E. Annie Proulx Movies
The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by E. Annie Proulx becomes this drama from director Lasse Hallström. Kevin Spacey stars as Quoyle, a struggling, emotionally drained newspaper reporter suffering through a wretched marriage with the abusive Petal (Cate Blanchett), a promiscuous wild woman who tries to sell their daughter, Bunny, into adoption before she's killed in a car wreck. Retrieving his daughter, Quoyle sets out for Newfoundland, his ancestral home, with his long-lost Aunt Agnis (Judi Dench). Although he initially finds life on the island to be as forbidding and severe as Agnis herself, Quoyle gets work as a shipping columnist for the local newspaper "The Gammy Bird," owned by eccentric fisherman Jack Buggit (Scott Glenn). Quoyle's work soon finds an appreciative audience and he begins to rebuild his life, dating local single mother Wavey (Julianne Moore), learning some sea craft, discovering his family's dark history, and finally earning some self-respect. Agnis, in the meantime, starts her own successful business and faces a traumatic incident from her childhood involving Quoyle's late father. The Shipping News (2001) co-stars Rhys Ifans and Pete Postlethwaite. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, (more)
- 2003
Heeding the familiar quote by 19th century newspaper editor Horace Greeley, Dutch filmmakers Peter Delpeut and Mart Dominicus go on a trip through the American West searching for the reasons behind the rise and fall in popularity of the American Western film genre in the duo's 2003 documentary Go West, Young Man! Longtime Western film enthusiasts, Delpeut and Dominicus visit a number of the locales that were featured in such films as Shane, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and Monte Walsh, as well as the various settings in Monument Valley used by John Ford in his films. Along the way, the filmmakers talk to some of the residents of these sites in order to understand what it means to live in the West, as well as to discern if the world's love affair with the Western film can ever be rekindled. Go West, Young Man! was screened in conjunction with Monte Walsh at the 2003 Rotterdam International Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Milius, William Fraker, (more)
Ang Lee's adaptation of E. Annie Proulx's story Brokeback Mountain stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger as young cowboys named Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar. Each of them is hired to corral sheep on the title location and they soon bond very closely. Their platonic relationship explodes into a physical one, but eventually the two are separated when their job comes to an end. Although the two follow different life paths -- one becoming a father of two and the other marrying into a successful business -- they have a reunion years later. Each is affected profoundly by the rekindling of their old feelings for each other. Those feelings lead each to consider what continuing their hidden relationship would cost them. The screenplay was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, (more)
