The Light Between Oceans (Derek Cianfrance)

[TGM]

THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS

Director: Derek Cianfrance

imdb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2547584/?ref_=nv_sr_1)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/91/The_Light_Between_Oceans_poste r.jpg

[TGM]

So this was an interesting theater experience. About an hour in, the fire alarm went off, and the whole theater started to empty out. However, it turned out to be a false alarm, so everyone filed back in to their given movies, where we waited for about a half an hour for our movie to restart right where it left off. But they gave everyone a free pass for the inconvenience, so that was cool, and honestly, the impromptu intermission couldn't have been better timed, as it came precisely before the movie took a sudden dark and complicated turn.

As for the movie itself, yeah, this was pretty incredible stuff here. Very emotionally stirring, and very complexly so at that. And the performances from Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Rachel Weisz are simply phenomenal, some of the best performances of the year so far. I honestly went into this thing completely blind, only seeing it because I saw my boy Fassbender was in it, and I'll literally see any movie he's in, and this one more than delivered.

[Ivan Drago]

I had an interesting theater experience as well, but when I had a ticket to a free advance screening two weeks ago. After waiting two hours in line.....they played Lights Out instead. Because, you know. They both have the word 'Light' in the title. But everyone got a readmission ticket that we could use for a free movie of our choosing, and I waited to use it on this when it came back to town.

That out of the way, I literally do not understand why The Light Between Oceans doesn't have a higher Tomatometer. The score is a little overbearing at times, especially in the beginning, but the ensemble knocks it out of the park with some of the best performances of the year, the landscapes of the setting are beautifully shot, and the psychodrama of each character is impeccably directed. I don't know where this ranks among my favorites of the year, but what I do know is that I'm glad the theater played the right movie this time around.

[amberlita]

That out of the way, I literally do not understand why The Light Between Oceans doesn't have a higher Tomatometer. The score is a little overbearing at times, especially in the beginning, but the ensemble knocks it out of the park with some of the best performances of the year, the landscapes of the setting are beautifully shot, and the psychodrama of each character is impeccably directed. I don't know where this ranks among my favorites of the year, but what I do know is that I'm glad the theater played the right movie this time around.

I'll tell you why: the melodramatic story is like the worst Nicholas Sparks script ever.

[Ivan Drago]

I'll tell you why: the melodramatic story is like the worst Nicholas Sparks script ever.

That's the one constant complaint I've heard from the reviews I've read, yet the drama has every reason to be so heavy given how high the emotional stakes are for each character. But that's just me, I guess....I take it you've read the book?

[amberlita]

That's the one constant complaint I've heard from the reviews I've read, yet the drama has every reason to be so heavy given how high the emotional stakes are for each character. But that's just me, I guess....I take it you've read the book?

No I watched the movie and could hardly take it at times. Every plot turn is written to maximize the tear-factor, not because it seems like something a person would do. For all the human definition that the actors bring in their performances, the characters and their actions are too contrived to make that effort worth it. Perhaps I'm too harsh on it (I sort of got forced into this movie though it's not my kind of story).

[TGM]

I can see what you're saying in regards to some of the actions not feeling like something most people would do, as there were times where, in the back of my head, I sorta thought that myself. But then, that's also part of the beauty of the performances here, because they sell the ever loving shit out of this material and made me really truly believe that these characters would do the things that they do. There's such a genuine torment on display, all these characters are so torn in so many directions with the things they're either asked to do or decide to do throughout. And even though the answers of what's right or wrong are rather obvious to the viewer, I found that I could still relate for each of the character's various dilemmas, and the sheer emotional struggle they were all going through. With lesser performances, I could possibly see that criticism against the melodramatic story more clearly. But with what we got in this movie, they made that story absolutely work for them, so I was more than okay with it here.