Review of The Shipping News (2001) by Jonathon C — 06 Apr 2009

I saw this film for the first time at the cinema several years ago with a friend. It was my turn to choose a film to see, I had no idea what to pick, and I'd not even heard of this film but was drawn to it by the quality of the cast. Five minutes in to this film I and my mate were thinking "...oh my GOSH! What the heck is this film???" The start was HORRIBLE. But we sat through it, and to our pleasant surprise it improved, and then grew on us, until by the end we were both pleased that we saw it and found it to be an enjoyable and edifying watch.

The Shipping News is a story of redemption, one man's personal journey, that is filled with some quirky and likable characters along the way that become part of his life. Dealing with past family secrets and cutting free from their "curses" is about the flavour of the film, but with subtle humour cleverly woven in to each situation to lighten the viewing. If you can tolerate the first 20 minutes, I promise you, it does get better.