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Ballad of Jack and Rose, The
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MPAA Rating: R
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Entertainment: +2
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Content: -3
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This is a love story about a father and daughter, Jack (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Rose (Camilla Belle), who live an isolated life on an idyllic island off the eastern coast of the U.S. Sixteen-year-old Rose was born on the island when Jack and her mother lived there in a hippie commune. Jacks passion for preserving the island and running off developers like Marty Rance (Beau Bridges) has created a virtual prison for his beautiful, lonely daughter. Rose makes bread, tends the garden and takes care of Jack, who has a terminal heart problem. He decides to bring his girlfriend, Kathleen (Caroline Keener), and her two sons, Rodney and Thaddius (Ryan McDonald and Paul Dano), from the mainland to live with them so Rose wont be left alone after he dies. Jealous of her fathers relationship with Kathleen, Rose tries to compete by throwing herself at Rodney and Thaddius. Her rebellion leads to near tragedy. The photography, scenery and acting of The Ballad of Jack and Rose are first rate, but the melancholy theme will not have wide box-office appeal.
Roses obsession with her father is nearly incestuous, and at one point she kisses him passionately. Only then does Jack recognize his selfishness in taking Rose out of school and isolating her on the island. No wonder she feels betrayed when he brings Kathleen to live with them. Rose tries to scare Kathleen by firing her dads rifle into their bedroom, which amuses Jack more than it horrifies him. To hurt her father, Rose tries to seduce Rodney, not realizing he is homosexual. She then has sex with teenager Thaddius, who repulses her, and makes sure her father knows about it. Thaddius also introduces Rose to pot that his hippie girlfriend smuggles onto the island. Violence, foul language including eight f-words, a sex scene, partial nudity, incestuous tension and the loss of a teenage girls virginity add up to a distasteful film. Drugs, teenage rebellion and a fathers blatant affair have negative consequences that lead to Jacks asking God for forgiveness for his misguided understanding of freedom.
Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: IFC Films
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Summary
The following categories contain objective listings of film content which contribute to the subjective numeric Content ratings posted to the left and on the Home page.
Crude Language: Few (2) times strong (-ss 1, b-tch 1)
Obscene Language: Many (10) times moderate (cr-p 1); strong (f-word 8, s-word 1)
Profanity: Several (7) times moderate (my G 2, thank G 2); strong (C 2, C-sake 1)
Violence: Several times mild (man destroys model home, girls burns down house); moderate (man and boy fight, boy falls out window, man fires shotgun, girl frightens visitor by firing shotgun, copperhead snake roams house)
Sex: Several times moderate (unorthodox sex by teenage couple without nudity, teenagers have sex with graphic motions without nudity, unmarried adults in bed)
Nudity: Few times mild (girl removes top in front of boy with back to camera); moderate (photos shown of topless women)
Sexual Dialogue/Gesture: Few times mild (girl urges boy to have sex with her, girl makes sure her father knows she had sex)
Drugs: Few times moderate (teenagers smoke pot, dying man smokes cigarettes)
Other: Disturbed teenager discusses suicide, father asks God for forgiveness, unhealthy fatherdaughter relationship
Running Time: 124 minutes
Intended Audience: Adults
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