The film adaptation of the debut novel of the Australian writer M. L. Steadman is a long (130-minute running), sweeping (budget of $ 20,000,000) and insanely beautiful historical melodrama with spectacular landscapes, magnificent acting trio of M. Fassbender, A. Wikander and R. Weiss, orchestral music by A. Depla and detailed costumes of the 20s. last century. The film "Light in the Ocean", the actors and roles of which are sure to be remembered by the public, has an IMDb rating of 7.20. Reviews overwhelmingly the picture received enthusiastic.
First adaptation
Two prominent figures of modern cinema were inspired to create the film adaptation at once - the creator of Potter, David Hayman, and producer Jeffrey Clifford, who could already serve as a guarantee of the quality of the melodrama Light in the Ocean. Actors of the project were selected after the approval of the director. They became Derek Sienfrans, the author of the films “Place under the Pines” and “Valentines”.
According to the plot, the lighthouse keeper Tom Sherburn (M. Fassbender), a World War I veteran, and his wife Isabelle (A. Wikander), cannot have children. Both pregnancies are interrupted. Once a boat with a dead man and a living baby girl is nailed to the island. A desperate couple decides to illegally adopt a child, gives the baby the name Lucy and brings up, like her own daughter. They think they are raising an orphan, but suddenly Tom finds out that the girl’s mother is alive and suffering inconsolably.
High melodrama pattern
Even the actors in Light in the Ocean admitted that the film by Derek Sienfrans is not for everyone. The leisurely rhythm of the narrative requires perseverance from the viewer, and a complete understanding of all the actions of the heroes, at least education and thoughtfulness. The emotional intensity and moral subtext of the tape elevates it to the level of classic cinema masterpieces. Cinema offers the viewer a lot of reasons to think, ponder, worry and even cry. The author’s find of the director, positioned by critics in reviews of Light in the Ocean and actors in media interviews as the main advantage of the project, is an off-screen reading of letters. In the epistolary form, the most interesting and exciting things are pronounced: the unhealed scars of war and endless loss.
Features of filming
The filming process of the picture mainly took place on the island of Tasmania, in the coastal town of Stanley. Several key episodes were filmed at the port of Chalmers. But the majority (five and a half weeks) of the crew and the cast of Light in the Ocean were spent at Cape Campbell's New Zealand lighthouse in Marlborough.
The image of the found girl, Lucy or Grace Rutherford, was played immediately by five performers. In infancy, it was embodied by the twins Elliot and Evangeline Newbury, at the age of one - Georgie Gascoigne, in childhood - Florence Clery, and the matured Lucy was portrayed by Karen Pistorius. If the little ones are just starting a creative career, then Karen Pistorius hone her skills in the series “The Legend of the Seeker”, “Such is Life”, “Paper Giants” and “Blue Rose”. But the actress gained world fame thanks to her participation in the films “Strictly to the West” and “Light in the Ocean”.
Acting duet
Michael Fassbender, who accurately and dryly played the role of his character, was approved for the role unconditionally. He perfectly conveyed the emotions of Tom Sherburn, crucified between feelings and duty. His image is a textbook example of a classic conflict.
Alicia Wikander, after the premiere of the film, admitted that she agreed to withdraw from Derek Sienfrans only because she was always an ardent fan of Michael Fassbender.
During the filming of the melodrama "Light in the Ocean", the actors truly became a couple, justifying the allegations of reviewers about the presence of "chemistry" between the main characters. During the filming, the director did not accidentally order to put their trailers nearby.
Alicia Wikander's breakthrough in the cinema was the Oscar-nominated film The Royal Novel, although after she played a supporting role. The funny thing is that in the track record of performers there are roles of robots. Michael Fassbender portrayed the cyborg in Prometheus, and Alicia Vikander in the movie Out of the Car.