We’re marking a milestone this week with our 150th episode. And for such a momentous occasion, we’re finally digging in to one of the most notorious films of THOB history with Lasse Lasse Hallström’s The Shipping News. Adapted from Annie Proulx’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, the film cast Kevin Spacey as a meak man who uproots his life to his Newfoundland home after the tragic death of his wife, Petal (Cate Blanchett). Also starring awards magnets Julianne Moore and Dame Judi Dench, the film had massive on-paper goods that went down in flames when the film faceplanted onto screens on Christmas Day, earning dismal reviews for its ungraceful handling of a literary work.
Especially cursed in retrospect for all of the obvious reasons, the film also met a Hallström backlash after Chocolat and The Cider Houses Rules back-to-back. This episode, we look at Miramax’s 2001 awards contender reshuffling and the film’s shockingly robust precursor tally, including a Best Picture nomination from the Critics Choice Awards. We also revisit our past Judi Dench episodes and our list of superlatives for episodes 101-150.
Topics also include the film’s absolutely bonkers character names, seal flipper pie as the best part of its love story, and Cate Blanchett’s 2001 triptych of critics prize awarded performances.
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