The Light Between Oceans
A lighthouse keeper (Michael Fassbender) and his wife (Alicia Vikander) living off the coast of Western Australia raise a baby they rescue from an adrift rowboat. From writer-director Derek Cianfrance (The Place Beyond the Pines), based on the 2012 critically acclaimed debut novel from M.L. Stedman. Shot in New Zealand (Otago) and Tasmania.
- Director:
- Derek Cianfrance ('The Place Beyond the Pines', 'Blue Valentine')
- Writer:
- Derek Cianfrance
- Cast:
- Michael FassbenderAlicia VikanderRachel WeiszCaren PistoriusBenedict HardieEmily BarclayScott WillsThomas UngerAnthony HayesLeon Ford
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Adam Fresco
flicksIn adapting and directing M.L. Stedman's novel, Derek Cianfrance (The Place Beyond The Pines), casts a powerhouse acting duo in Michael Fassbender, and Alicia Vikander. They play Tom, a the tortured WWI survivor, and Isabel, his wife. Serving as lighthouse keepers in remote Western Australian, they rescue a baby adrift in a boat, (a Biblical reference to Moses, who was found floating in a basket). Years later they meet the real mother, setting off all sorts of melodramatic machinations: tell the truth, or keep the child they’ve grown to love?
An epically beautiful melodrama about morality and love
Every now and then a film comes along that reminds us of how beautiful and powerful cinema can be when it stays close to its artistic roots. Like primal colours and confident brushstrokes in a classic painting, a great film depicts strong emotion, sprung from critical life choices, in a bold palette, against natural settings. The Light Between Oceans (2016)...
Glacial, regrettable, forgettable
I was gifted a ticket to 'The Light Between Oceans' showing at Dunedins Rialto Cinema, Moray Place. A fine metro theatre with all you'd expect, and an unexpected delight of a couple of Emersons fine products being available at the concession stand. Several crew were students of mine during my brief stint st SIT. I was so proud to see their names in the...
The New York Times
pressThe film's solemn visual rhythms exert an almost hypnotic spell that for a time gives a heroic dimension to a story as emotionally fraught as a vintage Bette Davis melodrama.
Stuff
pressStrangely unmoving and the saddest thing about it was leaving the cinema with that packet of tissues intact.
Los Angeles Times
pressThe actors hurl themselves into their roles with sufficient commitment and feeling that you believe in Tom and Isabel completely, even when the creaky narrative machinery around them begins to trigger your skepticism.
Hollywood Reporter
press"The Light Between Oceans" winds up taking one too many self-serious twists and turns. The film earns its darkness, but it might have been even more affecting if it didn't shrink from the light.
Flicks, Adam Fresco
flicksIn adapting and directing M.L. Stedman's novel, Derek Cianfrance (The Place Beyond The Pines), casts a powerhouse acting duo in Michael Fassbender, and Alicia Vikander. They play Tom, a the tortured WWI survivor, and Isabel, his wife. Serving as lighthouse keepers in remote Western Australian, they rescue a baby adrift in a boat, (a Biblical reference to Moses, who was found floating in a basket). Years later they meet the real mother, setting off all sorts of melodramatic machinations: tell the truth, or keep the child they’ve grown to love?
The New York Times
pressThe film's solemn visual rhythms exert an almost hypnotic spell that for a time gives a heroic dimension to a story as emotionally fraught as a vintage Bette Davis melodrama.
Stuff
pressStrangely unmoving and the saddest thing about it was leaving the cinema with that packet of tissues intact.
Los Angeles Times
pressThe actors hurl themselves into their roles with sufficient commitment and feeling that you believe in Tom and Isabel completely, even when the creaky narrative machinery around them begins to trigger your skepticism.
Hollywood Reporter
press"The Light Between Oceans" winds up taking one too many self-serious twists and turns. The film earns its darkness, but it might have been even more affecting if it didn't shrink from the light.
An epically beautiful melodrama about morality and love
Every now and then a film comes along that reminds us of how beautiful and powerful cinema can be when it stays close to its artistic roots. Like primal colours and confident brushstrokes in a classic painting, a great film depicts strong emotion, sprung from critical life choices, in a bold palette, against natural settings. The Light Between Oceans...
Glacial, regrettable, forgettable
I was gifted a ticket to 'The Light Between Oceans' showing at Dunedins Rialto Cinema, Moray Place. A fine metro theatre with all you'd expect, and an unexpected delight of a couple of Emersons fine products being available at the concession stand. Several crew were students of mine during my brief stint st SIT. I was so proud to see their names in the...
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