A drama that explores grief, family and vulnerability ‘Ghostlight’ centers around blue collar worker Dan (Keith Kupferer). After suffering a devastating loss he finds himself joining a local community theater's production of Romeo and Juliette. Bereaved and unable to face his own emotions, Dan discovers the therapeutic nature of art.
Unfolding slowly, the film presents Dan as a simple yet troubled man. Having to deal with this daughter’s outbursts at school, Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) is more openly unsettled by the tragedy that had befallen their family.
Quiet and reserved about the exact nature of what had transpired to Dan, Daisy and Sharon (Tara Mallen), the family matriarch, ‘Ghostlight’ keeps the intrigue high until eventually revealing that Dan’s son Brian had committed suicide. In a relationship that his parents had forbidden Brian from pursuing, he and his girlfriend Christine had planned a joint suicide, where Dan had been able to resuscitate Christine on finding the two, but not his son.
Preparing for an upcoming deposition and finding it increasingly more difficult to express himself, an outburst at work leads to Dan being suspended. A chance encounter with actress Rita (Dolly De Leon) opens Dan to the opportunity of joining the local community theater production of Romeo and Juliette. Initially reluctant, Dan begins to open up and finds himself facing his emotions through the rehearsal sessions.
Presenting a deeply repressed individual, ‘Ghostlight’ forms a deep character study around Keith Kupferer’s Dan. Anchoring the film, Dan has to overcome his upbringing and deeply ingrained experience of keeping his emotions bottled up in order to be able to grieve his son. Initiated by his outburst at work, Dan slowly begins to take steps towards recognizing his feelings, allowing for them to slowly come to the surface.
Intertwining the narrative with William Shakespeare’s tragedy, the film allows for its main character to learn of the play and try to understand his son’s actions at the same time. Step by step, purging his emotions, Kupferer delves deeper and manages to explore his feelings about the situation, culminating in a form of acceptance as he performs the play and executes the climactic scene in parallel of tributing a final goodbye to his son.
Not with a singular focus however, ‘Ghostlight’ further explores the grief the other family members are experiencing, and how repressed and muted discussions about a lost loved one further exacerbate and drive apart the remaining family members. Dealing more closely with Daisy, a high schooler with a penchant for drumming up trouble, the young girl tries to open up about her feelings, more often resulting in angry tirades rather than a discussion about what has transpired.
Exploring each individual characters inability to face what has happened, the film focuses on the progressive nature of how coming to terms with loss is healthier and more natural than resigning oneself to avoiding the subject entirely. Culminating in the deposition where Dan faces Christine and her parents, the man opens up about his sense of dread, not being able to help his son and the ultimate regret of having lost him.
With a slow opening and frustrated feelings of anger and rage, ‘Ghostlight’ brings to the big screen a very intimate and complicated tapestry of a small family and a grave loss. Exploring the complicated nature of grief and people’s inability to deal with those emotions, the film concludes on an absolute gut-punch as Dan is able to pour his heart out to his family, to the others involved and most imporantly himself. A small film about grand issues, ‘Ghostlight’ examines the darkest experience that can befall one and deals with it in a therapeutic manner, letting people explore how art, and more specifically the theater, can help us cope, understand and maybe even overcome that which we’re unable to face as ourselves.
Score: 4/4
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