The Shipping News

The Shipping News (2001)

  • 56% of critics liked it
    (129 reviews)

  • 61% of users liked it
    (19,933 ratings)

The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by E. Annie Proulx becomes this drama from director Lasse Hallström. Kevin Spacey stars as Quoyle, a struggling, emotionally drained newspaper reporter suffering through a wretched marriage with the abusive Petal (Cate Blanchett), a promiscuous wild woman who tries… More

R, 1 hr. 51 min.
Directed By
Lasse Hallström
Written By
Robert Nelson Jacobs
Genres
Drama, Romance
In Theaters
Dec 25, 2001 Wide
On DVD
Jun 18, 2002
Miramax Films

Critic Reviews

  • Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

    I am baffled by all the negativity surrounding it, and I am prepared to designate it as the most underrated film of 2001.

  • Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

    The movie has a modest but true feeling for the ways in which people are formed by the ravages of their natural surroundings.

  • Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

    Spacey brilliantly shows Quoyle's transformation from a passive clod to a curious journalist.

  • Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

    I like good newspaper movies. Most of them get it completely wrong. In this case, it's exactly right.

  • Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

    Some novels need to be left alone. Hear that, Hollywood?

Read all 10 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Sajin P


    A congenital looser named Quoyle, after having dealt with multiple blows in life, moves with his daughter to his ancestral homeland, Newfoundland, at the urging of his long-lost Aunt, Agnis (Judi Dench). There he befriends a serene single mother, Wavey Prowse(Julianne Moore) and… More

  • moon r


    Not a Corvette this film but rather a stationwagon with room for many (and their assorted baggage) and not a film for everyone, this story of a family returning to it's small town roots I found hypnotic. It's my favorite Spacey film, instantly, Dench was solid as an oak,… More

  • Red L


    An interesting family movie - with all sorts of A list stars. Kevin Spacey plays Quoyle, who starts his live over after he goes back to his ancestral home in Newfoundland. I liked the acting by Quoyle's daughter who is played by three sisters (at different ages I presume). I… More

  • ♥˩ƳИИ &


    Cast: Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Pete Postlethwaite, Scott Glenn, Rhys Ifans, Gordon Pinsent, Jason Behr, Larry Pine Director: Lasse Hallström Summary: Distraught after the disappearance of his estranged wife, Quoyle (Kevin Spacey) and his daughter… More

  • Leigh R


    HEADLINE: A movie to stir the soul.

Read all 17 featured audience ratings

Cast

See full cast

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