The Shipping News (film)
Encyclopedia
The Shipping News is a 2001 drama film
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...

 directed by Lasse Hallström
Lasse Hallström
Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström is a Swedish film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for My Life as a Dog and later for The Cider House Rules .-Life and career:...

, based on the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life. It originated as the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, which was awarded between 1918 and 1947.-1910s:...

 winning novel
The Shipping News
The Shipping News is a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning novel by American writer E. Annie Proulx which was published in 1993. It was adapted into a film of the same name, released in 2001.-Plot summary:...

 by E. Annie Proulx
E. Annie Proulx
Edna Annie Proulx is an American journalist and author. Her second novel, The Shipping News , won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for fiction in 1994, and was made into a film in 2001...

.

It stars Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...

 as the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

 Quoyle, Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...

 as Agnis Hamm and Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....

 as Wavey Prowse. It also stars Pete Postlethwaite
Pete Postlethwaite
Peter William "Pete" Postlethwaite, OBE, was an English stage, film and television actor.After minor television appearances including in The Professionals, Postlethwaite's first success came with the film Distant Voices, Still Lives in 1988. He played a mysterious lawyer, Mr...

, Scott Glenn
Scott Glenn
Theodore Scott Glenn is an American actor. His roles have included Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy , astronaut Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff ,Emmett in Silverado , Commander Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October , Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs and The Wise Man in Sucker Punch -Early...

, Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...

, Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...

, Jason Behr
Jason Behr
Jason Nathaniel Behr is an American film and television actor. He first starred in the American television series Roswell, for which he was twice nominated for a Saturn Award, followed by roles in the films The Shipping News and the American remake of the Japanese horror film The Grudge...

, and Gordon Pinsent
Gordon Pinsent
Gordon Edward Pinsent, CC, FRSC is a Canadian television, theatre and film actor.-Early life:Pinsent, the youngest of six children, was born in Grand Falls, Newfoundland, the son of Flossie ; originally from Clifton, Newfoundland, and Stephen Arthur Pinsent, a papermill worker and cobbler;...

.

Overview

The film makes a multitude of changes from the book, notably: Quoyle had two daughters in the novel, but only one in the film; in the film he does not begin working as a reporter until after arriving in Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

; and a number of characters, such as the younger Buggit family, were deleted or merged.

It climaxes with a storm which destroys the Quoyle's ancestral family home and almost drowns the Gammy Bird's editor Jack Buggit, caught in the rope of a lobster pot while fishing. Buggit is thought to have drowned but is actually in a state of shock resulting from hypothermia
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...

. He regains consciousness during his wake in front of a large crowd of mourners, central to the theme of rebirth
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...

 in the optimistic ending of the story.

Cast

  • Kevin Spacey
    Kevin Spacey
    Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...

     - Quoyle
  • Julianne Moore
    Julianne Moore
    Julianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....

     - Wavey Prowse
  • Judi Dench
    Judi Dench
    Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...

     - Agnis Hamm
  • Cate Blanchett
    Cate Blanchett
    Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...

     - Petal
  • Pete Postlethwaite
    Pete Postlethwaite
    Peter William "Pete" Postlethwaite, OBE, was an English stage, film and television actor.After minor television appearances including in The Professionals, Postlethwaite's first success came with the film Distant Voices, Still Lives in 1988. He played a mysterious lawyer, Mr...

     - Tert Card
  • Scott Glenn
    Scott Glenn
    Theodore Scott Glenn is an American actor. His roles have included Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy , astronaut Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff ,Emmett in Silverado , Commander Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October , Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs and The Wise Man in Sucker Punch -Early...

     - Jack Buggit
  • Rhys Ifans
    Rhys Ifans
    Rhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...

     - Beaufield Nutbeem
  • Gordon Pinsent
    Gordon Pinsent
    Gordon Edward Pinsent, CC, FRSC is a Canadian television, theatre and film actor.-Early life:Pinsent, the youngest of six children, was born in Grand Falls, Newfoundland, the son of Flossie ; originally from Clifton, Newfoundland, and Stephen Arthur Pinsent, a papermill worker and cobbler;...

     - Billy Pretty
  • Jason Behr
    Jason Behr
    Jason Nathaniel Behr is an American film and television actor. He first starred in the American television series Roswell, for which he was twice nominated for a Saturn Award, followed by roles in the films The Shipping News and the American remake of the Japanese horror film The Grudge...

      - Dennis Buggit
  • Larry Pine
    Larry Pine
    Larry Pine is an American film, television and theatre actor.He began his professional acting career Off-Broadway, then appeared in Cyrano de Bergerac at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in 1968 as Fop...

     - Bayonet Melville
  • Jeanetta Arnette
    Jeanetta Arnette
    Jeannetta Arnette is an American actress known for her television role as Miss Meara on the situation comedy Head of the Class. She has also appeared in numerous films and guest-starring roles on television...

     - Silver Melville
  • Katherine Moennig
    Katherine Moennig
    Katherine Sian Moennig is an American actress known for her role as Shane McCutcheon on The L Word, as well as Jake Pratt on Young Americans. In 2009, she starred as Dr. Miranda Foster on CBS Three Rivers.- Personal life :Moennig was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Broadway dancer Mary Zahn...

     - Grace Moosup
  • Lauren Gainer - Bunny Quoyle
  • Alyssa Gainer - Bunny Quoyle
  • Kaitlyn Gainer - Bunny Quoyle

Reception

The film earned mixed reviews from critics, earning it a 56% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

 with the consensus stating: "Though solidly made and acted, The Shipping News is rather heavy-handed and dull, especially given the nature of its protagonist."

Quoyle Point and Killick-Claw

Quoyle Point is a fictional point of land on the Newfoundland
Trinity Bight, Newfoundland and Labrador
Trinity Bight is a large area of the Northwestern portion of Trinity Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The bight contains the communities of New Bonaventure, Old Bonaventure, Trouty, Dunfield, Goose Cove, Trinity, Trinity East, Port Rexton, Champney's Arm, Champney's West, Champney's East,...

 coast bearing the family name of the protagonist in both the book and the movie. The actual town used for "Killick-Claw" in the movie was New Bonaventure
New Bonaventure, Newfoundland and Labrador
Old Bonaventure is a small outport and extraordinary natural harbour in the Trinity Bight area of Trinity Bay that was originally settled by English emigrants seeking a new, if very challenging, life in the "New Founde Lande". It had a population of 85 in 1951 and 100 in 1956...

 in the Trinity Bight
Trinity Bight, Newfoundland and Labrador
Trinity Bight is a large area of the Northwestern portion of Trinity Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The bight contains the communities of New Bonaventure, Old Bonaventure, Trouty, Dunfield, Goose Cove, Trinity, Trinity East, Port Rexton, Champney's Arm, Champney's West, Champney's East,...

 area of Newfoundland. This area is home to approximately 2,000 Newfoundlanders, most of whom are descendants of 18th-century settlers from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

's West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...

, the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...

 and Southeast Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

.

In the movie, Quoyle Point is a remote, spectacular site with a cove and dramatic cliffs. There is a desolate, weathered green house on the point, the old family home of the Quoyles. At some time in the past, the house had been dragged across the sea-ice from a neighboring island and cabled to the ground at the four corners to protect it from being blown away.

The film crew pre-built the green house on a stage in Halifax
Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia
Halifax Regional Municipality is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The Regional Municipality had a 2006 census population of 372,679, while the metropolitan area had a 2010 estimated population of 403,188, and the urban area of Halifax had a population of 282,924...

, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, disassembled it, transported it via ferry to Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

, and then reassembled it piece-by-piece on 'Quoyle Point,' using snowmobiles so as not to disturb the natural location. All traces of it were removed at the end of filming.

Won

  • Florida Film Critics
    Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2001
    The 6th Florida Film Critics Circle Awards, given 2 January 2002, were announced on 3 January 2002.-Winners:*Best Actor:**Billy Bob Thornton - Bandits, The Man Who Wasn't There and Monster's Ball*Best Actress:...

    :
    1. Best Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett)
  • National Board of Review
    National Board of Review Awards 2001
    The 73rd National Board of Review Awards, honoring the best in filmmaking in 2001, were announced on 5 December 2001 and given on 7 January 2002.-Top 10 films:#Moulin Rouge!#In the Bedroom#Ocean's Eleven#Memento#Monster's Ball...

    :
    1. Best Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett)

Nominated

  • Art Directors Guild (ADG):
    1. Excellence in Production Design Award Feature Film - Contemporary Film
  • BAFTA Awards:
    1. Best Actor (Kevin Spacey)
    2. Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench)
  • Berlin International Film Festival
    Berlin International Film Festival
    The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...

    :
    1. Golden Berlin Bear (Lasse Hallström)
  • Broadcast Film Critics
    Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2001
    The 7th Critics' Choice Awards, honoring the best filmmaking of 2001, were given on 11 January 2002.-Top 10 Films:#Ali#A Beautiful Mind #In the Bedroom...

    :
    1. Best Composer (Christopher Young)
    2. Best Picture
  • Golden Globe Awards:
    1. Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama (Kevin Spacey)
    2. Best Original Score (Christopher Young
      Christopher Young
      Christopher Young is an American music composer for both film and television.Many of his music compositions are for horror films, including Hellraiser, Tales from the Hood, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, Urban Legend, and Drag Me to Hell...

      )
  • Screen Actors Guild (SAG):
    1. Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role (Judi Dench)
  • USC Scripter Award:
    1. USC Scripter Award (Robert Nelson Jacobs and E. Annie Proulx)
  • Young Artist Awards:
    1. Best Ensemble in a Feature Film
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