The Ballad of Jack and Rose
Encyclopedia
The Ballad of Jack and Rose is a 2005 drama film
written and directed by Rebecca Miller
, and starring her husband Daniel Day-Lewis
; it also stars Camilla Belle
, Catherine Keener
, Paul Dano
, Ryan McDonald, Jason Lee
, Jena Malone
, Susanna Thompson
and Beau Bridges
. The film tells the story of an environmentalist
and his teenage daughter who live alone on a secluded island commune
, and their complicated relationship as a heart illness
brings his life to an end. It was filmed in Rock Barra, Prince Edward Island
, Canada
and in New Milford, Connecticut
.
While Rose has no desire to change their lifestyle, Jack believes that they both "need a woman around." He travels to the mainland to ask his girlfriend Kathleen (Catherine Keener) to move in with him. Jack breaks the news to a shocked Rose, from whom he had kept his relationship a secret. Rose remains stoic and disdainful when Kathleen and her two teenaged sons move in.
Kathleen struggles to adapt to the Slavin's rural lifestyle. Her sons Rodney (Ryan McDonald) and Thaddius (Paul Dano) are almost polar opposites; Thaddius is a sullen, rude delinquent, while Rodney is insecure and often overlooked. While she still has a strained relationship with Kathleen, Rose develops strange bonds with her new "step-brothers." It is clear that Thaddius is attracted to her, but Rose does not like him. One night, Rose spies on Jack and Kathleen in bed together, and develops a strange jealousy of Kathleen. Rose decides to lose her virginity, and shocks Rodney by confronting him topless and asking him for sex. Rodney refuses and reasons with her, and ends up giving her a dramatic haircut (her long tresses are shortened to a pixie cut
). Afterward, Rose calmly takes her father's shotgun and possibly misfires it into Jack and Kathleen's bedroom as they sleep. An initially shocked Jack confronts Rose in disbelief, but the two end up giggling and seem to forget the event within minutes.
Kathleen asks Jack about his relationship with Rose, and how she might have psychological problems that should be dealt with. Jack denies that his daughter has any problems. Meanwhile, Rose and Rodney become good friends. Rodney is often criticized by his mother for being overweight, and the two fight constantly about his diet, but Rose sees only his kindness and intelligence. However, still on a mission to lose her virginity, Rose's thoughts turn to Thaddius. While trapping a copperhead
, intended for scaring Kathleen, Rose sees Thaddius and Red Berry (a visiting friend of Rodney's) having sex in the woods. Later that night, Thaddius enters Rose's room as she lies in bed. Though she dislikes him, Rose allows him to have sex with her, and even offers a timid "thanks" afterward.
To irk her father, Rose hangs her bloodied bedsheet in the front yard. Jack is furious that is daughter has been "ruined," and gives Thaddius one day to move out of the house. Meanwhile, Kathleen is cornered by the copperhead, which had escaped its cage in Rose's room. The resulting chaos puts the whole household on edge. That night, Rose holds a screening in her treehouse of a homemade movie about the hippie commune. As the film rolls, Thaddius advances on Rose and is stopped by Jack. After a scuffle, Thaddius falls from the treehouse and is rushed to the hospital. Rose runs to an unfinished development house, and hides there for days. Jack finally finds her, and offers to ask Kathleen to leave if it would bring Rose home. A distraught Kathleen demands $20,000 in exchange for leaving, which Jack pays.
Jack returns to Rose's hideout, and she is overjoyed with the news that Kathleen is gone. That night, Jack and Rose share an incestuous kiss. Rose sees nothing wrong, as she has never had anyone to love but her father. Jack breaks down in guilty tears.
Jack's heart condition is worsening, and he decides to let the builders destroy the wetlands. He and Rose return home, and Jack dies within a few days. Rose had originally planned to kill herself when her father died, but after setting the house on fire and lying down next to Jack's body, she changes her mind and escapes.
Two years later, Rose is shown living in Vermont
and working in a greenhouse.
on January 23, 2005; it was later given a limited theatrical release
on March 23, 2005, grossing $59,459 in its opening weekend, in 4 theaters. The highest position it reached was during its second week of release, grossing $135,100, and the lowest position it reached was at its last week of release, grossing $406. Its widest release was 74 theaters. The film grossed $712,275 domestically and just $916,051 worldwide.
Critical reception to the film was heavily divided; some critics disliked the film, such as Todd McCarthy of Variety
, who wrote that it "gets caught up in incidental distractions that lead the drama astray". Others praised it; Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times
called the film a "model of artistic, provocative American filmmaking".
The heavy divide between critical praise and disdain was further illustrated by critics Roger Ebert
and Richard Roeper
, who were at odds when reviewing the film on their television program. Roeper, although impressed by the cinematography, dismissed the film and criticized the portrayal of the character of Jack, ultimately saying: "Jack and Rose's ballad is a sour song punctuated by ugly behavior from characters who are supposed to be sympathetic". Ebert, on the other hand, praised the film on most accounts, ultimately calling it "an absorbing experience".
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written and directed by Rebecca Miller
Rebecca Miller
Rebecca Augusta Miller is an American film director, screenwriter and actress, most known for her films Personal Velocity: Three Portraits , The Ballad of Jack and Rose, and Angela,and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee all of which she wrote and directed.-Life and career:Born in Roxbury,...
, and starring her husband Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for the latter...
; it also stars Camilla Belle
Camilla Belle
Camilla Belle is an American actress. Her works include The Lost World: Jurassic Park, When a Stranger Calls, 10,000 BC, The Quiet, Push and Speedy Singhs.- Early life :...
, Catherine Keener
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
, Paul Dano
Paul Dano
Paul Franklin Dano is an American actor and producer. He has appeared in films such as L.I.E. , The Girl Next Door , Little Miss Sunshine , There Will Be Blood , and Where the Wild Things Are .-Early life:Dano was born in New York City, the son of Gladys and Paul Dano...
, Ryan McDonald, Jason Lee
Jason Lee (actor)
Jason Michael Lee is an American actor and skateboarder known for his role as the title character on the NBC television series My Name is Earl, his portrayal of Syndrome in the film The Incredibles, his role as Dave Seville in the Alvin and the Chipmunks films, and his work with director Kevin...
, Jena Malone
Jena Malone
Jena Malone is an American actress and musician who has appeared on television, in films, and on Broadway. She made her movie debut with the film Bastard Out of Carolina , and has appeared in films including Contact , Stepmom , Donnie Darko , Saved! , Into the Wild , and Sucker Punch .Malone is...
, Susanna Thompson
Susanna Thompson
Susanna Thompson is an American television and film actress. She is skilled in Aikido and stage combat. She is best known for her role as Karen Sammler on Once and Again.-Career:...
and Beau Bridges
Beau Bridges
Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III is an American actor and director.- Early life :Bridges was born in Los Angeles, the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and his college sweetheart, Dorothy Bridges . He was nicknamed "Beau" by his mother and father after Ashley Wilkes's son in Gone with the Wind, the book...
. The film tells the story of an environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
and his teenage daughter who live alone on a secluded island commune
Commune
Commune may refer to:In society:* Commune, a human community in which resources are shared* Commune , a township or municipality* One of the Communes of France* An Italian Comune...
, and their complicated relationship as a heart illness
Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy, which literally means "heart muscle disease," is the deterioration of the function of the myocardium for any reason. People with cardiomyopathy are often at risk of arrhythmia or sudden cardiac death or both. Cardiomyopathy can often go undetected, making it especially dangerous to...
brings his life to an end. It was filmed in Rock Barra, Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and in New Milford, Connecticut
New Milford, Connecticut
New Milford is a town in southern Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States north of Danbury, on the Housatonic River. It is the largest town in the state in terms of land area at nearly . The population was 28,671 according to the Census Bureau's 2006 estimates...
.
Plot
Jack Slavin (Daniel Day-Lewis), a Scottish farmer with a heart ailment, lives on an island which had been a hippie commune decades before. He is struggling to keep landowners from building developments on the wetland. His teenaged daughter Rose (Camilla Belle) is a beautiful but isolated girl with a passion for gardening. Since Rose's mother had left the family, Jack homeschooled his daughter and did not expose her to life beyond their small island home.While Rose has no desire to change their lifestyle, Jack believes that they both "need a woman around." He travels to the mainland to ask his girlfriend Kathleen (Catherine Keener) to move in with him. Jack breaks the news to a shocked Rose, from whom he had kept his relationship a secret. Rose remains stoic and disdainful when Kathleen and her two teenaged sons move in.
Kathleen struggles to adapt to the Slavin's rural lifestyle. Her sons Rodney (Ryan McDonald) and Thaddius (Paul Dano) are almost polar opposites; Thaddius is a sullen, rude delinquent, while Rodney is insecure and often overlooked. While she still has a strained relationship with Kathleen, Rose develops strange bonds with her new "step-brothers." It is clear that Thaddius is attracted to her, but Rose does not like him. One night, Rose spies on Jack and Kathleen in bed together, and develops a strange jealousy of Kathleen. Rose decides to lose her virginity, and shocks Rodney by confronting him topless and asking him for sex. Rodney refuses and reasons with her, and ends up giving her a dramatic haircut (her long tresses are shortened to a pixie cut
Pixie cut
A pixie cut refers to a short woman's hairstyle generally short on the back and sides of the head and slightly longer on the top. Women began exploring shorter hairstyles in the 1920s and was widely popular by rebelling women known as flappers...
). Afterward, Rose calmly takes her father's shotgun and possibly misfires it into Jack and Kathleen's bedroom as they sleep. An initially shocked Jack confronts Rose in disbelief, but the two end up giggling and seem to forget the event within minutes.
Kathleen asks Jack about his relationship with Rose, and how she might have psychological problems that should be dealt with. Jack denies that his daughter has any problems. Meanwhile, Rose and Rodney become good friends. Rodney is often criticized by his mother for being overweight, and the two fight constantly about his diet, but Rose sees only his kindness and intelligence. However, still on a mission to lose her virginity, Rose's thoughts turn to Thaddius. While trapping a copperhead
Copperhead
Copperhead may refer to:Snakes:* Agkistrodon contortrix, a venomous pit viper species found in parts of North America.* Agkistrodon piscivorus, a.k.a. the cottonmouth, another venomous pit viper species found in North America....
, intended for scaring Kathleen, Rose sees Thaddius and Red Berry (a visiting friend of Rodney's) having sex in the woods. Later that night, Thaddius enters Rose's room as she lies in bed. Though she dislikes him, Rose allows him to have sex with her, and even offers a timid "thanks" afterward.
To irk her father, Rose hangs her bloodied bedsheet in the front yard. Jack is furious that is daughter has been "ruined," and gives Thaddius one day to move out of the house. Meanwhile, Kathleen is cornered by the copperhead, which had escaped its cage in Rose's room. The resulting chaos puts the whole household on edge. That night, Rose holds a screening in her treehouse of a homemade movie about the hippie commune. As the film rolls, Thaddius advances on Rose and is stopped by Jack. After a scuffle, Thaddius falls from the treehouse and is rushed to the hospital. Rose runs to an unfinished development house, and hides there for days. Jack finally finds her, and offers to ask Kathleen to leave if it would bring Rose home. A distraught Kathleen demands $20,000 in exchange for leaving, which Jack pays.
Jack returns to Rose's hideout, and she is overjoyed with the news that Kathleen is gone. That night, Jack and Rose share an incestuous kiss. Rose sees nothing wrong, as she has never had anyone to love but her father. Jack breaks down in guilty tears.
Jack's heart condition is worsening, and he decides to let the builders destroy the wetlands. He and Rose return home, and Jack dies within a few days. Rose had originally planned to kill herself when her father died, but after setting the house on fire and lying down next to Jack's body, she changes her mind and escapes.
Two years later, Rose is shown living in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
and working in a greenhouse.
Cast
- Camilla BelleCamilla BelleCamilla Belle is an American actress. Her works include The Lost World: Jurassic Park, When a Stranger Calls, 10,000 BC, The Quiet, Push and Speedy Singhs.- Early life :...
as Rose Slavin - Daniel Day-LewisDaniel Day-LewisDaniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for the latter...
as Jack Slavin - Catherine KeenerCatherine KeenerCatherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
as Kathleen - Ryan McDonaldRyan McDonaldRyan James McDonald is a Canadian actor born 5 August 1984 in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. He is sometimes mistakenly credited as Ryan MacDonald.-Filmography:* "The Ballad of Jack and Rose" * "Terry"...
as Rodney - Paul DanoPaul DanoPaul Franklin Dano is an American actor and producer. He has appeared in films such as L.I.E. , The Girl Next Door , Little Miss Sunshine , There Will Be Blood , and Where the Wild Things Are .-Early life:Dano was born in New York City, the son of Gladys and Paul Dano...
as Thaddius - Jason LeeJason Lee (actor)Jason Michael Lee is an American actor and skateboarder known for his role as the title character on the NBC television series My Name is Earl, his portrayal of Syndrome in the film The Incredibles, his role as Dave Seville in the Alvin and the Chipmunks films, and his work with director Kevin...
as Gray - Jena MaloneJena MaloneJena Malone is an American actress and musician who has appeared on television, in films, and on Broadway. She made her movie debut with the film Bastard Out of Carolina , and has appeared in films including Contact , Stepmom , Donnie Darko , Saved! , Into the Wild , and Sucker Punch .Malone is...
as Red Berry - Beau BridgesBeau BridgesLloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III is an American actor and director.- Early life :Bridges was born in Los Angeles, the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and his college sweetheart, Dorothy Bridges . He was nicknamed "Beau" by his mother and father after Ashley Wilkes's son in Gone with the Wind, the book...
as Marty Rance - Susanna ThompsonSusanna ThompsonSusanna Thompson is an American television and film actress. She is skilled in Aikido and stage combat. She is best known for her role as Karen Sammler on Once and Again.-Career:...
as Miriam Rance
Reception
The Ballad of Jack and Rose premiered at the Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
on January 23, 2005; it was later given a limited theatrical release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
on March 23, 2005, grossing $59,459 in its opening weekend, in 4 theaters. The highest position it reached was during its second week of release, grossing $135,100, and the lowest position it reached was at its last week of release, grossing $406. Its widest release was 74 theaters. The film grossed $712,275 domestically and just $916,051 worldwide.
Critical reception to the film was heavily divided; some critics disliked the film, such as Todd McCarthy of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, who wrote that it "gets caught up in incidental distractions that lead the drama astray". Others praised it; Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
called the film a "model of artistic, provocative American filmmaking".
The heavy divide between critical praise and disdain was further illustrated by critics Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
and Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
, who were at odds when reviewing the film on their television program. Roeper, although impressed by the cinematography, dismissed the film and criticized the portrayal of the character of Jack, ultimately saying: "Jack and Rose's ballad is a sour song punctuated by ugly behavior from characters who are supposed to be sympathetic". Ebert, on the other hand, praised the film on most accounts, ultimately calling it "an absorbing experience".