The Light Between Oceans

[projekktor id=’25220′]

Based on M.L. Stedman’s 2012 novel of the same name, The Light Between Oceans is a romantic drama written and directed by Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines). The film, which will debut at the Venice Film Festival this year, stars Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz, Bryan Brown, and Jack Thompson.

Tom Sherbourne, a shell-shocked veteran, devotes himself to his new job as lighthouse keeper on the otherwise uninhabited Janus Rock, surrounded by nothing but the vast sea, seeking solace in the solitude. He intends to remain alone, but unexpectedly meets Isabel Graysmark, a vivacious young woman from the town of Partageuse across the harbor, herself grieving two brothers lost in the war. Despite the obstacles, their love flourishes in the stark isolation and they are soon married. Passionate for each other and hoping to be part of creating a new life together, they try to start a family, but fate intercedes. Then, one night, a mysterious rowboat holding a dead man and an infant girl washes ashore, setting off a chain of decisions—some impetuous, others wrenching— that unravel with shattering consequences.

“I wanted to be incredibly faithful to the book,” Cianfrance explains. “The most meaningful compliment on the film I’ve received so far was from Stedman herself, who said she spent the day weeping aer aending a screening…weeping because she felt that she was understood. She said, ‘Isn’t that the point of life, that we, as human beings, are trying to be understood by each other?’”

The Light Between Oceans is rated PG.