Jack Goes Boating
Director: Phillip Seymour Hoffman Year: 2014 Based on the half-million dollar box office gross, I’m guessing most people probably haven’t even heard of this movie. I saw the DVD case at my local library with Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s name on it and that was enough for me to give it a look. I didn’t know anything about it and really didn’t want to before viewing it. Hoffman carries that kind of clout to me as an actor – I just want to see what he does. I was not disappointed. Jack (Hoffman, who also made his Directorial debut with this film) is a quiet man, seemingly hurt just by being alive. Hoffman, the actor, flourishes in painful humanity. His two friends are a married couple, Clyde (John Ortiz) and Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega). They take care of him emotionally. Jack and Clyde drive for Jack’s uncle’s limousine company, but Jack offers subtle hints, like his seemingly incongruous affinity for reggae and application for a new job, that he is trying to better himself a...