Z/Web

Not as consistently funny as

This was a terrific film. I don’t even remember it in the theatres. I’ve seen the book but never read it; after the movie, I’m tempted to check it out. The story is complicated and a little meandering. Basically a loser, haunted by never living up to his dad’s hopes, has a mindless job and a relationship with a strange woman, Petal, who treats him like dog poop. When she dies, he ends up moving with his young daughter and an aunt to Newfoundland, where his family is originally from. There he discovers he has a troubled past. His ancestors were pirates and did evil things, and the old house they live in seems haunted and troubled by awful secrets. The man gets a job the tiny local newspaper, where he struggles to learn to be a reporter, and slowly becomes part of the community. Even though the man is middle-aged, it’s really a coming of age story, as he learns to forgive his father and be his own person. Excellent.