The Light Between Oceans

This review may contain spoilers!

A pretty powerful film that boasts some of the most artistic visual styling I've seen all year. I would give The Light Between Oceans an 8/10.

This film presents what is initially a charming story about two people falling in love, yet it swiftly takes a dark path after a couple of miscarriages, a concealed dead body and the two protagonists essentially kidnapping a baby. Both halves of the plot bring about interesting qualities; the first half we see the strength behind Fassbender and Vikander's relationship, however in the back half the audience witnesses how a guilty act can harm a relationship as pure as this one. I enjoyed watching things decidedly getting worse as Weisz struggled to reconcile the fact her child wouldn't view her as her mother; at the same time watching the divide between Fassbender and Vikander grow is equally fascinating. The cinematography is what really sets this film apart, every shot captured looks like a breathtaking work of art and is a true testament to the cinematographer of the film as well as the director's vision. The editing has nice flow to it, it drifts between scenes quite calmly which allows each scene to start quite naturally. The score for the film is really nice, it's very melodic but has an unnerving undertone that marks the theme of the film.

Alicia Vikander, who played Isabel Graysmark, made for a really intriguing lead; you really felt her pain as she lost her two pregnancies and then the manic desire she has to keep Lucy is well portrayed. Rachel Weisz, who played Hannah Roennfeldt, was an exceptionally tragic figure who you really empathised for; Weisz brings forth a character wracked with grief over the loss of her husband and the events surrounding her daughter. Florence Clery, who played Lucy-Grace, is such a cute child performer; whether she was acting or the director just had her speak at will it's clear to me that young Clery is one of the highlights of the film. Jack Thompson, who played Ralph Addicott, creates the rugged yet jovial manner of a seaman very well; Thompson might be only a supporting cast member but he does a good job of standing out. Leon Ford, who played Frank Roennfeldt, crafted a very charismatic supporting role; despite being dead for a greater majority of the film you feel the weight of the loss as Ford brings forth a really genuine character.

However the best performance came from Michael Fassbender, who played Tom Sherbourne. Upon first being introduced to Fassbender in the film we get the impression he's a very quiet and reserved man, one who's been haunted by this serving the World War I. From here though it's nice seeing how his character develops, there's more of an open and committed feeling to the role as he engages with Vikander (with whom he has amazing chemistry). I think it's nice to see someone who is so loving to his wife and yet who is so haunted and guilt-ridden over all the bad he's done.

The scene does take it's time to examine the narrative and each of the characters before advancing along, it's a very 'stop and start' structure which means things drag out as the film gets further and further along. Unfortunately probably the biggest let down of the film is just how unconvincing it is that Fassbender's character would allow Vikander's to keep Lucy, it's one of those moments where the plot has been too grounded in reality then suddenly asks you to take a big leap of faith out of nowhere. I also thought the sound editing left a bit to be desired, there were many scenes in which dialogue was drowned out by background noise or the score. Also whoever was working on make-up in this film probably needs to update their skills, Fassbender's old age make-up was a joke.

Thomas Unger, who played Bluey Smart, really was just a way to advance the plot as opposed to being an actual character; Unger's performance was also overshadowed by Thompson who he shared most of his scenes with. Jane Menelaus and Garry McDonald, who played Violet Graysmark and Bill Graysmark respectively, these were very dry unimpressionable character; one of the more disappointing qualities of their characters is that they had no chemistry with Vikander despite playing her parents. Anthony Hayes, who played Sergeant Vernon Knuckey, seemed to struggle to portray any recognisable human emotion over the duration of the film; Hayes created a bland stereotypical law enforcement officer. Emily Barclay, who played Gwen Potts, really had no chemistry with Weisz which made her character a bit redundant; Barclay never did anything to stand out apart from delivering some exposition that the audience was already aware of. Bryan Brown, who played Septimus Potts, seemed to struggle to deliver lines in a natural way; Brown's character was over the top and borderline absurd in his mannerisms. Caren Pistorius, who played Adult Lucy-Grace, was a bit of a let down after the rest of the plot; her scene with Fassbender felt awkward and unnecessary.