The majority of the movies being made today are made for
young people. They almost always involve some overuse of CGI, foul
language/humor or are a remake/sequel. Now don’t get me wrong, none of these
things necessarily make for a bad movie. But dramas of late have been severely
lacking. Not only that they rarely get noticed. So when a solid, decent drama
comes out that I’m made aware of I like to let others know about it. THE LIGHT
BETWEEN OCEANS is one of those movies.
Michael Fassbender stars as Tom Sherbourne. Recently
returned from four years of service during the First World War, Tom is a bit
shell shocked and withdrawn. Coming back to New Zealand, he takes a job as a
fill in at a lighthouse until the regular keeper can return. The seclusion of
the lighthouse combined with the death of his wife left that previous keeper a
bit off. Miles away and only reachable by boat, Tom takes to the tasks at hand
with ease and the solitude as well, a man lost in his own thoughts.
All of this changes as he begins thinking about a young
woman he met the day he first went off to the lighthouse. Isabel Graysmark
(Alicia Vikander) is the young daughter of a local school master. Her family
has suffered from the war as well with both of her brothers having given their
lives. When Tom returns to the mainland for a few days, he courts Isabel and
eventually the two wed and head out to live their lives together on the island
lighthouse station.
The pair love being together. Isabel returns Tom to the land
of the living, a sense of renewed hope that life can go on. When she becomes
pregnant even more so. But she loses the child. And then another. Miraculously
after the death of the second child Tom sees a dinghy nearing the shoreline. He
rushes down to find a man now deceased and an infant child. The baby is fine
and Isabel takes care of her. Tom wants to notify the authorities but Isabel
convinces him to stay silent for the night.
The next day she continues on. She tells Tom that this is a sign
that the child was meant to arrive there. Guilt ridden over what has happened,
Tom agrees to her plan. He buries the dead man and the two begin to raise the
child as their own, naming her Lucy. So much so that they send word that this
is the baby that Isabel was carrying.
But that guilt will prey on Tom’s mind. When they gather
together with Isabel’s family to christen the baby he sees a woman, Helena
(Rachel Weisz) in the nearby cemetery mourning at a graveside. Looking at the
tombstone after she leaves he sees she lost her husband and infant child to the
sea at the same time Lucy arrived on their island. The story changes then from
a couple trying to raise a child that seemed destined for them to a tale of a
woman whose only love, her husband and child, were taken from her still
searching for them. Their stories coincide as the guilt weighs on Tom’s
conscience, Isabel’s determination not to surrender the child grows and
Helena’s search for her child leads her to them.
The film moves along at a slower pace than most but that’s
because the story is unfolding before us rather than being tossed slapdash upon
the screen. We develop and understanding of the characters of Tom and Isabel
before we see them thrown into the difficulties that occur in their lives. We see
them develop a deep rooted affection for the child they have raised. And we see
the possibility of even deeper pain that could come should they be forced to
surrender that child. But we’re not unsympathetic to Helena at the same time.
Her pain is just as relevant and just as intense. It boils down to two sets of
characters that viewers can support no matter which way it ends.
Fassbender is becoming one of my favorite actors. He makes
the roles he chooses, be it Tom here or Magneto in an X-Men movie more real
than most would believe. He’s making wise choices, playing action heroes and
taking on more serious roles at the same time. Vikander is making a name for
herself as well, be in in sci-fi films like EX-MACHINA or the film version of
THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. In this film we witness her joy and pain and confusion
over just what to do. Weisz has always done an amazing job and she continues
here, although her part seems small in comparison to the two leads.
As I said at the start, it is rare to see movies like this
these days. While all movies have an audience out there my hope is that this
one will find the one that it missed at the box office. Those that are willing
to take the journey, to embrace the seclusion of the lighthouse life and to
decide for themselves just who should be raising this child will walk away
feeling satisfied at a well-made drama that may just stand the test of time.
Click here to order.
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