There are some real gems playing at art-house cinemas right now. While “Inside Out 2” is ruling the box office, a few Independent films are having brief runs. These films are brilliant and worth seeking out. Three recent releases showcase talented young actors. Two of the films screened at the Telluride Film Festival last year. “Tuesday” with an amazing performance by Julia Louis Dreyfus as a mother in deep denial and “Janet Planet” stars Julianne Nicholson as the mother, Janet. Both films feature extraordinary work by the young actors playing the daughters in the stories.
“Ghostlight” features a father-daughter dynamic that’s equally brilliant. Warning: mild spoiler alerts ahead.
When a family is shattered by a son’s death, the stress and repressed grief show up in shocking ways. “Ghostlight” stars actors who are related in real life. Father and daughter, Keith Kupferer (Dan) and Katherine Mallen Kupferer (Daisy) share a lot of screen time. Tara Mallen, who plays wife Sharon, is married to Keith and mother to Katherine. They bring their family dynamic to the big screen. It enables the characters to have an easy rapport and deep intimacy.
The film drops you right into the lives of this family. Not only are the parents reeling from the loss of their son, their daughter, Daisy, is acting out at school and may be suspended. Dan has a violent encounter during a road rage incident and must take unpaid leave from his construction job. This forced time away from work and school are crucial for both the story and the character’s journeys.
While Daisy tries to work through her anger and grief through counseling, Dan finds theater provides a therapeutic outlet. The story, written by Kelly O’Sullivan (“Saint Frances”, 2019) and directed by O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, has the feel of Irish folklore. The idea that art can save your soul is not new, but the film makes that concept realistic.
There’s a community theater troupe rehearsing near Dan’s work site. The older Filipino actress playing Juliet (Dolly de Leon) is searching for a Romeo. She recruits Dan. All the aspiring actors feel like people you’d find in a community theater troupe. It’s perfectly cast. There’s a lot of heart, some talent, and lots of bickering and good-natured ribbing. The camaraderie and the chance to forget his troubles act as a balm to Dan’s fiery temper and hurting heart.
What elevates the film is the interactions between the characters. Keith Kupferer is skilled at portraying both the wounded man and the caring father and husband. He’s a walking time bomb headed for a heart attack or jail until he finds some inner peace. Dan must learn to forgive himself and heal his relationship with his wife and daughter. Katherine Kupferer is a talented young actress. She gives Daisy a fiery personality with a trigger fuse like her father. Daisy knows the healing power of theater and welcomes the chance to help her dad.
There’s a little fairy magic sprinkled over the transformation of a school gym with donated props, and hand-sewn costumes. The one-night-only performance gets a touch of glamour in the lighting and staging but there’s still a few seams showing, and a broken scaffolding, to show the community theater budget. Everything comes together, from a work colleague showing up, to the tears of the loving wife, to the vision that Dan has at the end of the play. Dan’s vision of his son watching, like a visiting angel, goes a long way to healing his broken heart.
I highly recommend seeking out these Independent films. It’s wonderful to have strong female representation on the big screen and these young women: Katherine Kupferer, Lola Pettigrew (“Tuesday”), and Zoe Ziegler (“Janet Planet”) should have bright careers ahead of them.
Drinks With Films rating: 3 cans of vending machine sodas at the batting cage, hitting some balls to work out the frustration (out of 5)
Drinks with films 