The Light Between Oceans - Liked It - DOUBLEFEATUREPREACHERS

The Light Between Oceans - Liked It

8/17/2017

Stars: Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Runtime: 2 hours, 13 minutes
Based on the novel by M.L. Stedman
Drama | Romance | Book-to-Film | 2016

I went into this film knowing pretty much what the plot was going to be. Two people fall in love and try to start a family. When Isabel (Alicia Vikander) loses multiple pregnancies, she slowly starts to break down while Tom (Michael Fassbender) just wants to make everything better. One day a small row boat washes ashore with a dead man and his baby. The two take the baby as their own and raise her.

It’s pretty obvious what happens in the remainder of the story. Tom starts to feel guilty that they didn’t search for the baby’s true mother and Isabel becomes severely attached to a child that isn’t her own.

The Light Between Oceans is full of twists and turns on an emotional roller coaster that’s being steered by Alicia Vikander. Her performance is amazing in this film, truly bringing to scream the emotions that the character is feeling. From true happiness to utter tragedy. The love between her and Fassbender’s character was iffy at first, but as the movie progressed I could see the two actors evolve just as the characters do in the story.

Aside from the moments that seemed slow, the visual aspects of this film were wonderful to look at. A lighthouse on a secluded island with beautiful views of the ocean and beaches. I would love to go there, if this place even exists. I felt like the shots of the film, particularly when Isabel is mourning the loss of her second pregnancy and begins to hear the baby crying, were beautifully raw to watch.

One more thing to touch on is Rachel Weisz’s character, Hannah, who is the true mother of the baby. SPOILERS. Once the child was returned to her after 5 long years, the acting required for this seemed to be perfect for the situation. I can only imagine getting your daughter back after she had been raised by another mother. The child only wanting the other woman and being too young to understand what is going one. I felt Rachel’s performance was great in this sense.
END SPOILERS

In the end, I was both surprised and happy with how the story ended. I am going to have to say “Liked It” for this movie, due to the acting and wonderfully shot scenes. I definitely recommend it if you like dramas, I’d say it’s more dramatic that it is romantic, but the romance is still there. (4/5)