The Shipping News
User Score
6.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10

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  1. JereC.
    Feb 9, 2002
    3
    Another dreary cultural-Left diatribe masquerading as a movie based on an allegedly real story. The occurrence of things like a man being decapitated by his wife, the Judi Dench character "forced" into abortion by rape, the fact of her having been raped to begin with (of course by a handsome normal and wholesome looking young man playing her vicious older brother, certainly not by any member of a certified victims' group such as the homeless, the insane, the Afro-American, the truly criminal element), the crude vileness of the putting of one's alleged tormentor's ashes down the pit of the outhouse before using the place for its normal purpose, all this expresses the maniacal feminism of this dreary director. The Shipping News is no real story. It is an excuse for a toxic feminist masquerading as a cinematic artist to foist on the gullible another anti-male, anti-wholesomeness, anti-normal-morality diatribe, like his (or her) earlier film Chocolat. For success in this purpose, he/she co-opts someone's book, uses the camera most artfully, and shows us some of the most luscious visuals of the year in film.… Expand
  2. ChadS.
    Dec 30, 2001
    7
    When Oscar time rolls around and Miramax pulls another "Chocolat," let not your eye-rolling pertain to Cate Blanchett's nomination for her performance as Quoyle's wife, Petal. Her immaculate slut owns the screen like no other character this year. She alone makes The Shipping News worth seeing.
  3. P.M.
    Aug 11, 2003
    8
    As I was reading all other ratings of this movie I was disusted to read such ignorance. Obviously these remarks were made by people who have never been to the ROCK! I am a proud Newfoundlander and even though I know virtually nothing about ranking movies, I know what I like and am certainly not ignorant to the rest of the world. And as for Jeremy M. My son, people DO act this way and it wouldn't hurt for you to start acting like a Newfoundlander because you will probably get further. Newfoundland is the best place on this earth to live, not because of prosperity, excellent climate, and long beautiful beaches...but because of the people and the history and way of life. You can't recreate that anywhere, and you cannot just be a newfie...you have to be born into it. And thats makes us, something that no one elese can EVER be. In a related topic, the movie was actually quite good, although Julianne Moore's accent was a bit off. The beauty of Newfoundland is simple, but it takes a special person to appreciate that. … Expand
  4. PatC.
    Jan 19, 2004
    6
    Spacey plays a tired, uninspired shell-shocked victim of arrested development fleeing from a life where he dissipates his geriatric energies on substandard slut Blanchett. There are places, when derelicts such as Spacey drop out of sight, where they wash up on some far shore and are never heard of again. For those of you in the market for such a place, check out Newfoundland. The quirkiness of Spacey's new workplace there is merely prelude to the underlying instability in the local population. This is apparent in spades when the personnal history of Moore & Dench's characters refuse to be supressed. Once the credits roll you will be convinced that Newfoundland is of a haunting beauty only every shade of gray found in nature can underscore, and that it is populated by the orphans of an ugly dysfunctional universe. They are of a caliber only slightly larger than the people who vacation there. The place has other perks as well. Unfortunately, Blanchett's character has long dropped off the screen, reaffirming the waste of maladapted lives and, to some irretrievable extent, this film and the overacting of the other characters. It has the right setting, feel and visual splendor of a masterpiece. The most distracting thing is that, like its characters, it obsesses to be one. Makes me want to visit Newfoundland, now that I know how to spot the people I'd avoid. … Expand
  5. LinaC.
    Mar 19, 2002
    9
    Terrific movie...People who don't appreciate the beauty of this film should start thinking with their hearts... :)
  6. JeremyM.
    Nov 14, 2002
    5
    The stuff I liked in the film was drowned out by an consistently annoying group of supporting charecters who relentlessly tried to be as cute as possible. Sorry but real people don't act this way.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
47 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 31 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 31
  3. Negative: 3 out of 31
  1. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    50
    Everything has a fusty, embalmed quality: Whatever gave the novel its vitality has been smothered.
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  2. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    50
    This morbid and self-consciously literary adaptation of E. Annie Proulx's Pulitzer-winning novel is no crowd pleaser.
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  3. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    30
    It's a portrayal so unconvincing it makes it close to impossible for the rest of the film to function as intended.
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