Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

VeronicaNotHeather About six months ago, Roger Ebert {RIP} re-reviewed this movie on twitter. In his initial review from 2005, he gave it 3 stars. After re-watching it, however, he stated that he had originally rated it too low. Frankly, I can see why he changed his mind. Ms. Miller's film is better upon a second viewing for one important reason--(brief spoiler ahead)--we now know (due to a later scene in the film) that Jack is not morally or emotionally capable of participating in a physical indiscretion with his daughter. The suspense about "will-they or won't they?" is gone and now we can watch the film solely for the purposes of analyzing the characters and determining how their relationship nearly became an incredibly destructive one. And this is where the truly insightful aspects of the film lie. We can care about Jack (despite his bad parenting) because we now know with certainly, he in not a monster--just a flawed and self-deluded man.Jack and Rose's (at-first unintentional) isolation results in a complex relationship teetering between a normal father/daughter one and an emotionally incestuous one in which almost accidentally, Rose has taken on the role of her mother (a woman who abandoned the communal life, their ecological cause and her family). Jack is a control freak but a mostly gentle one who is partly in denial about what his relationship with his 16 year old is evolving into. But at times, he certainly senses there is possible danger ahead and this, along with his impending death from heart disease, forces him to take some drastic actions..convincing the family of his part-time girlfriend to move in with them so as to create some boundaries between his daughter and himself.Jack is one complicated man. He's loving but is unfairly uncompromising and judgmental--that is until an epiphany moment in a land-developer's house that is both heartbreaking and oddly admirable. He doesn't hate people but, throughout most of the film, he stays isolated from them out of disappointment and heartbreak. He's charming and even funny but he's also takes himself too seriously at times and can be detached. Rose is loyal and responsible but also impulsive and inarticulate (expressing herself through actions.) She is innocent (even though she tries to engage in sexual acts with near strangers) but as one character deftly puts it, "Innocent people are dangerous people"--presumably because they are unsocialized and unaware of the impact they have on others. Any unnatural feelings she may have for her father have more to do with confusion and wanting to keep him close before he dies than anything else. The performances of this film are strong especially from Day-Lewis and Catherine Keener. DDL, with his perfect Scottish accent, gaunt frame, subtle eccentricity, brooding evasiveness, controlled anger, warmth, and lyrical charm makes Jack into a sympathetic character despite Jack's massive flaws as a man and a parent. And the films confirms by the end, that despite Jack's bad parenting choices, his intentions are honorable. Keener gives a heartbreaking and at times tough performance as a imperfect woman of limited financial means who doesn't feel at home unless she is caring for a man and who obviously prefers one of her sons over the other. Camilla Belle is strong as well. Although her character does express herself mostly through actions, she has some effectively tearful moments.Miller has created some complicated characters and strong dialog (particularly in the conversations between Jack and Kathleen and between Jack and Marty--the land developer).But, her use of symbolism is a bit heavy-handed at times and I wish she had avoided the almost sensationalistic building of suspense around the nature of Jack and Rose's relationship. Had the model home scene between Jack and Rose (and Jack's reaction to how things went down in that house) been at the beginning of the film and the rest of the film had built up to that moment, then I think Miller would have been acknowledging the white elephant in the room (in fact killing it by revealing Jack's restraint) and this would have shifted the audience's focus from wondering about whether Jack and Rose were going to do something horrid to trying to understand how these people nearly stepped over the line. The second time, one sees this film, it's not 'icky' anymore and therefore its insightful and moving nuances are more obvious.

Awakening124 This film deals with a lot of things and most of them aren't terribly controversial or taboo (except for the lynch pin of the whole movie, but I won't disclose that here) but they're all wonderfully told and simply beautiful to watch. This is an odd movie, with odd characters and odd situations, and yet it is so incredibly truthful. You'll have to watch it more than once to really get in there and see all of the layers and issues addressed, but it also won't all fly over your head the first time you see it.Daniel Day Lewis is mostly known these days for his roles in Gangs of New York and There Will Be Blood, but this little film truly showcases the actor's range. First of all, his Scottish accent is dead on. Second of all, the man knows how to work as an actor. Rarely have I ever seen such a union of head acting and intuitive acting in a single man, but by god he's got it, and his talent lends to Jack's character 100 times over.I was surprised by Camilla Belle's performance as Rose. While I've technically seen better, Belle does have this certain quality that makes me believe her when she acts, and that's a fantastic thing to have as an actress. I really got a sense of her inner life, and how she took in the world around her. I'm excited to see how she grows.Everyone else in this film was simply wonderful. The writer/director obviously worked incredibly hard on this, and the fantastic quality of the finished product proves it.Be warned though: This film challenges the viewer's outlook on a VERY touchy subject, and not everyone likes to be challenged in that way. I would not recommend this to people who are stuck in their ways.

DJJOEINC The Ballad of Jack & Rose A compelling look @ a father and daughter on an island commune-Daniel day Lewis shares his own island refuge with his 13 year old daughter- they live off the land - it is idyllic,peaceful,perfect- but Jack is getting sick and he needs help.It is hard for me to be objective about this film- since I was snagged from Suburbia by my parents and subjected to farm life for most of my formative years.They did a good job capturing the good and bad parts of living off the land.But of course all things must have act 2 conflicts-Beau Bridges is an evil developer building cookie-cutter dwellings(It is frustrating how generic housing is now) and Katherine Keener is sort of hired to be a surrogate mom for Rose- the experiment yields drama.This is a well told and acted flick and will probably hit home for other granola generation offspring like myself. B+

amy f This was the worst film I have ever seen it didn't make sense at all. two hours of my life i will never get back and tats how i really feel then i wasted a further half hour on two people telling them how awful this film was so over all 3 hours of my life and how ever long it takes me to rite this comment i will never get back. i have read over some peoples comments and i really don't get how any body liked this film and some people say it changed there life how answer me tat how?? now i don't now about any other countries but in Ireland it went straight to DVD and now i now why because it was so rubbish. like Wat was up wit rose gagging for it and then her brother (Paul Dano) having sex wit her i wanted to get sick and then she hung the sheet on the line shes gone in the head and then kissing her dad that was disgusting and what i really didn't get about the film was the end actually i didn't get the whole thing but the end what was that when the camera went to Gary(Jason lee) he kissed some woman then he turns his head and you see rose some body explain as i was like what the hell just happened there? overall as u mite of guessed i disliked the film and wouldn't recommend it to any one.