Review! The Light Between Oceans

Review for The Light Between Oceans (2016) Directed by Derek Cianfrance. Starring: Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz. IMDB says “A lighthouse keeper and his wife living off the coast of Western Australia raise a baby they rescue from an adrift rowboat.”

“One day this will all feel like a dream…”

Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Derek Cianfrance were the only names I needed to sell me on this film. I didn’t see a trailer nor read a synopsis for this film and I didn’t have to either. Michael Fassbender is an actor that continues to turn in stellar role after stellar role and honestly, he’s reason enough for me to see this film. But when you combine the acting chops of Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) with the directing and writing style of Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine, Place Beyond the Pines) you can truly do no wrong. Or can you?

Adapted from the novel of the same name, written by M.L. Stedman, The Light Between Oceans is a love story that takes place in Australia in 1918. Tom Sherbourne (Fassbender) has returned from World War I and is looking for solace and refuge to reflect on his life. He takes up a position as a lighthouse attendant on an island off the west coast of Australia. Along the way, he meets and marries Isabel Graysmark (Vikander) and the two begin living a simple, isolated life on the island. One day a boat washes ashore with a baby inside. The two begin to raise the baby, and their simple life becomes a little more complicated. Fassbender is solid in this film, despite his lack of dialogue. His face does all the heavy lifting as he successfully emotes his way through the film. Then again, I could look at his face all day. Alicia Vikander is wonderful, even if I didn’t always understand her characters motives. There were one or two scenes where something didn’t click for me, but I’m gonna chalk that up to the writing. While the film mainly focuses on Fassbender and Vikander, credit is due to Rachel Weisz as well as newcomer Florence Clery. Weis is a standout in every scene she’s in, and Clery is absolutely adorable as Lucy.

This film feels like an amalgamation of Cianfrance’s previous works in writing and style. You have the complex emotional realism of a marriage combined with gorgeous landscapes of the Australian coast. (Even though a majority of this movie was filmed in New Zealand) The film just works and is another solid outing from Cianfrance. However, the biggest problem with the film is the pace. This film trudges through and feels much longer than its two hour and twelve minute run time. It’s brutal and it becomes emotionally draining as you go through the ups and downs of Tom and Isabel’s marriage. What makes the pacing issue worse is there are no scenes you could cut. Every scene we get in the film is a necessity and contributes to how we look at and define the characters. Even as I drove home and ran the film back through my head, I couldn’t think of a single trim or even a way to improve the story. It definitely makes it’s emotional mark, but it doesn’t have the same staying power as Blue Valentine or Place Beyond the Pines. As I said before, it just works; even if it means it takes a while to tell the story. I don’t see this being a film that you need to rush out and see nor is it a film you’ll want to watch over and over again.

FTS SCORE: 74%