its delicacy . as basic virtue. the second - the great performances. not surprising. because the actors work is only another proof of impeccable art. because the novel gives all the opportunities for a story who mix the theory of the second chance with beautiful love story. and Judy Dench did the right role for give a form of spell to a so simple and honest remind of small things who define the authentic happiness than it becomes, scene by scene, more than impressive. a film about hope and new beginning. so, an universal story who has not the desire to demonstrate something. only remind. the taste of a rare state , old fashion joy and polite way to define the right manner to be yourself after a long expectation.

If you have time to kill and watch great actors deliver bad acting, watch it. With such names as Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench, I was expecting a great drama. Instead I waste precious time when I could have been watching reruns of 3rd Rock From the Sun and LMAO! I should sue to get this time back. And I expected much more from AP. The dialogue from Moore, Dench and others at times was impossible to discern what was being said. Maybe I should watch it again with the closed-captioning turned on. I'm just so disappointed in KS from his past performances in 'American Beauty', '21', 'Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil', 'K-Pax'.

The novel "The Shipping News" caused quite a splash when it was published. I never read it. I remember hearing about a movie being made from the book, and then not hearing much more about it. Now I know why. The film is a queasy concoction of human depravity, despair, beautiful scenery, colorful stereotypical characters, and clairvoyance. Kevin Spacey and Julianne Moore, two of my favorite actors, perform as if they are on Thorazine, and Judy Dench hams it up shamelessly (to her credit, she deepens up a bit towards the end.) I began to feel displaced, as if I wound up in a cold climate when I expected to be in Macondo. Magical Realism very far afield. I suffered through the entire movie out of laziness and masochism, hoping that at least one of the characters would be put out of their misery at its end.

Ecch, voice-over. Keven Spacey narrates from early childhood (the not quite drowned cliché) to adulthood, where he's an ink-setter in Poughkeepsie, NY, and where he meets his first wife, Petal. The word 'clueless' keeps coming to mind.They spawn a daughter, much to Petal's disgust. Petal leaves him with another man after his parents kill themselves in a penniless state.Petal and the interloper drive off the road into a river and die. Nice. They had sold Bunny (the daughter) to a black market adoption agency for 6,000 USD, and had a receipt to prove it. That's how the NYSHP tracked them down and recovered Bunny.Agnes Hamm (his father's half sister) visits, helps him relocate to Newfoundland, helps him move into a house the family still owns, and has not been lived in for 44 years. The house needs quite a bit of repair, and is quite a story in its own right.He gets a job with the local newspaper, and is assigned by Jack to do the shipping news and car accidents. He learns to write in a journalistic style. Agnis comes out of retirement to help bring in more income. He gets advice and learns more about writing.Bunny likes Wavey's son. Wavey and Quoyle become friends.Quoyle shows quite a skill at finding out unfortunate buried facts. Quoyle gets into a disagreement with Tert over shipping news content. It is not pretty, but Jack sides with Quoyle. Later, he finds a body and a head at sea, and manages to lose his boat in the process. Quoyle discovers a number of other secrets, like the bad behavior of his ancestors, his father's bad treatment of his aunt, and the like.By the end of the film, Quoyle is part of the community, and much more at peace with himself.Scores-----Cinematography: 8/10 The majority of the film's frames are on the dark side, almost to the point where some camera/light source changes might have been called for. On the other hand, the film's locations are northerly with frequent overcast skies.Sound: 10/10 No problems. The incidental music was excellent.Acting: 8/10 Kevin Spacey is both the worst (as the younger Quoyle) and the best (older Quoyle) actor in the film. Judi Dench delivered another fine performance. Cate Blanchette's performance was quite repellent, but that was her assignment. Julianne Moore was good. Scott Glenn was delightful. Pete Postlethwaite was great.Screenplay: 8/10 Nicely done, except for the early material. A separate actor for the younger Quoyle would have been much better.