The Shipping News (2001 Lasse Hallstrom)

This is a bit of a strange mixture of everything, really. Annie Proulx's novel, adapted by Robert Nelson Jacobs, is about the emotional growth of a shy and naive man (Spacey) following his trampy wife's death and a move to Newfoundland with his daughter (the Gainer sisters) and aunt Judi Dench. There he begins to make friends (with Rhys Ifans, Jason Behr and Gordon Pinsent particularly) and earn some self-respect.

Then there's a load of stuff about ghosts, visions, families, the past, a house on wheels, Hitler's boat and a man who comes back from the dead. Hated the moment the drunken townsfolk smash up Ifans' boat that he's spent so long restoring (particularly this community of seafarers). Maybe because of all this stuff going on it never really touches the sides, connects. I'm getting that 'novelly' feeling again, don't really know what I mean - like the whole plot of a long novel has been used and maybe it would have been better to simplify it - though would I say that about Garp, for example? No. I'll figure it out one day...

With Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett, Pete Postlethwaite, Scott Glenn.

Editor Andrew Mondshein is also the second unit director. Oliver Stapleton shot it, Christopher Young wrote the music.

Newfoundland is a large Canadian island to the East of the mainland. I'm sure if you don't mind being cold all the time it's a lovely place to live.