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The Ballad of Jack and Rose
User Score
6.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 15 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 4 out of 15

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  1. VinceH.
    Apr 22, 2005
    7
    I am almost in complete agreeance with Laura Sinagra from The Voice. The acting all around here is excellent (Day-Lewis is spectacular and turns in his best perf. since "In the Name of the Father" IMO) and Camilla Belle is also very good. In fact all the actors bring conviction and dedication to their performances, but overall even they cannot rise above Miller's paper-thin and dramatically flat script. I was a huge fan of Miller's "Personal Velocity", and somehow on that project and here Miller and Ellen Kuras are able to beautifully and lyrically communicate subtletly and nuance within the framework of a scene in a wonderful way. Miller clearly has a gift for working with actors and her sensitvive and heartfelt affection for the material is evident in each frame, the problem is the script. Too many scenes feel way too contrieved and over-written, and certain scenes (snakes escaping during a deflowering, a party in a commune acid-pad) are not only completely unbelievable but are like scenes from a 16-year old girl's better-than-average short story. I give this a 5 for the terrific acting and Ellen Kuras' stunning photography.… Expand
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  2. sally
    Apr 2, 2005
    10
    An excellent tale of lost innocence. Daniel Day-Lewis is extraordinary!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. FelixM.
    Jun 13, 2005
    2
    Boring and pointless when pointless and boring will do. Catherine Keener has become less interesting as time goes by. It's been years since she's surprised me. luckily my drink had enough caffiene to keep me awake through the whole thing.
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  4. lins.
    Apr 1, 2005
    2
    Amateurish script; heavy-handed use of symbolism. The script is scholastic, written like a school project. Has the feel of a play and not a movie. Didn't care what happened to characters. The writer and director is intellectual in a coed kind of way and she is full of passion, but her vision is not very interesting. She can ask meaningful questions but her thinking is too stilted or parochial to make anything really interesting happen. The cinematography is good, the actors are excellent but it was all wasted in a less than mediocre vision. Waste of time!… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. ngrothr.
    Apr 2, 2005
    10
    Outstanding daniel, as always!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. LisaI.
    Mar 30, 2005
    7
    Strong acting, plot full of symbolism. worth seeing.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. debg.
    Apr 20, 2005
    10
    Fabulous performances. Well, at least it's different. Great music.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. ChadS.
    Apr 23, 2005
    8
    Both "The Ballad of Jack and Rose"(not counting the epilogue) and "The Amityville Horror" end in the same way, which is a bizarre fluke, but then you think about the lives of Jack and Rose, and there's the realization that their house is every bit as haunted. In "Personal Velocity", her "short-story collection", Rebecca Miller was in love with the voice-over. In "The Ballad of Jack and Rose", "her novel", Miller seems to have a thing for Bob Dylan. These excesses are easy to forgive because this is a confident filmmaker who assumes her audience is intelligent. I even like the snake. People who read will like the snake, too. Martha McPhee, author of "Bright Angel Time" and "Gorgeous Lies" must be thinking, "Damn, I have a better 'death rattle of 60s counterculture' story than this." McPhee can also argue that Miller borrows from her, too. In "Gorgeous Lies", the counter-culture protagonist is less of a monster than he appeared in its predecessor "Bright Angel Time". It's all a matter of point-of-view, like Miller's, who doesn't seem to know that Jack is a complete, utter jackass for turning Rose into a well-adjusted Nell (this is in reference to the Jodie Foster movie).… Expand
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  9. AmurabiM.
    Aug 16, 2006
    6
    Charged of forced symbolism, the third feature of Rebecca Miller feels a little bit contradictorial. Yes, we have a Oedipal story (in this case, an Electra Complex) with a little twisted, provoking and dsiturbing touch. We have the idea of a metaphor of love between fathers and daughters and the reactions in front a change. But we have too, some kind of pretentiousness; a kind of artistic snobism and some indie cliches. Rebecca Miller have the sense to use some great actors (including Jena Malone, Jason Lee and Paul Dano) to make the story believable and real. The trouble comes with the sense of the script, thet looks a little bit self conscious of its pomp and arrogance. We enjoy the pace, yes, but we feel a little bit saturated of intelectualism as a trick to cover the flaws of the narrative. In a general sense, regular.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
59 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 35 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 35
  3. Negative: 1 out of 35
  1. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Jeremy Mathews
    40
    Might not have been a bad film if its characters never said anything and some obnoxious visual metaphors were removed.
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  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    50
    Shaky story and predictable developments make this an off-key ballad.
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  3. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    50
    Well-wrought individual scenes and sharply focused acting provide Rebecca Miller's third feature with a measure of gravity, but too much abrupt, even melodramatic behavior and undigested psychological matter leave nagging dissatisfactions.
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