The Ballad of Jack and Rose

Plot

A father and daughter isolated on an island off the East Coast and living on a once thriving commune grapple with the limits of family and sexuality.

Release Year: 2005

Rating: 6.7/10 (6,264 voted)

Critic's Score: 59/100

Director:
Rebecca Miller

Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Catherine Keener, Camilla Belle

Storyline
Jack lives on the site of his abandoned island commune with his 16-year-old daughter Rose. Jack has sheltered Rose from the influences of the outside world, but now Rose's emerging womanhood poses troubling questions about the days ahead. A man who has lived a life motivated by environmentalism and other altruistic causes, Jack now rages at those who do not share his concerns, like developer Marty Rance, who is building a housing tract on the edge of his property. When Jack invites his girlfriend Kathleen and her sons Rodney and Thaddius to live with them, Rose feels betrayed and the situation quickly becomes precarious. Rose acts out wildly, creating chaos. As everything flies out of control, Jack finds himself trapped in an impossible place and is forced to take action.

Cast:

Camilla Belle
–

Rose Slavin

Daniel Day-Lewis
–

Jack Slavin

Catherine Keener
–

Kathleen

Ryan Mcdonald
–

Rodney

Paul Dano
–

Thaddius

Jason Lee
–

Gray

Jena Malone
–

Red Berry

Beau Bridges
–

Marty Rance

Susanna Thompson
–

Miriam Rance

Details

Official Website:
Elevation Filmworks |
IFC Films |

Release Date: 2 June 2005

Filming Locations: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Box Office Details

Budget: $1,500,000

(estimated)

Opening Weekend: $59,459
(USA)
(27 March 2005)
(4 Screens)

Gross: $712,294
(USA)
(19 June 2005)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

USA: 112 min

Goofs:

Errors in geography:
Although this movie takes place in the United States, when jack and rose go to the main land a Canadian Tire store is visible from their car.

Quotes:

Rose Slavin:
I took care of things!

Jack Slavin:
No, *we* took care of things. Now I'm sick.

User Review

A powerful and affecting film.

Rating: 9/10


This is a powerful and affecting film. I have a few quibbles about Ms.
Miller's use of the camera and her editing, especially in the beginning
as there were too many jerky cuts/unnecessary camera movements which
were quite distracting. Thankfully they diminished as the film
progressed.

Camilla Belle's as Rose performance was surprisingly nuanced and rich
for such a young actress, she didn't have one false note and was
totally believable as this "feral," innocent, yet disturbed teen. All
the supporting actors were excellent, the characterizations and
dialogue engaging and true and the emotional unraveling harrowing.

Day-Lewis' performance as Jack Slavin was outstanding. It hits you with
such power that it left me flattened. While the credits ran I had to
close my gaping jaw, peel myself off the movie chair and stumble up the
aisle trying to absorb it all. Moment by moment he communicated
paragraphs of information about Jack's multi-layered internal
complexities with complete mastery and subtlety. The man's our finest
film actor, period.

This movie has an original voice, it doesn't pander and despite some
visual clichés, it follows its own unique internal logic. Definitely
worth seeing, especially for the performances of Day-Lewis and Camilla
Belle.