Stars: Kevin Spacey, Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench, Rhys Ifans, Pete Postlethwaite, Gordon Pinsent, Robert Joy, Jeanetta Arnette

Director: Lasse Hallstrom

Summary: 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.

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E Annie Proulx's "quirky" bestseller The Shipping Newsgets the Lasse Hallstrom treatment, but the results don't match Chocolator The Cider House Rules. Lifelong loser Quoyle (Kevin Spacey) suffers in a terrible wig--abused by his bitter Dad, snoozing through dead-end jobs, overwhelmed by a mad Cate Blanchett. On the same day, his parents commit suicide and runaway Petal drowns in a car crash. With ominous Aunt Agnis (Judi Dench) and angelic daughter Bunny, Quoyle relocates to Quoyle Point, moving into a dilapidated family house tethered on a storm-wracked cliff. He takes a job as a reporter, fitting into a feud between owner (Scott Glenn) and editor (Pete Postlethwaite) and begins a tenuous romance with widow Wavey (Julianne Moore). Happiness threatens, but the weight of an awful past bears down, along with premonitions of doom, decapitation murders and a lot of bad weather...until a cathartic storm sorts it all out. Spare Spacey, miscast as the novel's obese hero, underplays to the point of invisibility. As a Gothic soap, it has a few laughs; but it's hard to take seriously. --Kim Newman

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Dive Beneath The Surface, Feature Commentary, Stills Gallery
Year:	2001
Release Date:	August 1, 2005
Runtime:	111 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	B E D 888588
Label:	Miramax Home Entertainment
Keywords:	News, General, Romantic, Drama, Elevation, Shipping
Genre:	Drama