The Light Between Oceans

In my review of "The Two Faces of January" I described it as a film that "will be particularly enjoyed by older viewers who remember when story and location were put far ahead of CGI-based special effects". In watching this film I was again linking in my mind to that earlier film... and that was before the lead character suddenly brought up the two faces of Janus! For this is a good old-fashioned weepy melodrama: leisurely, character based and guaranteed to give the tear ducts a good old cleaning out.

It's 1918 and Michael Fassbender plays Tom Sherbourne, a damaged man seeking solitude and reflection after four years of hell in the trenches. As a short-term job he takes the post of lighthouse keeper on the isolated slab of rock called Janus - sat between two oceans (presumably as this is Western Australia, the Indian and the Southern Oceans). The isolation of the job previously sent his predecessor off his trolley.

En route to his workplace he is immediately attracted to headmaster's daughter Isabel (Alicia Vikander) who practically THROWS herself at Tom (the hussy), given that they only have snatches of a day at a time to be together during shore leave. Tom falls for her (as a hot blooded man, and with Vikander's performance, this is entirely believable!) and the two marry to retire to their 'fortress of solitude' together to raise a family and live happily ever after.... or not... For the path of true motherhood runs not smoothly for poor Isabel, and a baby in a drifting boat spells both joy and despair for the couple as the story unwinds.

(I'll stop my synopsis there, since I think the trailer - and other reviews I've read - give too much away).

While Fassbender again demonstrates what a mesmerising actor he is, the acting kudos in this one really goes again to Vikander, who pulls out all the stops in a role that demands fragility, naivety, resentment, anger and despair across its course. While I don't think the film in general will trouble the Oscars, this is a leading actress performance that I could well see nominated. In a supporting role, with less screen-time, is Rachel Weisz who again needs to demonstrate her acting stripes in a demanding role. (Also a shout-out to young Florence Clery who is wonderfully naturalistic as the 4 year old Lucy-Grace.) So this is a film with a stellar class, but it doesn't really all gel together satisfyingly into a stellar - or at least particularly memorable - movie. After a slow start, director Derek Cianfrance ("The Place Beyond the Pines") ladles on the melodrama interminably, and over a two hour running time the word overwrought comes to mind.

The script (also by Cianfrance, from the novel by M.L.Stedman) could have been tightened up, particularly in the first reel, and the audience given a bit more time to reflect and absorb in the second half.

The film is also curiously 'place-less'. I assumed this was somewhere off Ireland until someone suddenly starting singing "Waltzing Matilda" (badly) and random people started talking in Aussie accents: most strange.

Cinematography by Adam Arkapaw ("Macbeth") is also frustratingly inconsistent. The landscapes of the island, steam trains, sunsets and the multiple boatings in between is just beautiful (assisted by a delicate score by the great Alexandre Desplat which is well used) but get close up (and the camera does often get VERY close up) and a lack of 'steadicam' becomes infuriating, with faces dancing about the screen and - in one particular scene early on - wandering off on either side with the camera apparently unsure which one to follow! A memorable cinema experience only for Vikander's outstanding performance. Now where are those tissues...

(Agree? Disagree? Please visit bob-the-movie-man.com for the graphical version of the review and to comment. Thanks!)

You better take a box of Kleenex with you to the screening of #TheLightBetweenOceans because you're going to need it, trust me. Heartbreaking pretty much encapsulates the entirety of this film which from the start aims to drive its point home on an emotional level. Based on M.L. Stedman's best-selling novel, starring Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz, Bryan Brown, and Jack Thompson, adapted and directed by Derek Cianfrance, THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS is essentially about a lighthouse keeper and his wife living off the coast of Western Australia and they raise a baby they rescue from an adrift rowboat. But years later, the lighthouse keeper and his wife encounter the real mother of that baby. Should they go on with their lie and keep their child or do they tell the truth and risk losing her forever? I've never been a parent, so I don't know what it feels like, because I can only imagine that the fear or anxiety of the possibility of losing your child through any circumstance crosses the minds of every parent who wouldn't want such misfortune befalls them. In this case, it cuts even deeper because it's about miscarriage, to have that happen to a woman whose dream is to become a mother, it's the worst nightmare for her. In THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS, I think Alicia Vikander plays that with such strong conviction and ferocity, so much so that even though you know her character is doing something wrong, a part of you wants her to get away with this act, because Vikander has made you feel sorrowful for what her character has gone through. It's a remarkable performance for a woman who won Oscar for last year's "The Danish Girl," you see THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS and you'll immediately understand exactly why she deserves that statuette. And Michael Fassbender plays the lighthouse keeper husband with a conscience, the film does deal with fate, love, moral dilemmas, and how far you're willing to go to get your dreams realized after having previously seen them crushed a few times, what secrets would you keep to make those dreams realized and so Fassbender's moral compass keeps bugging him. Fassbender is so gentle and sturdy and calmed in this film. If you've seen director Derek Cianfrance's previous films, "Blue Valentine" and "The Place Beyond The Pines," you'd know that Cianfrance is not one to shy away from couples' confrontations, it's as if he wants his actors to really unleash their strongest resentment possible, so when conflict arises between Vikander's character and Fassbender's character or between Vikander and Rachel Weisz's character, it's so real and ugly that you wouldn't want to get in the middle of it otherwise they might come at you as well. The cinematography for this film is exquisite, such a beautifully designed, beautifully shot film, not to mention composer Alexandre Desplat's music, his emphasis on piano, that makes the emotional journey of these characters all the more deeply affecting. THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS guarantees to tug at the heartstrings. -- Rama's Screen --

This film tells the story of a married couple living in a remote lighthouse, who finds a drifting boat in the sea with a healthy baby and a dead man inside. They raise the baby as their own, but soon moral challenges arise and they find themselves at an important crossroad.

I'm impressed by how beautiful "The Light Between Oceans" is. The scenery is so beautiful that it makes me want to visit that place and feel its serenity. The pain of the couple and their reasons for making such a decision is well portrayed in the film, and I do feel for them for having live with the consequences of their wrongs. The story is really beautiful because it is a story of love, and paradoxically tells that sometimes the right thing to do may not be the right thing to do. It is so hard to determine what is right and what is wrong in this situation, thereby creating a conflict which keeps the film captivating. I'm deeply moved by both Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander's performances. The film haunts me after it finishes, and I'm still affected by it and ruminating about it.

When I read this on Wikidpedia I was amazed:

Critical Review The Light Between Oceans received mixed reviews from critics. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 59%, based on 133 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Light Between Oceans presents a well-acted and handsomely mounted adaptation of its bestselling source material, but ultimately tugs on the heartstrings too often to be effective."

This is a brilliantly acted film with some stunning scenery filmed in New Zealand. Both Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander put in two very strong performances, along with Rachel Weisz in a supporting role, and the film completely captures the period after the First World War. To me it seemed very much in the mode of 'The Piano' and equally as strong in terms of its dramatic dynamics and conflicts.

I saw this film with my wife who was equally impressed so I think it has an appeal for both a female and male audience. Definitely should be an Oscar contender and both actors deserve a gong for their performances.

Derek Cianfrance, who directed the poignant Blue Valentine and the riveting The Place Beyond the Pines, brought probably the best out of Michael Fassbender and Rachel Weisz in quite some time, even if the film pulls at your heart strings a few too many times.

Amidst the beautiful landscaping shots of sunsets, beaches, and oceanic views, Cianfrance crafts the story of a couple who desperately want a child but can't have one, extremely well. As much as this film deals with tragedy, grief, and sorrow there was something so beautiful about the way Cianfrance tells the story. It unfortunately becomes flooded with sadness and difficult circumstances, but I never stopped rooting for these characters. Even when they are at the brink of a bad decision, I wanted the best.

That can be directly contributed to the terrific performances from the cast, and particularly Fassbender, Vikander, and Weisz. Fassbender brings so much power and gravitas to his roles, but I've never seen him so vulnerable. We saw a peek at the emotional weight he can bring to his characters in X-Men: Apocalypse last spring, but nothing can prepare you for his heartbreaking turn in this film.

Vikander and Weisz are just as good. All 3 characters have bad qualities and choices that could turn them into unlikable human beings, but Weisz and Vikander add a graceful human touch to their roles. Though Vikander doesn't have children in real life, I believed she could be a mother someday with her turn. Weisz on the other-hand is a mother, and that motherly instinct exudes onto the screen. Both performances are so mind-bendingly good.

One of the issues that's been brought up about this film is its over-reliance on pulling at your heart strings. It's a valid argument, especially considering all of the tragedy and horrible circumstances that occur. I can't really say it's a film I will revisit, but at the same time, I found Cianfrance's directing and the performances enough to get over the depressing nature of the film's plot. It's not an easy watch by any stretch of the imagination, but it's an important one for sure.

+Oscar worthy performances from all 3 leads

+Beautifully shot

+Cianfrance's style

-Manipulative at times

7.7/10