	...	Dennis Buggit
Larry Pine	...	Bayonet Melville
Jeannetta Arnette	...	Silver Melville
Robert Joy	...	EMS Officer
Alyssa Gainer	...	Bunny Quoyle
Kaitlyn Gainer	...	Bunny Quoyle
Lauren Gainer	...	Bunny Quoyle

Storyline

An inksetter in New York, Quoyle returns to his family's longtime home, a small fishing town in Newfoundland, with his young daughter, after a traumatizing experience with her mother, Petal, who sold her to an illegal adoption agency. Though Quoyle has had little success thus far in life, his shipping news column in the newspaper "The Gammy Bird" finds an audience, and his experiences in the town change his life. Then he meets the widow Wavey...

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Plot Keywords:

newspaper | tragedy | aunt | capsize | isolation | 

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Taglines:

You'll never guess what you'll find inside...

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language, sexuality and disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax Films [United States] cast, music, trailer NZZ Online - Neue Zürcher Zeitung (German)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 January 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Atando cabos

Filming Locations:

Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$70,919 (Brazil) (20 December 2002)

Gross:

$166,081 (Brazil) (10 January 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scenes in which Quoyle (Kevin Spacey) is in the water were filmed at a tank in St. John's, Newfoundland (normally used for testing boats and marine technology). The tank, which normally contains cold Atlantic sea water, had to be specially filled with warm water for Spacey's comfort.

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Goofs

While Coyle is in the diner preparing to eat his squidburger and has an exchange with Jack, his flatware changes 3 times: from being askew to the left of his plate, to being very neatly laid out to the left of his plate, and then appears neatly laid out to the right of his plate.

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Quotes

Jack Buggit: You don't have the sense God gave a doughnut, do you?

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Connections

References The Shining (1980)

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Soundtracks

"Bad As I Am"
Written by Bob Hallett & Sean McCann
Performed by Great Big Sea
Courtesy of London-Sire Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Extraordinary adaptation of a brilliant novel

Having read the brilliant and seamless novel - and believing that movie adaptations of novels rarely succeed - I did not expect to like this movie. Much to my surprise, I found the film totally successful. Kevin Spacey - who seemed to be an odd choice for the role - is perfect as Coyle, capturing the true spirit of the character and proving himself to be one of the finest movie actors of his generation. Judi Dench is, as always, just right. Julianne Moore (I was not previously familiar with her work) is astonishing. The look of the movie...the tone...the screenplay all work - as an adaptation of the novel and as a film unto itself. I do not understand why this movie did not garner more recognition. I strongly recommend it to those who have read the novel and those who have yet to experience Annie Proulx remarkable prose.