The Light Between The Oceans
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Stars: Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz
Duration: 150 mins
Class: 12
KRS Releasing Ltd

The Light Between the Oceans is a gorgeously photographed and beautifully-acted – if at times melodramatic – romance set in the farthest of reaches of Western Australia as the world is coming to terms with the devastating losses of World War I.

Michael Fassbender is Tom Sherbourne, a shell-shocked war veteran who takes on the solitary job of lighthouse keeper on the otherwise uninhabited Janus Rock, situated at the tip of Western Australia. He goes there to seek solace in the aloneness, a place where he can nurse the emotional wounds inflicted by the horrors he has witnessed.

However, when he meets Isabel Graysmark (Alicia Vikander), a vivacious young woman who has also suffered losses, there is an immediate connection and the two embark on a brief but passionate relationship which leads to their marriage.

Their idyllic, yet isolated, lives are soon shattered by Isabel’s inability to see a pregnancy to term. Yet, the darkness that envelopes the couple soon offers them a miraculous light in the form of a baby washed up from the ocean. This unexpected chance at the happiness they crave leads them to take a decision that will have terrible consequences years down the line.

Could not really go wrong with the triumvirate of actors on board to tell the story

The Light Between the Oceans is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by M.L. Stedman, published in 2012.  Given the calibre of its cast (Rachel Weisz is also on board as Hannah, a grieving widow, whose life becomes inexorably intertwined with the Sherbournes), one would be forgiven for expecting a story of greater depth and nuance.

What it is ultimately, however, is a sweeping romance, bursting with emotional moments. Yet, in his adaptation from the page to the screen, writer/director Derek Cianfrance – who wrote and directed the excellent character study The Place Beyond the Pines – relies too heavily on melodramatic turns of events and some implausible coincidences to drive the narrative forward.

At times, he blatantly tugs on the heartstrings for effect, in moments when the sterling work of his three protagonists is sufficient.  Moreover, the location of the story – Janus’s Rock – purports to reflect the duality of the protagonist’s lives: the haunted past that Tom and Isabel face and the optimistic future, the impossible battle between Tom’s head and his heart, the devastation faced by Hannah and the hope she is offered.

Yet, Cianfrance doesn’t explore this in any depth, thereby letting pass an opportunity to add the depth the film is lacking.

That said, Cianfrance could not really go wrong with the trium-virate of actors on board to tell the story. Fassbender, Vikander and Weisz are all actors of class and they bring that class to the fore, all three rising above the flawed material to provide the heart and soul to the story.

Fassbender, whom we are used to seeing in intense, dramatic and often dark roles cuts a dashing, if troubled, romantic figure. He is an unassuming man who would do anything for the wife he loves so desperately and he portrays the terrible internal conflicts he faces when taking some morally questionable decisions with noble stoicism.

Vikander, fast becoming one of this generation’s finest actors, navigates the path from carefree, independent young woman to heartbroken parent with authenticity.  Weisz is the epitome of dignified suffering and possibly the most tragic, yet noble character, of the piece.

The scenery is absolutely gorgeous, courtesy of the amazing photography of cinematographer Adam Arkapaw, who effortlessly captures the essence of time and place. The harbour side town of Partageuse across the harbour from the lighthouse is a quaint, quiet location where the locals are trying to rebuild their lives.

The stark majesty of the lighthouse towers above the ocean, a symbol of safety and sanctuary. It is a structure that stands proud in the beautiful pristine Australian skies, defiant in the face of a horrific and tempestuous storm that underscores one of the film’s key moments.