The Ballad of Jack and Rose

Rose lives all alone on an island with her ailing hippie father. She worships him and has incestuous feelings for him. He is still clinging to the dream that the island will remain a paradise away from the rigours of the modern world. However property developers are threatening to move in.

It is refreshing to see a story of incest told from a female's perspective. However Rose remains unknowable throughout most of the movie - but then, in essence, so do the other characters, with vague and baffling dialogue. In the second half there are sudden developments that seem too convenient to do away with characters who leave the movie spread far too thin across the remaining characters and remaining runtime. The ending also seemed a bit too neat and tidy for the challenging issues the movie has raised.

This film disappeared locally right after its theatrical debut, so when IFC showed it recently, we rushed to catch up with it. Having admired its director, Rebecca Miller in all her films, we were right in seeing it in the wide screen of the main theater because that seems to be the perfect way to watch this intimate picture.

Ms. Miller takes us to an island off the coast of the continental mainland to set her story. As the film opens we watch Jack Flavin with his teen age daughter as they are perched on the roof of their strange cabin with the roof being made of lawn grass. They are father and daughter who have stayed in the land where years ago, had been a commune. We don't know what happened to Rose's mother, and nothing is clarified. We gather Jack and Rose have a special bond that at times border in incest.

Jack believes in keeping the island the way it is; development is coming fast and furious in the way of luxury homes being built in what probably will be a gated community where people of the same background and financial means will live, in sharp contrast as the commune idea that attracted Jack to the place. Jack, having inherited money from his father is financially secure, but still lives in a primitive way in a basic type of life. We see Jack as he takes pills; we realize he is not a well man.

When Jack takes a side trip to the mainland, he visits Kathleen, a single mother with two teen aged sons. Jack convinces her to come to live with him at the island. What Jack doesn't count is on Rose's reaction to the invasion to her space. In fact, the hatred for the invaders is instant. Katheleen, a kind woman herself, tries to reach Rose without any success. Rodney, one of the sons, has a weight problem, and has studied to be a hairdresser. Thaddius, is the rebel, who has an eye on the beautiful Rose.

Jack's basic intention for bringing Kathleen is to help him during his last days because he senses his days are numbered. When Thaddius suffers an accident, Kathleen takes the opportunity to go back home, leaving Jack and Rose to fend for themselves.

Ms. Miller takes an elegiac look at the situation making Jack into an almost Shakespearean character, that is, bigger than life. Jack is lovingly photographed in his many moods. The beautiful Rose's face shows all the emotions going on inside her. The director ought to be congratulated for involving us in the film and making us care for what will happen to Jack and Rose.

Daniel Day-Lewis is an actor who doesn't work much these days and that is our loss! As Jack, Mr. Day-Lewis has the rare opportunity to show his vulnerability and seems to be naked in front of our eyes because he doesn't hide the emotions from us. We know at any given moment what this man is thinking and what makes him tick. Mr. Day-Lewis gives a fabulous performance as he dominates the picture completely.

Camilla Belle is Rose. This young actress proves he is up to the task the director demands of her character. Not only is she beautiful, but she clearly exudes an innate intelligence that pays off in her portrayal of the girl who sees her world fall apart and has no way to stop what is killing her father.

Catherine Keener makes a valuable contribution to the film as Kathleen. She clearly is a gentle soul who is in love with Jack and wants to stay with him until the end. That is not meant to be because Jack realizes that in "importing" her to the island she gets in the way of the perfect balance between father and daughter.

Ryan McDonald makes the confused Rodney come alive. This young actor is a natural. The rest of the cast include minor appearances by Beau Bridges, Jason Lee, Jena Malone and Paul Dano, who plays Thaddius the other son.

"The Ballad of Jack and Rose" is clearly not for a wide audience because it's too intelligent to get a broader distribution, but the fans of Rebecca Miller will always cherish this film for what she brought to it and for the magnificent performances she got from her cast. The film is beautifully photographed Ellen Kuras and has an interesting score by Michael Rohatyn.

This film is a must-see for anyone who has witnessed or is dealing with emotional incest. Lewis portrays Jack, a single father who has lived on an island in isolation with his daughter until his new girlfriend comes to move in. Up until the girlfriend's arrival, Jack and his daughter Rose have lived in isolation on an island compound.

After the girlfriend's arrival, Rose's jealousy grows, and she tries to take the girlfriend's place. In an effort to to marginalize the girlfriend, Rose takes up a new-found interest in sexuality, thinking that must be what her father wants and is getting from the girlfriend.

It's obvious to anyone watching that Jack loves his daughter, and in many ways has been a wonderful father to her. The problem is not that he does not love her, or that he loves her too much. The problem is that he's loved her in the wrong way. He allowed Rose to fill the void left by her mother. He elevated Rose to the position of spouse. Jack realizes this, and sets out to undo the damage.

The movie also deals with the dreams of reconciliation children of divorce have. Rose displays all the postcards her mother sends on a wall in the house and tells the new girlfriend that "one day she's coming back."

I always find Daniel Day-Lewis's characters engaging, and Jack is no different. He's a brilliant and eccentric man who is conflicted by the desire to love and protect his daughter, and the desire to prepare her to be an independent woman. He has the clarity to recognize his foibles, and his bumbling efforts to set things straight bring compassion to human frailty.

I'm an Indy film addict, and was iffy about watching this one because of the description above, but on a whim i bought it and watched it and fell in love. The story of Jack and Rose is told so beautifully and perfectly that as the story progressed I found myself hoping that something would change, or hoping for some plot twist saying that rose wasn't his daughter, because I truly wanted these two to work out. The devotion between father and daughter is amazingly portrayed, Daniel Day-Lewis was perfect and I cannot imagine anyone else in this movie. Once i finished watching for the first time I found myself almost in a daze, the progression of Rose's whole being was a delicate matter that was handled beautifully. There was a feeling of tension throughout that drew me in. I have never fallen in love with a movie like this before. Bravo to the writer and cast and all involved. Thank you for this beautiful film about love, loss and culture change.

After not seeing much from Daniel Day-Lewis for a while, I was excited to see this film, though I was afraid it may not live up to what we expect from him. It was far better than I could have hoped, due not only to a terrific cast, but Rebecca Miller's writing and directing. The moments of humour ring with truth, and the characters have been developed so well, you feel voyeuristic. Daniel Day-Lewis is, as always, brilliant. The internal struggles his character goes through are poignant and completely believable. In fact, all of the characters in this story are a wonderfully realistic blend of black and white - all have virtues and all are flawed. Very thought-provoking and evocative. Visually beautiful, as well. This is a very underrated film and deserves far more recognition than it seems to have received.