The Ballad of Jack and Rose
by Rebecca Miller
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Camilla Belle, Catherine Keener, Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ryan McDonaldDirector: Rebecca Miller
Cinematographer: Ellen Kuras
Writer: Rebecca Miller
Producer: Brian Bell
Producer: Caroline Kaplan
Producer: Ethan Smith
Producer: Graham King
Producer: Jenny Schweitzer
Producer: Jonathan Sehring
Producer: Lemore Syvan
Producer: Melissa Marr
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 112 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-08-16
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of The Ballad of Jack and Rose
Movie Review: A breath of fresh air
Summary: 5 Stars
Released in 2005 and directed by Rebecca Miller, Daniel Day-Lewis's wife, "The Ballad of Jack and Rose" tells the story of a Scottish immigrant, Jack (Day-Lewis), and his daughter, Rose, who live alone on an isle off the East coast. The time is 1986 and their home is an ex-commune that attracted a lot of people in in the early 70s.
Jack's struggling with a weak heart and could buy the farm any day. He suddenly realizes that his daughter's attachment to him is getting unhealthy when she declares she's going to die when he dies. So he tries an "experiment" -- enlisting his sometime-girlfriend and her two sons from the mainland to come live with them. The experiment doesn't go well because it stirs up the jealous wrath of Rose, not to mention it's her first real exposure to society -- and sexuality.
On top of all this, Jack conflicts with a land developer (Beau Bridges) who's building colonial-style homes on the wetlands next to the ex-commune.
Although I loved this film, my wife called it "stupid." This indicates it's pretty much a love it/hate it piece.
NOTEWORTHY ITEMS OR THEMES:
-- Although there's thankfully no incest the subject does come up. Boundaries must be established in any loving relationship, ahead of time, if you know what I mean.
-- Although the story takes place in the USA it was filmed on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Good locations.
-- Everyone talks about how beautiful the girl who plays Rose (Camilla Belle) is, but -- come one -- what is she, 16 years-old? Jack's redheaded girlfriend (Catherine Keener) is the real beauty here.
-- The two sons of Jack's girlfriend are like day and night. Rodney is intelligent, unique and nigh-spiritual, while Thadius possesses a rodent-like feral evil and isn't even remotely appealing. Jenna Malone plays a friend visiting from the mainland; I couldn't figure out what she found attractive about Thadius, except maybe he was the only eligible male within 50 miles.
-- Rose has her first-time sexual experience and I felt sorry for the poor girl. The scene successfully shows that sex apart from true love (which includes commitment in my book) is mechanical, boring and meaningless.
-- Jack is an ex-hippie radical idealist who lives free of the shackles of capitalism. It's only natural that he would conflict with the housing developer pushing "progress." But what do you do when you discover you're not so different from your nemesis and he's actual a good guy?
-- The soundtrack includes songs by Bob Dylan and Creedance. I don't usually like Dylan but a great song by him is included here -- "One More Cup of Coffee." Watch for it late in the story when Jack and Rose leave the island to confront the real estate developer. Unfortunately it's only a snippet.
-- Did they take the names Jack and Rose from "Titanic"?
FINAL ANALYSIS: What I like best about "The Ballad of Jack and Rose" is its originality and unpredictability. I'm personally weary of 'summer blockbusters' and everything that goes with 'em. Take for instance "Iron Man." Yes it's a well-done film adaption of the comic, albeit predictable and by-the-numbers, but do we really need another superhero movie? "Jack and Rose" is the perfect remedy for such drivel.
The film runs 10 minutes shy of 2 hours.
PERSONAL GRADE: A-
Summary of The Ballad of Jack and Rose
Oscar(r) winner* Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York) is "a joy to watch" (Newsday) as a defiant idealist in this "moving, often hilariouscoming-of-age story" (Vogue) from writer-director Rebecca Miller (Personal Velocity). Catherine Keener (Being John Malkovich), Camilla Belle (Practical Magic), Beau Bridges (The Fabulous Baker Boys), Jason Lee (Almost Famous) and Jena Malone (Saved!) co-star. Jack (Day-Lewis) and his 16-year-old daughter Rose (Belle) live in relative isolation on a beautiful island off the East Coast. When he invites his mainland girlfriend (Keener) and her two teenage sons to come live with them, it is Rose's first exposure to society - and sexuality. As worlds collide, the consequences will threaten not only Jack and Rose's way of life but also their unusually close bond. *1989: Actor, My Left Foot.Soured radical Jack (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his adoring daughter Rose (Camilla Belle) have formed an unsettling degree of happy intimacy in an abandoned commune. But Jack's heart condition leaves him fearful of what will happen to Rose when he dies; to create a family, he invites home his secret girlfriend Kathleen (Catherine Keener, Lovely and Amazing) and her two sons, one overweight and neurotic (Ryan McDonald), the other an aspiring thug (Paul Dano). The collision of cultures and personalities leads to disaster--but this movie is so honestly written and vividly acted that it's impossible not to be drawn in. Great work from Day-Lewis and Keener is no surprise, but Belle matches them as a near wild-child confronting the compromises and conflicting desires of adult life. The perfectly pitched cast also includes Jena Malone (Saved), Jason Lee (Mumford), and Beau Bridges (The Fabulous Baker Boys). Writer/director Rebecca Miller (Personal Velocity) has a gift for both hope and heartbreak. This is only the third film of what promises to be a long and rich career. --Bret Fetzer
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