Jack Goes Boating
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Ryan, John Ortiz, Daphne Rubin-Vega
Director: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Rating: 3/5
Having already enjoyed such an illustrious movie career it’s hard to believe that Philip Seymour Hoffman has never ventured behind the camera before - but this week marks his directorial debut.
The Robert Glaudini play is the first project that he brings to the big screen in a movie that he also stars in.
Jack (Hoffman) and Connie (Ryan) are two single people who on their own might continue to recede into the anonymous background of the city, but in each other begin to find the courage and desire to pursue their budding relationship.
In contrast, the couple that introduced them, Clyde (Ortiz) and Lucy (Rubin-Vega), are confronting unresolved issues in their marriage.
This is an intimate portrayal of life looking at friendship, loyalty, marriage as well as the fears and uncertainty at the beginning of a relationship.
But the film is just too reserved to ever pack the emotional punch that it is looking for but it is a movie that does have a heart.
In places the script can be a tad dull but it is saved by the excellent performances by a very talented cast.
Both Hoffman and Ryan play very internal characters who are afraid to show others who they really are and go for what they really want.
There fledgling relationship really is very sweet and tender as they get to know one another - and audience can connect with that feeling of uncertainty because we have all been there before.
There is something so normal and everyday for these characters that you can’t help but like and root for them every step of the way.
Jack Goes Boating is a very relatable story as this is a painfully honest portrait of relationships and the up and downs that exist in all of them.
While this movie may not set the world alight from an emotional aspect this is a solid directorial debt from Hoffman and his filmmaking career, as you would expect from an actor of his calibre, has much promise.
Jack Goes Boating is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw