The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2004)

It's A Shame...

I am a huge fan of Daniel Day-Lewis and I think he is the most talented actor I have ever scene. Part of his intelligence comes from picking movies that he wants to do rather than going for the easy money. He doesn't work that often and I have read stories about directors and other actors basically begging him to be in a film. With that said I think he made a mistake by being in this movie. This is his wife's movie and I heard that he didn't want to be in it until he finally broke down and agreed. Bad choice. This is a boring movie with a twisted plot. It's basically about a father and a daughter who are in love with each other. Pretty sick stuff if you ask me. Not only that, but this movie is BORING! It looks nice and is filmed beautifully, but the acting isn't that great. Even Mr. Day-Lewis looked like he didn't really know what to do with his role. There was a few interesting things about this movie... the two brothers that come to live with Jack and Rose are awesome. Other than that I can't really think of any reason to like this film. I give it one star because I can't give it zero. July 10, 2008

Slice of Life - well done

Small independent films either grab you or they don't. I liked this film because Daniel Day Lewis creates a character who isn't perfect but realizes the consequences of his choices on his daughter. Some may think there is incest involved, but I feel that because Jack and Rose live in an isolated environment they become very close. Jack realizes that Rose needs to learn to socialize with others, especially since he has a heart condition. Rose does not like the change of bringing other people into their lives. The actors convey their emotions and we know what they are feeling. This is a character study and may not be to everyone's taste. But I found the characters interesting and the acting stellar. June 17, 2008

What a strange little movie

If your wife bought it a year or two ago and you've both been avoiding watching it since then and she doesn't know why she bought it at all and refuses to remember doing so and you're looking at that name and being really turned off by ballads and a possible Titanic reference, just quit procrastinating and pop it into your DVD player. It's not as bad as all that.

If you haven't bought it, I wouldn't rush out to the store or the Amazon shopping cart for it, but if you have it, go ahead and watch it. It's strange, you'll laugh in spots, and Daniel Day-Lewis is still Daniel Day-Lewis. You might find it hard to care about any of the characters, but oh well. It's not a bad movie, really, and it's probably different than what you've been watching anyway.
April 17, 2008

Excellent. Daniel-Day Lewis is amazing

Wishing to be free from the contemporary world, Jack and his teenaged daughter Rose live virtually self-sufficiently and alone on a small island off the East Coast.

However, all is not well in his utopia lately, as his health is failing rapidly and housing developments are beginning to encroach on his borders. It is now that he is realizing that being cloistered away may not be in the best interests of everyone, triggered by Rose's frighteningly sincere revelation to kill herself when he dies and the inappropriate feelings he is beginning to feel for her. His decision to enlist the help of his mainland squeeze and her two sons to come and stay on the island to "help out" does not go over well with Rose and she certainly does little to hide that fact. As this shaky "experiment" progresses, it leads to both tragic and life-changing events to all those involved.

This is all handled exquistely by the players here, in particular Daniel-Day Lewis. It's a shame he doesn't work more often, because virtually every role he's been in is Oscar-worthy and this is no exception. You can just feel his pain (both mentally and physically) and concern for the well-being of Rose with his expressions as evidenced in his breakdown at Marty Rance's house. Great stuff and a great movie.
April 16, 2008

It is quite a beautiful ballad to tell...

It is a true statement that this film gets better with time. When I first saw it I was a little turned off by it, but I think that's because I didn't really understand it, nor did I appreciate its strangely disturbing undertones. But the one thing I couldn't help but notice was Camilla Belle's magnificent performance. It was that performance that urged me to rewatch this film a second time, so that my wife could experience just how stunning Belle truly is here. It was during that second viewing that I began to accept this film for all its beauty and look past its flaws to see the heart and soul of this tragic yet inspiring `ballad'.

The story is that of Jack Slavin and his daughter Rose. Jack has made it his goal to shield his beautiful daughter from the outside world. They live together on an isolated island that once was the grounds for communal living. As Jack grows sicklier by the day he decides that this life of isolation may not be the best choice for his daughter anymore. She needs someone to look after her, to take care of her when he is not able to anymore. With that thought in mind he asks his girlfriend Kathleen (of whom Rose is not privy) and her two awkward teenage sons to come live with them. Rose is not happy with this new arrangement and so she begins to lash out in any way possible in order to capture her father's attention.

`The Ballad of Jack and Rose' is at its heart a beautiful story of one mans deep love for his daughter and her general attachment to him. The powerful performances given by Daniel Day-Lewis (why doesn't he act more?) and Camilla Belle elevate this film above what it could have been and help create something tender and meaningful. We see within Belle the complete and tortured journey that her character takes on in coming to the understanding that she will not always have this man with her. Her loyalty and devotion to her father is warm and touching, yet as the film continues we see there is a dark and destructive side to this kind of affection. What is bewildering about `The Ballad of Jack and Rose' is the way it is able to affectively show the positive as well as negative side of something we tend to take for granted.

The film also contains some fine supporting performances. Catherine Keener (always solid) delivers a fantastic performance as Kathleen, the kind hearted yet confused girlfriend of Jack. While I think that Paul Dano has grown into a fine actor (his performance in `There Will Be Blood' gave me chills) I don't think he really fit well here. He came off as awkward, and while I understand that his character was a tad `awkward' I still feel that he was not all together here. Ryan McDonald did a fine job as did Jena Malone who is sorely underused. And who would have thought that Jason Lee could pull off a performance in a movie like this so well; not I.

In the end I found `The Ballad of Jack and Rose' to be quite a beautiful, if not startling, ballad indeed. As Rose continues to sell herself so-to-speak in order to punish her father we are brought into the darkness that surrounds this film and are helped to appreciate the flaws within attachment. Camilla Belle is flawless here, truly amazing to watch. Her performance is the type of performance that never leaves you; the type of performance that catapults careers. While `The Ballad of Jack and Rose' is not a film everyone will understand nor appreciate, it is a film that deserves a chance. It strikes a fire and allows that fire to erupt into a wild flame, a wild flame that challenges us to try and tame it. April 10, 2008

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