My pull quote: “before the Oscar onslaught, Ghostlight might be the best film of 2024, and certainly is the best you haven’t seen.”
This little indie that should was just a random choice for me because it was in the Apple Store, and it had audio description. Never doubt the power of audio description, because the word on this film has been rather soft. I discovered, and fell in love with Ghostlight, which proves to be a thoughtful examination of art and tragedy, juxtaposing the grief of a family against the Shakesperian depth of Romeo and Juliet.
in theatre, a Ghostlight is a bit of a superstition, and a bit of a tribute to the many actors who have come before. Many theatres, when they go dark for the night, leave a light on, center stage, which theoretically serves multiple purposes, but often is referred to in tribute to the actors that came before and who are no longer with us.
in the film, theater is used as an exploratory tool for a construction worker (Keith Keith Kupferer) whose family has suffered an initially undefined tragedy, is struggling with something. We aren’t really told the depth of this backstory, but discover it over the course of the film. He’s easily agitated at work, and after getting himself suspended, he finds himself wandering into a community theater where an assortment of actors are attempting to mount a production of Romeo and Juliet. He has never acted before, or set foot on a stage, but as he allows this process to wash over him, not only does it provide a welcome distraction, but eventually leads to some profound parallel moments in the processing of grief that artists often find on their own. Often actors pull from real life experience when tackling difficult roles, and that’s part of what makes this film work so well, is for anyone who has ever done theatre, this feels so incredibly authentic. the actors even feel like community theater actors, and Keith does an excellent job playing a regular guy just walking into this world.
his family is also going through stuff, most definitely his daughter (Katherine Mallen Cupferer) who could easily be written off upon introduction as “a bit much”, until you realize that she’s a theater kid playing the most authentic theater kid. Once I knew her backstory, everything made sense. I know kids exactly like this. out of context, she would seem almost too dramatic, too big, but theater kids are very much like this. she even gets to sing, and I believed her 100%. Eventually, because she’s a theater kid, she finds her way into this community as well, and it too makes this change within her. I’m fascinated at the choice to have a real father/daughter duo in the leads here, especially two who are rather unknown, but both screaming for some Indie Spirit love this cycle.
Rounding out the family is the mother (Tara Mallen), who clearly makes this trio a real family on and off screen. She has the least screentime of the three, but her scenes are quite effective, especially once she’s clued into the big secret, and participates. Dolly Deleon rounds out the main cast as sort of the focus of the community theater group and frequent scene partner for our grieving parent. When the curtains finally start to open to reveal what the tragedy is that the family is going through, there’s this gut punch as you realize what has been asked of this man the whole time.
This movie is co-directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, from a script by O’Sullivan. It is so simple, and beautiful, that when you take the words from the page, and choose to cast an actual functional family as a family, everything just seems to work. I’m not sure if this is a true directorial achievement, but certainly the script is impactful, and they just needed to translate that beauty onto the screen. The choice to cast an actual family as the leads is so brilliant, because they have natural chemistry, and none of them feel like seasoned actors. yet, here that isn’t something that bothers me. They are presented as human, and they come off incredibly relatable, and that is only something that can help people get connected to this material.
The audio description done by Audio Eyes is fine. It isn’t a tough film to describe as most characters are in some kind of current clothing, and a lot of the same locations are used. for the audio description, it becomes about matching the tone of the film, which while it can be incredibly sad for some, is not played like it is intended to send anyone into a dark depression. This movie celebrates how art helps us process, and how taking that leap can be rewarding not just for a construction worker, but really for his whole family. And through that, the story he might be reluctant to share, ends up touching those around him as well, impacting more lives around them. The emotional resonance here is just so strong.
It will not be an Oscar nominee. every year, I fall in love with two or three movies that seem to not be on really anyone’s lists. I’m really pulling for this film to show up at the Spirit Awards, since it has so much potential to surprise in feature, lead performance (Keith), and screenplay, along with hopefully that breakthrough/newcomer performer award also for Keith.
this film moved me. It is absolutely brilliant.
Final Grade: A
