User reviews

This film was beautifully shot, written and directed. It was subtle, yet powerful in its content and the cast was superb. This film is for thinkers and survivors, and really tugs at your heart strings. Casey Affleck did an amazing job as writer/director, and as the father trying to keep his daughter safe. I highly recommend this movie!

TL;DR Version - The movie is predictable and very un original. The acting is good and had my heart pumping a few times. The people praising this movies Producer must be good friends or something because it's basically the movie, "The Road" with no key differences or added creativity.

I would have given this movie 4/10 stars but I'll briefly explain why I gave it a 6/10. The acting was decent and honestly it had my heart pumping at times.

However, the story line is super predictable and there really isn't any key differences in the plot if you've watched movies like, I am Legend, The book of Eli, and The Road. The Road especially because when I was watching this I had major dejavu thinking that I've seen this before. (Infact I basically have) If you've watched, "The Road" before viewing this, it's not really worth the 2 hrs of watching it. The reason I'm giving this movie a 6/10 is because if I had never seen the movies I've mentioned above this I would say it's a decent movie.

So, in conclusion I wish Hollywood would stop churning out all these post apocalyptic movies until they find a plot that hasnt been seen before.

Its basic virtue and sin is to remind The Road . The good part - performances of Anna Pniowsky and Casey Affleck. The bad part - slowly development of story, nice, off course but so predictable and too, too familiar. A beautiful film, off course but without an original voice.

Another post-apocalyptic film. But a quite decent one. I appreciated the slow-moving story and the power of the storytelling. Many criticized how the father was so prepared and the daughter so unprepared. However, they seem to forget what puberty and adolescence usually mean; questioning everything and feeling out of control of one's emotions. It's been a long time since I saw the film The Road. This probably reminded me a lot of that film. It wasn't a new idea by any means, but I thought the film was quite well made. A little story in a new world order. Nothing groundbreaking, but a nice little story.

People who call this movie boring should go back to their Transformers movies. It's not boring for a single second. The story has a quiet intensity, the acting is out of this world, and Affleck's direction is so good that I can't wait for his next directing job. Haters gonna hate, but they are so wrong it's actually funny.

The story is slow but builds up to quite a climactic ending. However, by the time I got to the ending, I was already thoroughly bored. I can't say I enjoyed it at all.

Aflek goes to great lengths to protect his daughter from evil men and ... effective self defense.

Trying to pick up all the pieces of me off the floor after watching "Light of My Life"! This movie absolutely broke me! I fear that a few years ago (before I was a father) I may have shrugged off this movie in favor of something more "action-packed" and "gritty", but now that I am seeing life through the eyes of a father - I am not ashamed to say that I cried through this whole movie. I may be partial (because he is one of my favorite actors) but Casey Affleck perfectly captures the complexities and emotions of fatherhood. The paralyzing fear of losing your child, unconditional and incomprehensible love, the uncertainty of everyday decisions, the balance of discipline/love, the responsibility of providing and protecting, and the uncertainties that come from wondering if you are doing any of it right - are all things that I can deeply relate to and are portrayed with masterful, raw realism. I wish I could write more - but I truly don't think I can even begin to describe even half of what this movie made me feel.

A father (Casey Affleck) and young Rag (Anna Pniowsky) are living in the woods and trying to avoid strangers. Flashbacks reveal a global troubled time with his wife (Elisabeth Moss). This is a premise that would be better served by revealing it much later. This reveal happens too early and in the cliché way of a newspaper headline. One would expect him to find allies, most likely another single father with a boy. One would definitely expect him to be armed. Quite frankly, this should start with Affleck and another guy with the two kids on the run from armed military forces. The other guy sacrifices himself for the group to escape and the movie can be about Affleck with two kids. It would start the film with a bang and it would be more reasonable for the premise. Also, Rag's reveal needs to be a big thing. The movie doesn't know how to place the reveals. The sex talk scene needs some work. It could be played for laughs but like all sex talk with your dad, it gets awkward and not funny. The idea is funnier than the execution. It needs to do something different like filming only Rag's face as the talk happens. This is a premise movie that needs a few tweaks.

My mind is blown, Casey Affleck did a great job at his first go of production and directing. I would describe this as "Children of Men" meets "The Road" meets "The Last of Us" who ever said this movie is boring doesn't understand what movies are supposed to be. I'll watch it again the same day I saw it for the first time just because it's that good.

I hope I never have to live through an end-of-the-world scenario. Would prefer to be in the ''instantly vaporized" demographic.

However, if I survive, I sure hope I'm not in charge of any kids. Especially kids that might hold the key to the survival of the species. Because I wouldn't have patience for campfire stories (opening 11+ minutes), spelling bees and philosophical debates (another few minutes). I'm pretty much gonna be focusing on shelter, food, and warding off survivalist weirdos. Because you know what else isn't going to be happening in real life? A bunch of guys running forklifts at a soup kitchen (or whatever that was) in a woman-free world. No sports, no wymyn, no civilization of any kind. That much I guarantee.

Casey Affleck is a very natural and believable actor. Anna Pniowsky also does very well. Once the movie got rolling I was invested in their fate. The flashbacks to Elisabeth Moss as the virus-stricken wife/mom revealed the right amount of info to provide context to the story and the two main characters.

However, there is not enough to maintain interest. It's hard to believe father would have to sermonize about stranger danger at her age. They've been together for a decade, wandering around avoiding civilization, with only themselves as company. That kid would be a paranoid carbon copy of dad by the time the events of this movie roll around, not a free-range human.

Also, Casey's vocal fry gets on my nerves if I'm forced to listen to 11-minute bedtime stories and sermons.

I'm saving it on my PVR for nights when I'm having drouble drifting off.

When an individual holds too much sway over the creation of a film, the end product almost always suffers. Tom Cruise, well-known for his tight control over the Mission Impossible franchise, micromanaged the 2017 remake of "The Mummy" to death. "Light of my Life" does not pretend to be a big-budget blockbuster, but its quality is undermined for a similar reason.

Casey Affleck is the director, writer, and lead actor in this film. When he wrote the many monologues for the father to sermonize, no one took him aside and advised him to cut their number and length. When he delivered the monologues, no one told him that he needed to make his stuttering monotone more lilting and engaging. And clearly no one informed Casey as director that beginning the movie with a 12-minute (truth!) recitation of a Noah's Ark derivative story would kill audience interest at the outset.

And that is the frustration I had throughout this movie. There were enough variations on the road trip theme that this could have been an enthralling movie. The father and daughter aren't merely trying to survive a post-apocalyptic environment. He needs to protect her from the real-life horrors that young women risk today, but on an astronomically larger scale.

The movie shines when it illustrates these risks and progresses the plot by driving them in their quest for the ultimate safe house. When the pair was forced to gauge the trustworthiness of new companions or they were fleeing from undesired ones, I was engaged and cheering them on. But active moments make up far too little of the film; if you watch the trailer, you've seen clips from most of them. Independent advisors would undoubtedly have counseled Affleck accordingly.

The movie also brushes past the details of both the epidemic and life after the epidemic. When the couple visited a government dispensary or the father mentioned how critical it was to have proper ID, I wanted to learn more about the world had morphed in response to the loss of half of its population. But no, the film doggedly returned to more rambling from the father as the two cower in a foxhole.

I watched the whole movie because I was interested enough in the ending, but I strung it out over 3 days to minimize the tedium. If you decide to see it, fast forward through the first 12 minutes. You'll thank me, I promise.