Light from Light

I guess this film is just not meant for me. While the filming is great and I thought the actors were decent, there just wasn't enough going on here to hold my attention. It is painfully slow and nothing really happens.

There's no suspense. No excitement and I don't really get the point. It was just boring.

Oak Cliff Film Festival 2019 Greetings again from the darkness. Festivals are often programmed with many films that will never be screened outside of a festival environment ... low-budget passion projects to be viewed only by those with an appreciation (bordering on obsession) of deep cut and one-off films. Writer-Director Paul Harrill (SOMETHING, ANYTHING) has possibly bridged the gap with a film that capitalizes on grief, while excelling in quietness and stillness.

Marin Ireland ("Homeland") stars as Sheila, a single mom who plods through each day at her dead-end job as a rental car agent. We learn from a radio interview that Sheila may also have a connection to the afterlife, and she sometimes works as a ghost hunter or paranormal investigator - although, she has somehow lost her crew. Still, this doesn't stop a Priest from reaching out to her in hopes that she can help Richard (Jim Gaffigan), a distraught widower who has reported strange occurrences in his farmhouse - occurrences that may or may not be related to his dead wife, and occurrences that he may or may not be imagining.

Sheila takes the job (even though she's no Zelda Rubinstein) and recruits her teenage son Owen (Josh Wiggins, so good in HELLION, 2014) and his friend-study partner-would be girlfriend Lucy (Athena Frizzell) to help set up cameras and recording devices at Richard's house. It's at this point where it should be noted that this is not a horror film. It's not even a thriller. And even though Gaffigan co-stars, it's certainly not a comedy. It's not even really a ghost story or a romantic tale, although those elements do exist.

The intrigue is derived from these four characters. These are not special or extraordinary people - just normal folks trying to figure out life. We learn the inner struggles of each, and as viewers we are joined at the hip with them. It's been a year since Richard's wife died in the crash, and he's still coming to terms with her death, and even more so, the affair she confessed. Sheila is wondering where she fits in the world, and her advice to Owen proves the level of overprotectiveness she has for emotion. Owen likes Lucy, but doesn't see the point in starting a relationship that will end when she heads off to school, and Lucy is confused by his reaction to her strong attraction to him.

Ms. Ireland and Mr. Gaffigan are both excellent here, and having recently seen the latter in THEM THAT FOLLOW, I'm not the least bit surprised that he can pull off such a dramatic turn. The film reaches a different level in their scenes together - especially a hike to the crash site located within the Great Smoky Mountains. Not much is said, and there is little action, but the scene solidifies all the emotions hinted at in the preceding scenes.

A film that might be characterized by some as slow and dull, may just strike a chord with enough folks to gain some momentum for an audience. David Lowery, the director of A GHOST STORY, 2017) is an executive producer, so he has a track record of success with stories that are understated and quiet. Are there ghosts among us - possibly even the living? Richard and Sheila come pretty close. Additionally, special recognition goes out for a practical effect that is the film's crescendo ... and it involves Tolstoy! So rather than view this as a bit of a downer, as the title suggests, we should let there be light.

This film is a perfect, searching and soulful little piece of film making. All four people brought to life here are living in hope for something outside of themselves and beyond the mundane but necessary realities of work, study and getting by. They seek life. They seek light. They seek love. And death is the undercurrent and background and vehicle through which this search takes on a more urgent and pressing need for meaning. And of course, there are various histories, some spoken and others not, relating to grief and loss and a need for forgiveness and closure. The father who 'drank himself to death'. The deceased wife who 'had something going on with another man'. The single mother who despite doing her best, cannot protect her son from the risks life and love inevitably bring, without hurting him herself.

The title of the film, Light from Light. is borrowed from the Nicene Creed and the context in which it is used here, is, to quote a modern shibboleth, spiritual. not religious.

It's beautifully filmed with a mellow soundtrack and lends itself to reflection over entertainment, much to the chagrin of at least one other reviewer here so far, I see (with much amusement).

Enjoy!

I can't say I enjoyed this one as much the previous film directed by Paul Harrell "Something, Anything", but it was enjoyable, engaging, and interesting. Am happy to see the relatively high Metacritic score though. Maybe I need to revisit this one!

This film held my interest throughout because of the gentle characterizations of interesting and troubled people confronted by a mystery that may or may not be supernatural. The four actors convey subtle emotions in a very realistic way that moved me. The string guitar soundscape added to a sense of both reverie and reverance for the characters and viewer alike. I'm glad I had a chance to see this film.