At the southernmost tip of a town, in a desolate commune lives a man called Jack (Daniel Day-Lewis). Once the ‘happiest man in the whole wild world’ and an engineer turned environmentalist, he is now only a wisp of who he used to be. His land is under threat from a developer who may or may not be in it only for the money, and his health is in shreds. He loves the past but is cynical about the future, and even more so about the present. But what he fears the most is about to come true—his only daughter, Rose (Camilla Belle), who has led a very cloistered life, is growing up in front of his eyes and just might be slipping from his fingers.
And that is “The Ballad of Jack and Rose.”
The titular duo in this movie are trying their best to embrace modern civilization and all that comes with it. According to Jack (who is set in his ways) this might only lead to ‘decline and rot,’ but he is still willing to give it a try. According to Kathleen (Catherine Keener), the new woman in Jack’s life, it will be a step in the right direction and is the right choice for all of them.
But soon enough, the caring and protective Jack and his naïve young daughter realize that pursuing the right choices in life withou rational thought can have consequences. They also realise that both the wilderness and the developed world have their fair share of predators; both prey on the innocent, the weak, and the vulnerable by luring them out of their burrows.
Since I’d watched and reviewed “Minari” a while ago, I couldn’t help drawing parallels with it here. Just like the former, “The Ballad of Jack and Rose” too serves as an exploration of what happens when modernisation clashes with traditionalism and the repercussions it can have on a close-knit family. In this case, Rose is the only family that Jack has (and vice versa). As a result, Rose sees Kathleen and her sons Rodney and Thaddius (Ryan McDonald/Paul Dano) as invaders and trespassers on their land; they are a threat to the loving bond she shares with her father who means the whole world to her.
When the young woman warms up to her new family and embraces their idealized ways of life, paternal instinct kicks in and Jack begins to fear that these modern rituals may ‘corrupt’ his daughter’s mind. Thus, the duo finds themselves mentally unprepared and battling some serious inner turmoil. This isn’t just a coming-of-age for teenage Rose; it’s also a challenge for her middle-aged father who still has a lot of maturing to do of his own.
At one point, the formerly isolated Rose, who has only just learnt about making love from her more sexually uninhibited half-sibling Thaddius, develops an unhealthy obsession with sex and the idea of indulging in an intimate relationship with her close kin. She even considers one-upping her father when it comes to sexual escapades (which she playfully terms as ‘experiments’). Her raunchy behaviour (*spoilers*) further puts a strain on Jack’s mental health, and it’s enough to send him off on a guilt trip. A tiny lapse in judgement further pushes both father and daughter over the edge; it leaves them broken and their familial relationship beyond repair.
The film questions whether it’s always the right decision to choose to live in the past in order to heal. It asks the question: is moving on really be the right choice? Or can it only lead to hard repercussions and consequences, especially for those who aren’t ready yet?
Director Rebecca Miller’s writing (also the real-life wife of Daniel Day-Lewis) is crisp and flows well. Even elements such as incest between father and daughter are handled with sensitivity and subtlety. The film doesn’t handle them in a perverse or degrading manner, and avoids romanticising them. The story even manages to send a message about the environment and its destruction at the hands of selfish humans. Miller also deserves applause for exploring a multitude of themes in just under 1 hour 52 minutes.
“The Ballad of Jack and Rose” also offers a lot of recurring motifs and foreshadowing; and even after a rewatch, something as small as Jack placing his hat on Rose’s head as a child comes into play much into her adolescence. This act proves symbolic of their strong and enduring bond.
Daniel Day-Lewis is great as usual and seems to have done his homework again. This is especially true with his accent (if I hadn’t known better, I’d have mistaken him for an actual Scotsman). However, the big surprise is the acting of Camilla Belle. She deserves praise for her portrayal of the innocent, meek, and mild ‘daddy’s little girl’ Rose, who has no idea about what the real world is like and is due to her sheltered existence is dangerously close to being warped into a ‘wild thing’ (as predatory Thaddius puts it). Alongside the seasoned Day-Lewis, she turns in a wonderfully natural performance and even threatens to outshine the veteran actor himself.
Ryan McDonald as Rodney is a revelation, and his chemistry with Belle is genuinely lovely. However, a subplot between him and homophobic Thaddius could have been deeper and added a bit more to his character.
And finally, Catherine Keener performs well; she has moments of overacting, but is otherwise good as the woman who is a thorn in Rose’s side. Paul Dano and Jason Lee play the smarmy Thaddius and the kind Gray respectively. Both are important male figures in Rose’s life who leave a mark on her development, but in polar opposite ways. And while they both have limited screen-time, their performances are memorable. Jena Malone as the free-spirited Red Berry also delivers a short but sweet and memorable performance.
“The Ballad of Jack and Rose” is an underrated gem, so don’t miss out on it. It is currently available to stream on Sling TV and Amazon Prime via subscription and Apple TV via rental.
