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Oct 24, 2011Michael Colford rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Hats off to Philip Seymour Hoffman! Not only is his directorial debut a warm, funny, brilliantly acted, gorgeously written romance, it’s also the most adept depiction of the internal lives of people I’ve seen on screen. It’s a simple story: a longtime couple sets up their best friend with a new co-worker. A connection forms and the two start the awkward and hesitant dance of two shy people coming together, while the longtime couple start to feel the bumps in their relationship as things slowly fall apart. I loved that JACK GOES BOATING isn’t about two damaged people meeting and falling in love… it’s about two real people meeting and falling in love. Jack and Connie are so fully inhabited and natural and so finely portrayed by Phil and Amy Ryan respectively that you believe their every nuanced moment. John Ortiz and Daphne Rubin-Vega have the showier roles, as Clyde and Lucy whose relationship is crumbling, but they are both honest and recognizable characters to whom we can all relate (although a dinner party scene does bring ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ to mind).. It’s nice to see such fine actors working with a strong screenplay, and conveying so much with every movement, facial expression, or tilt of the head. The sparseness of the dialog allows the film to really come alive and let’s us inhabit the minds of this quartet. Phil’s directorial choices, and the skillful camera work of cinematographer W. Mott Hupfel III take what must surely be a play that takes place in a single room and brings it fully into the real world of New York City, enhancing the cinematic experience in such scenes as Jack practicing his swimming while crossing a bridge over a highway. This film is right up there with WINTER’S BONE for my top film of 2010 so far, and I’m so disappointed that others couldn’t make it to this screening. Still, it’s only opening night, so there will be opportunities for each and every one of you to get out there and experience JACK GOES BOATING.