Ghostlight, 2024.
Directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson.
Starring Keith Kupferer, Dolly de Leon, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Tara Mallen, Hanna Dworkin, Dexter Zollicoffer, H.B. Ward, Tommy Rivera-Vega, Alma Washington, Matthew C. Yee, Marlene Slaughter, Bradley Grant Smith, Lia Cubilete, Cindy Gold, Charlie Lubeck, Francis Guinan, Sarab Kamoo, Charin Alvarez, Anthony Lee Irons, Deanna Dunagan, Jaci Williamson, and Santino Craven.
SYNOPSIS:
When a construction worker unexpectedly joins a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet, the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life.
With every small revelation (each one feels like a piece to a puzzle), it feels as if filmmakers Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson are like Icarus, flying the narrative of Ghostlight too close to the sun regarding what it’s doing with its Romeo and Juliet meta-spin. The magic trick pulled off here is that it never actually feels too much or like it’s being laid on too thick, and that’s primarily because the emotions within the Shakespearean-like melodrama feel authentic. Everything stings more with each new detail we learn about the family at the center of the film, how the tragic loss of their son/brother has affected them, and the circumstances of his death.
Dan (Keith Kupferer, Vulnerable and explosive in equal measure, delivering a magnificent pained performance that would probably generate awards buzz if he were a bigger star, if the film was being released by a larger distributor, and the release date was closer to that season)) is the blue-collar Illinois construction worker trying to hold the family together, which consists of his wife Sharon (Tara Mallen) and rebellious, foul-mouthed problem child Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer), both of whom are played by his real-life wife and daughter.
He hasn’t given him or the family the time and space to grieve properly yet, preparing for a lawsuit being filed against the son’s girlfriend’s family, implying that she was partially responsible for his death. More importantly, Dan is angry inside with a short fuse, just as quick to lash out as a heckling driver annoyed by his construction work as much as he is comfortable verbally blowing up on his wife and daughter, which they seem to think is a defense mechanism from dealing with reality.
Dolly De Leon’s Rita notices Dan’s on-the-job meltdown and decides to casually invite him into the local theater group she participates in, which is preparing their faithful but middle-aged take on Romeo and Juliet (the film excels at tackling the nature of storytelling and the act of putting oneself inside someone else’s shoes.) Even though his daughter has put on a few school performances, Dan is somewhat lost, doesn’t know how to project his voice, and doesn’t quite grasp what it means to play a character who says and behaves differently from oneself or how stage performance can provide catharsis. Nevertheless, he finds himself reciting lines in the car on the way home and conversing with Daisy about Romeo and Juliet without telling her what he has gotten into.
In what could have become a cringeworthy, manipulative, tasteless gimmick, aspects of Romeo and Juliet play into what this family has recently gone through. It also causes Dan to retreat or blow up once those parallels become more apparent in the rehearsal process. Once Dan discovers Romeo and Juliet die at the end (one of many odd contrivances here that don’t drag the story down too much considering how gripping and real everything feels despite that), his natural reaction is flipping out and requesting the ending be changed, condemning Shakespeare in the process.
Eventually, the whole family gets involved, with this scrappy production and its emotional resonance possibly able to save this family from collapsing. Dan has been arguing with Sharon frequently, who hasn’t been given a chance to grieve her son. Daisy struggles with authority and finds herself nearly expelled (rather conveniently once she enters the play and begins rehearsing), having also lost her passion for the arts before this. Katherine Mallen Kupferer is also given room to deliver a sometimes loud and brash performance, which gives her troublemaking antics the feel of a sitcom character and can sometimes feel at odds with the more serious-minded storytelling at hand, but nevertheless delivers a winning performance.
Naturally, there is strong, believable chemistry between all family members. Also tender is the dynamic between Dan and Rita, as the latter imparts wisdom on the power of the arts while also opening up about her life and what getting the chance to play Juliet means to her, even if the rationale of young love doesn’t align with two older performers in the titular roles.
Ghostlight uses this artistic exercise to build to catharsis and acceptance gradually; it’s powerful in concept and execution with terrific, lived-in performances. Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson are smartly doing something Shakespearean outside of the on-screen Romeo and Juliet performance, dialed into the right tone that the material needs to register as emotionally bruising rather than an eye-rolling melodramatic disaster. It’s a daring and audacious balancing act that doesn’t seem like it is going to work until each soul-stirring moment lands as intended.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
