The Shipping News

This is a story that touches your heart, the way so many of Hollywood films fail to do, and leave you smiling at the end, and maybe even leaves you missing these near friends you have come to love. It is good to see films like that do so well, just a shame there is not more.

It is brilliantly written, with all the quirkiness you find in a small knit community, the isolation tend to make the locals revel in their bizarre personalities and even sort of wear them like a badge. I have seen this same 'wee tight isle' in Scotland and in Ireland and small towns in the US. Everyone knows everyone - knows the history as far back as it goes. The past is not so distant, where people with the sight is just an everyday occurrence.

Kevin Spacey plays a gentle soul, driven by an overbearing, likely abusive father to believing he was nothing. He felt the world pasted him by until Petal jumped into his car. Petal is typical Hussy type, a lass out for fun and little else. For the first time, Kevin's character feels that he no invisible. Petal gets pregnant, have a baby girl, Bunny, and then precedes to live life just as she always had, with good time guys and honky-tonks. She checks in long enough to upset Spacey, and pat the kid on the head. When the child is about 8, she slips away with child in tow, running away with the latest boyfriend. If that is not upsetting enough, Spacey's father and mother decided life is the pits and check out.

In the midst of finding out Petal died in a car crash with her boyfriend, but sold Bunny to a black-market child adoption ring for six thousand dollars, Spacey's long lost aunt,(Dench) turns up to steal her brothers ashes. (Won't reveal what she does with them!! She encourages Spacey to take his daughter and move back to New Foundland to where his family comes from. Once there his daughter shows tendencies of 'the sight' but it is taken in stride.

Scott Glen owns the local paper and hired Spacey to write the shipping news. He fears failure in this, since Petal just reinforced his worthlessness instilled by his father. However, instead, he comes into his own. He also begins a tentative romance with Moore, with his daughter taking to her son, who suffered brain damage during birth.

Spacey faces his demons and learns to heal, as Dench confronts her own secrets and shames, and loves to move on.

The scenery is gorgeous, raining and foggy ( sorry I am a Scot and love a bit of the wet and fog makes me want to walk in it forever. This captures the moodiness, though the snow in May does make one shudder!)

This is just one beautiful movie. You cannot say anything higher.