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| Writer Kelly O'Sullivan |
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| Co-directors Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson |
GHOSTLIGHT B+ USA (115 mi) 2024 d: Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson
It seemed like you might like the change of being someone else for a while. —Rita (Dolly De Leon)
The film is about the perils of childhood and the devastating effects of losing a child, reminiscent of the horrific anger and grief expressed by Nicole Kidman in John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole (2010), the heartbreaking trauma in Kenneth Lonergan’s 2016 Top Ten List #5 Manchester by the Sea, the masterclass on repressed grief in Robert Redford’s Ordinary People (1980), the lingering sadness that never heals in Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter (1997), or more recently the introspective play-within-a-play which does with Chekhov what this film does with Shakespeare in Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s 2022 Top Ten List #1 Drive My Car (Oraibu mai kâ). Written by Kelly O'Sullivan, who studied theater at Northwestern University and is an alumna of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, she co-directs alongside her real life partner and producer Alex Thompson, both Chicagoans who have been part of the local theater community, yet what’s remarkable about this picture is hidden in its modesty, as it just seems so ordinary at first. Defying all odds with an overly contrived synopsis description that does not exactly entice, this is a theater movie filled with authentic nuances, and also a heartfelt film about grief, family, guilt, and the healing power of art, where the underlying truth about what has actually happened is not revealed until the second half of the film, while the way these filmmakers prolong details is one thing they do extremely well, given extraordinary dramatic weight when combined with the tragic elements of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Also running through the film are songs from the musical Oklahoma! (the first written by the infamous composing team of Rodgers and Hammerstein, whose 40’s and 50’s musicals are considered the “golden age” of American musical theater, winning a special Pulitzer Prize in 1944), which are completely unexpected, yet profoundly influential in their recognizable warmth and humanism, opening and closing the film, with a truly wondrous karaoke version somewhere in the middle, which is like the engine that generates everything that follows. They are a thread that runs through this picture, adding a layer of emotional depth that would not otherwise be there, as this film never follows a traditional path. Inexplicably opening to Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin,’ 'Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’' | Gordon MacRae | Rodgers & ... YouTube (3:00), a song brimming with optimism, while a jackhammer is seen pounding through the asphalt on the street as a roadside construction crew is seen working. This is our introduction to Dan Mueller (Keith Kupferer, from Stephen Cone’s Princess Cyd, 2017), a stressed-out, seemingly quiet, laid-back middle-aged construction worker prone to disturbing emotional outbursts at passing traffic coming too close, or shutting down emotionally in front of his family, someone who never talks about his problems, yet something hidden, buried deep beneath the surface, is clearly impacting his behavior. His rebellious teenage daughter in high school, Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer, who was in Kelly Fremon Craig’s Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., 2023), mirrors his ill-advised behavioral flare-ups, inappropriately erupting at one of her teachers, as we see the school informing the family of the consequences, New Ghostlight Clip Highlights Real Family Dynamics In A ... YouTube (1:15), which leads to her getting suspended and sent to anger management therapy. While the mother, Sharon (Tara Mallen, part of the international cast in Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion, 2011, also the founder and artistic director of the Rivendell Theatre in Chicago), who teaches at the same school, appears to quietly endure the havoc around them, Dan, on the other hand, simply walks away from the confrontations, disappearing at a moment’s notice, never uttering a word. Clearly they have issues that suggest family dysfunction. Interestingly, the actors who portray the family in the film are in fact a family in real life, offering an unpretentious family dynamic that exudes unforeseen authenticity, shot in the Chicagoland area, including the Raven Theater in Chicago and the Three Brothers Theater in Waukegan.
When Dan is seen assaulting a rude yet reckless motorist, it is witnessed by a bystander on the street, Rita (Dolly de Leon, from Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness (Sans Filtre), 2022), a cantankerous yet diminutive figure who runs a storefront community theater group, encouraging Dan to come join them, something he literally stumbles into, with Rita leading him inside, only to discover he is auditioning for the part of Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet. It doesn’t make sense at first, as he has no real interest in the play, comprised of a ragtag group that Rita proudly describes as an “island of misfit toys,” but he takes it more seriously after he’s suspended from his job, as his assault was captured on video and went viral on the internet, leaving the employer no choice. Having nowhere else to turn, and with nothing to lose, he asks his daughter’s advice, as she was a theatrical star in her high school’s production of Oklahoma!, capable of lighting up the stage, and intimately familiar with the Shakespeare play, showing him a photo on her laptop of a young Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo in Baz Luhrmann’s ROMEO + JULIET (1996), reciting the opening prologue by heart, leaving her father dumbfounded by how easy she makes it look. The theatrical dynamic is a bit like a family, where Rita and the director Lanora (Hanna Dworkin) are insistent on making it a safe place, but that all goes to Hell when Tyler (Charlie Lubeck), rehearsing a scene as Romeo, refuses to kiss Rita as Juliet, suggesting she’s “too old,” which gets him a smack in the mouth, Ghostlight | Exclusive Clip YouTube (1:54). Exit Tyler as Romeo, with 50-year old Dan suddenly thrust into the lead role, as Rita has helped nurture his trust, and they have developed a strong chemistry together. But he has his own personal demons, struggling to connect with his own emotions and fears, feeling isolated not only from his family but from the rest of the cast, improbably finding sanctuary in this company of strangers. He seems like the most unlikely, uninteresting hero, suddenly dropped into unfamiliar territory, a world he never imagined, which may have actually been the original source of inspiration behind this project. Having never read the play to its conclusion, he is gobsmacked by how it turns out, utterly paralyzed by what happens, leaving him begging for them to change the ending. Only then does the film shift into another gear, becoming a catalyst that actually transcends the theater format, keeping viewers invested with profound moments of humor mixed with small triumphs, deeply felt melancholic emotion, strong father/daughter moments, while slowly doling out pieces of information, where the drama onstage begins to reflect his own life, as Dan quietly and somberly confesses what amounts to the biggest tragedy of his life, expressed against a black backdrop with a lone Ghost light (theatre), the single bulb that theater companies leave on when a stage has gone totally dark, as the final scenes make him have to relive that horrible experience all over again. The theatrical stage is an ambiguous, ghostly space where an illusory representation begins, but ends with a transformed reality, as theater can literally change people’s lives. Most view Romeo and Juliet as one of the great love stories of all time, filled with youthful passion and supercharged poetry, but the tragedy of the finale just has deeper meaning when it actually hits home, where the film finds its own voice in expressing just how bone crushingly sad it really is. It’s an utterly sensational way to bring new life and energy to a classic story, where it’s not just a play, but an emotionally taxing extension of real life, with its multitude of thematic parallels. Much of the time spent is not actually rehearsing scenes, but doing theatrical exercises, meant to instill trust and intimacy with one another, where there’s even a momentary celebration where they let it all out, with everyone dancing awkwardly to Under Pressure, Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure (Classic Queen Mix) YouTube (4:03).
Daisy and Sharon get the wrong idea when they see Dan and Rita hugging on the sidewalk, thinking he’s concealing an affair, but when Daisy confronts him about it, he brings her in to meet the rest of the cast, and they all love and adore her, especially after observing her extraordinary karaoke rendition of I CANT SAY NO - GLORIA GRAHAME YouTube (4:17), which is just a breath of fresh air, and one of the stunning highlights of the film, re-establishing her passion for theater, with the group immediately welcoming her into the fold, with Lanora willing to give her any part she wants. She chooses Mercutio, no questions asked, fitting right in, becoming the heart and soul of the theater troupe, providing that youthful energy so desperately needed. The narrative intertwines several interconnecting storylines, with extraordinary personal moments woven into the preparations for the upcoming theatrical performance, as small details snowball and eventually overwhelm with its sheer force of tragedy, where there’s also a lawsuit involved, adding a layer of conflict and complexity to the family’s struggle, where the editing scheme is extremely successful, building a volcanic emotional arc of suppressed feelings that are only unleashed through the dramatic power of Shakespeare, which is just a different and more heightened way of experiencing the play. For instance, the choice of music interjects something new and warmly familiar to the theatrical marital scene, which we hear as vows are exchanged, Ben E. King - Stand By Me (Audio) YouTube (2:57). Initially, the film establishes who the characters are, allowing viewers to become familiar with them, but by the end it’s just a phenomenal force to be reckoned with, as Dan and his family’s demons need to be exorcised through the collective power of art, but also the real life experiences they are already going through, still grieving over their terrible loss, which makes little to no sense, leaving a horrible void that cannot be processed or extinguished. A film that showcases the behind-the-scenes stories of putting on plays, this community theater experience takes us back to Jonathan Demme’s Who Am I This Time? - made for TV (1982), which couldn’t be a more modest production, where theater provides an emotional catharsis, allowing audiences through the changing times to appreciate the value in these amateur productions, as they work to accentuate the absolute best of the human condition, getting us back in touch with long-repressed emotions, as there’s a therapeutic value of the play in processing our grief, which is at the core of what theater can do. Not everyone is meant for therapy, as there are alternative outlets that include seeking refuge in theater, film, and other artforms. Impossible not to think of John Cassavetes and the incomparable Gena Rowlands in Opening Night (1977), another troubled stage production that delves into the internalized anxieties of an actress who has doubts about playing the role, who thinks it’s all wrong, who wants it changed, even though it was written specifically for her. While Cassavetes grounds his film on the beauty of live theater, where the agonies and self-doubts are brought into the rigorous rehearsals onstage, but the performance is the thing, bringing to life a living and breathing quality to every moment. Uniquely authentic, without an ounce of histrionics or sentimentality, this beautifully written film is an original take on something written hundreds of years ago, yet it feels urgently contemporary, as we are constantly re-evaluating what matters in our lives, but this film explores some of the darkest places with wit and verve and the magic of theater. The stark judgmental beginning of the film couldn’t be more different than the empathetic mood of redemption and forgiveness that we feel in the tear-inducing finale, as we’ve learned to appreciate things we don’t necessarily understand, which may be beyond our control, and accept that it’s part of our life experience, where the recognizable music over the final credits sends us dreamily into lofty heights "Out Of My Dream" scene from Oklahoma! (1955) YouTube (15:19).
