Ballad Of Jack And Rose

The Ballad Of Jack And Rose (2005) is a very peculiar movie. It follows the characters of Jack, a dying, disillusioned idealist and his daughter Rose, who live together in an old commune on an island. The island is being developed by a developer which is of course angering Jack. Jack on a whim invites his lover to move to the commune with him. She brings her two sons and of course a culture clash of sorts begins. Rose has only known the laid back life of the commune, the newcomers only the modern life with all the amenities.

The movie isn't about culture clash though, so much as it is about Jack and Rose, hence the title. Rose has really known and loved one person: Jack. The incestuous overtones are there and disturbing and even Jack recognizes it. Thus his attempt to avoid the problem he realizes he created by bringing in another person. This movie lives and breathes on the performances of Jack and Rose. And it gets fantastic performances from both.

Jack is played by Daniel Day-Lewis and as always gives a wonderfully powerful and enjoyable performance. He is easily the finest actor in American cinema today. Camilla Belle plays Rose and she too does a wonderful job. The utter tragedy of the film comes not in Jack's death which is inevitable, but in Jack's realization of his life. The sins of his life have not been absolved and he does some pretty deplorable things even in his last leg of life. Jack has a key breakdown scene with what he presumes to be the resident evil Marty Rance (Beau Bridges).

It isn't a perfect movie by any means, but it was moving and well written. The ending felt a bit tacked on, but many people are uneasy with tragic endings. It is watchable if for no other reason than Daniel Day-Lewis. Who in my opinion could probably read the ingredients on a bag of potato chips and make it sound moving.