Ghostlight

I know several Shakespeare aficionados that claim, while Romeo and Juliet is the most taught of the tragedies, it ranks low on the quality scale. Even if we didn't pay attention in freshman English, we know the rough outlines of the plot.

Here, the 16th century R&J play exists as the metaphorical and literal binder for a real 2024 family, and suggests the unwritten aftermath the Verona families may have endured in the weeks and months and years that followed. Their rage ... anger ... despair ... sadness ... accusations ... avoidance.

What the audience is asked to infer from what's NOT on the screen makes what IS on screen all the more poignant and foreshadowing and graceful. The writing, casting, directing, and editing is just amazing.

Grief takes on many inescapable forms and can permeate everything. Grief is a funny thing, with a 1,000 triggers and 1,000 unexpected responses. Here, we're left with the possibility of the beginning of the healing.

A blue collar construction worker in Chicago with a volatile temper and a dysfunctional family is asked to fill in when a tiny community theater attempts to stage Romeo and Juliet.

A touching, complicated movie about family and art and fathers and children. One of the best movies of 2024.

And, my favorite movie genre. How art is made:

'Topsy-Turvy' 'Day for Night' 'Tropic Thunder' 'Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story'

Ultimately, indeed, The play goes on.

A great local Chicago actor stars in the movie, and slowly, grudgingly, as Romeo: Keith Kupferer.

What a great face. What a great presence. Costarring his daughter.

When the play within the movie begins, the curtain opens, and these familiar words heard by audiences for 497 years are spoken:

'Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge, break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.'

A fantastic movie that I recommend you see.

I was invited to an industry screening, but recommend paying your way in to see this gem. It opened in June with very little buzz, but apparently is going wider now. Writer Kelly O'Sullivan directed it with her partner Alex Thompson. I missed their first film, the much lauded Saint Frances.

The Mueller family uses a community theater production of "Romeo and Juliet" as a cathartic vessel to soothe the pain of their son's suicide. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death involve a lawsuit and a pivotal deposition. The writer skillfully withheld the shocking details until very late, as most storytelling is about secrets. Father Dan (Kieth Kupferer) is a construction worker in the Chicago area. His relationship with his wife Sharon (Tara Mallen) is worsening by the day. Their fifteen year old daughter Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) had a fight at school, is suspended and sees a mandated therapist at $150 an hour. Dan had a fight at work with a motorist and almost had to take a mandatory leave. Waitress Rita (Dolly De Leon) saw this and, out of both pity and necessity, asked him to join her theater production, meeting nights and weekends because everyone has jobs. Dan is of course a lousy actor. But after the original Romeo quits, Rita talks him into the role opposite her Juliet. It's a much more age congruent match. They were planning to stage their sole performance in the cramped rehearsal space in the heart of town. But Sharon is a schoolteacher and persuades the powers that be to gift them the gym.

It's such a terrific feel good movie, with a fair amount of angst and bitterness swirled in. Dan, Sharon and Daisy are a family in real life. This really cemented their performances beyond what a normal cast would achieve. Kupferer has a ton of theater experience, which he employs to great effect. Dolly De Leon is fantastic as Rita. She continues to produce excellent work after her Triangle of Sadness breakthrough and Between the Temples. The physical disparity between the hulking Romeo and petite Juliet is a source of easy laughs, but that all fades once they are in character. It's always a joy to see theater and film converge, as in Vanya on 42nd Street or Birdman. A raft of rave film festival reviews are entirely accurate.

I used to be embarrassed to cry in movies and would try as hard as I could to keep it in. But that would always leave me feeling afterwards like I had a head cold, plus now I'm older and I don't give a hoot what people think. So now I let my freak flag fly and just openly weep in a movie theater if the mood strikes me. I've also found since I had children of my own that more things make me emotional than previously.

So I was an absolutely snotty, dripping mess at multiple times throughout this movie. I'm a sucker anyway for stories about people who see other people at their worst moments and respond with kindness and understanding rather than harsh judgement, and this is that kind of story. It's also about the power of art to help us work through our emotions, make sense of the world, find common ground with others, broaden our perspectives, all the things the world feels really in need of right now but yet seems determined not to do.

Is "Ghostlight" manipulative? Probably. Does it hold up to scrutiny afterwards? I'm not sure, possibly not. But I don't care because I didn't scrutinize this movie afterwards. I just let myself feel it, and that's what I want to take away with me.

Grade: A.

Ghostlight masterfully captures a family's journey through life with authentic performances and a compelling story, making it a must-see drama. The film can be a bit of a slow burn at times, but it is still an immensely moving character study on an ordinary dad who struggles to open up about his emotions. Each character in the film is uniquely complex and likeable. Yet, every single character still feels like someone you would know in real life. There are no Hollywood stars, extravagant sets, or lavish locations. Instead, the film is an accurate representation of real life, and so, it becomes extraordinarily relatable.