I’ll start by saying, I love all types of “girly” movies but well made and emotionally charged? I go weak in the knees. A couple weeks ago I saw a special screening of the Light Between Oceans and hardly a day goes by that I haven’t thought of it. The Light Between Oceans is a stirring movie that will leave you entranced throughout and won’t let you go; even well after it has ended.
Michael Fassbender stars as Tom Sherbourne, a handsome but quiet veteran who recently returned from World War combat. He struggles with his war years and takes a job as a lighthouse keeper where he can live by himself to brood. During a visit to town, he meets the beautiful and outgoing Isabel (Alicia Vikander). They fall in love and get married and she moves to Lighthouse Island with him. Soon after they get married, the newlyweds try unsuccessfully to have a child. Unfortunately two pregnancies end in heartbreaking miscarriage. Both are grief stricken and it starts to effect their relationship. When a boat finds it’s way to their island with a dead man and a live baby, the couple decides to keep the child and raise it as their own. Years later, a visit to the mainland finds them face to face with the child’s birth mother, causing a rift between morality and happiness.
Based on a best selling novel by M. L. Stedman, The Light Between Oceans tells a story of love and heartbreak. It’s a story about how what seems like the right thing to do isn’t always the right thing to do. This movie is emotionally stirring and one that will make you truly love the characters. In fact, I can’t wait to read the book even though I know how it ends.
Be prepare that the miscarriage scenes are difficult to watch. There was hardly a dry eye in the theater as you watched Vikander be crushed from these losses. The scenes are so strong that I think she will be an easy contender for best actress.
The Light Between Oceans is an extremely well-made film which I highly recommend. It’s not an uplifting or inspirational movie of any kind but as is life. Grab a friend and I box of tissues (you’ve been warned) and head to the theaters this weekend to see The Light Between Oceans.
The Light Between Oceans opens Friday 9/2/16.
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