On the 73rd Venice Film Festival’s second night, The Light Between Oceans, adapted from ML Stedman’s 2012 bestseller took centre stage.
Director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines), joined stars Michael Fassbender , Alicia Vikander and Linsten Morris Management’s Jack Thompson on the red carpet with the Venice Film Festival Jury.
When the film finished screening, the group received a standing ovation that lasted more than 5 minutes, and that critical acclaim has been echoed by various international reviewers since.
The Light Between Oceans, is mostly set on Janus Rock, a wind-bitten, froth-flecked island 100 miles off the coast of Australia and evolves in a crescendo of tragic developments. It is director Cianfrance’s first film to be based on a novel, and real life couple Fassbender and Vikander masterfully bring the character’s to life on-screen. They’re matched by our superb Jack Thompson and Rachel Weisz.
Cinematographer Adam Arkapaw, who also shot Fassbender in Macbeth, brings an antique, time-faded look to both setting and cast. But the reason it digs its claws in is its willingness to not take sides, to let every nail-biting dilemma bleach and curl in the sun, unsolved, as they would in life. Every character does all the wrong things for all the right reasons, and you find yourself sympathising with each decision they make while agreeing with none of them. It’s a sad story for sure, but what makes you cry is the breadth of its compassion.
You can watch the breathtaking trailer for the film below and read more about the films Venice premiere here, here and here.