Review of The Shipping News (2001) by P D — 02 Jun 2011

I just happened to finish reading the book the same day as I watched this film... On the downside, Kevin Spacey, although a believable actor, is miscast as Quoyle was supposed to be a hulking giant with a head like a melon with a monstrous chin(Jay Leno not available?).

By casting Spacey, it downplayed the pathetic helplessness of a hulking giant of a man who was too beat-down to stand up for himself. The movie also over-emphasized the psychic/supernatural connection of the young daughter Bunny, this was a distraction from the power of the story itself.

The movie does do a terrific job of creating some powerful imagery, my favorite being the old house chained to the rock. The symbolism of the house to a family's torturous past is tremendous and genius.

If you have the time, read the book and watch the film, they both have something to offer. I did prefer the ending of the book to Spacey's voice over. From the book - 'it may happen that a crab is caught with the shadow of a hand on its back, that the wind may be imprisoned in a bit of knotted string.

And it may be that love sometimes occurs without pain or misery'.