On my never ending bucket list of books to read is The Light Between Oceans, a bestseller written by M.L. Stedman. According to Real Simple magazine, Stedman’s first novel is an absolute “must read.” Usually I prefer to read the book prior to seeing the movie, but in this case, I made an exception. The movie The Light Between Oceans, like its namesake novel, is about a lighthouse keeper and his wife, who together live off the western coast of Australia. The childless couple’s lives are forever changed the day an infant washes ashore aboard a rowboat.
Set in the 1920s, Michael Fassbender plays Thomas, a World War I veteran who’s able to find the solitude he seeks as he accepts a job as a lighthouse keeper. Numb to the world, Thomas is surprised by his feelings toward the beautiful Isabel, played by Alicia Vikander.
Thomas and Isabel have the kind of romance everyone dreams of; they don’t mind that they’re isolated from their friends and family because they only have eyes for each other. He promises her in earnest that he will do his best to make her happy, and she in turn wants nothing more than to raise a family with the man she adores.
Fate isn’t kind to Thomas and Isabel, and as they try to start a family, Isabel is left grief stricken and utterly devastated. Thomas, true to his word, wants nothing more than to make his wife smile again, and when an opportunity arises for her to become a mother, he is left in a painstaking position. Does he fulfill his promise to his wife so she can finally become a mother, or does he do the “right” thing?
Thomas tries to repair Isabel’s broken heart while knowing at the same time he’s not being true to his gut, which reminds him again and again that the baby who’s gracing both their lives with pure happiness is not really theirs. When he learns the identity of the baby’s “real” mother he’s left in an even greater predicament. How can he knowingly continue to let Rachel Weisz’s character Hannah believe her baby is dead?
As events unfold, viewers will be left just as emotional as the characters. Any woman who has ever struggled with fertility or miscarriage, or who has a friend who has struggled with those issues will immediately find herself connected to Isabel as she faces agonizing losses. Viewers will connect just as strongly to Hannah, whose husband and daughter have literally drifted out of her life.
I’m not sure exactly when my tears started flowing, but at one point I looked over at my friend Kelly, who attended the movie with me, only to discover she was a blubbering mess too. The film isn’t a simple love story of boy meets girl. Instead it’s a tale of true love between a man and woman, a mother and the child she bore, and a mother and the child she’s raised. Kelly and I reflected that the most interesting part of the complicated story line was that there was no clear cut right versus wrong answer. It was very easy to see each character’s perspective, and my heart broke a little for each of the main characters at various points throughout the story. There was no easy solution that would leave all of them content, and the one whose feelings were most at risk was an innocent little girl.
Kelly commented, “I just kept thinking of different people I know in each of the situations presented, and it just made it even more emotional for me.” She confessed that she was so enamored with the movie that she now wants to read the book.
Before I stepped foot into the theater, I was expecting to love the movie, but I had no idea that it would make me as teary as it did. The cinematography was exceptional, and the scenery surrounding the lighthouse was simply breathtaking. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander are each nominated for Academy Awards; their performances, while different, melded together in a gut wrenching yet beautiful way. Rachel Weisz’s performance as she explained the difference between forgiveness and resentment was equally noteworthy. This is definitely a movie that will live in my heart forever. Just writing about it made me teary all over again.
Movie times: click here
Genre: Drama, Romance
Directors: Derek Cianfrance
Actors: Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz
Rating: PG-13 for thematic material and some sexual content
Running Time: 2 hours 12 minutes
