Philip Seymour Hoffman’s directorial debut, Jack Goes Boating, is a simple story elegantly told. The film is based on a play and stocked with theater actors, yet manages to avoid the pitfalls many theatrical adaptations fall prey to. The script, adapted by the playwright Bob Glaudini, feels filmic not theatrical and avoids the overly clever dialogue play conversions tend to bring to screen. The cast, many of who starred in the play’s original run in New York City, gives subtle and haltingly affecting performances, never falling into the grandiose style of the stage.
Jack Goes Boating follows Jack (Philip Seymour Hoffman) in his quest to impress Connie (Amy Ryan), a woman who dreams of boating in Central Park. So Jack must learn to swim. John Ortiz and Daphne Rubin-Vega round out the main cast of this delicate tale of love and relationships as Jack’s friends, a couple struggling with infidelity. The four form an ensemble that works flawlessly, making the film feel fresh, exciting and dangerous. The relationships feel real, so the stakes are high.
Setting up this intimate atmosphere, the film makes extensive use of close-ups. A technique often used in the horror genre, it serves the same purpose here – it traps you alongside the characters. Keeping the audience so close distances the film from theatricality, and pulls us closer. You feel tied to these working class characters; their losses wound you but their victories will fill you with joy. As their worlds open up, so does the frame, allowing for a breath to be taken. And you feel it.
Lovingly shot in New York City, the film presents a wide world of dreams separated by class differences. We follow Jack from the Bridge side parking lot where he begins his day, working as a limo driver, to high-class 5th Avenue shops where he smilingly carts clientele, from the chic gourmet kitchens in the heart of the Waldorf Astoria, where Jack learns to cook, to a realistically cramped apartment in Hell’s Kitchen, where he cooks for friends. The film’s use of the city is gratifying, and the look is wholly authentic as much of it was shot on location. Surrounded by reminders of wealth and luxury, Jack’s dreams are simple: he wants a job at the MTA, and he wants Connie. Hoffman and Ryan play a pair of characters that could be written off as losers in lesser hands. But their careful and sensitive portrayals have you rooting for these awkward lovers in spite of every obstacle.
The antidote to summer spectacle, Jack Goes Boating is masterfully shot, beautifully portrayed, with a poignant arc and an awkward sense of humor so grounded it feels like giggling in church. It’s an indie gem. Seek it out.
9 out of 10
Jack Goes Boating opens in limited release on September 17, expands September 24.