Michael Fassbender

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#19,486
I hope people won't read all these posts with spoilers. Some would love to enjoy the movie. I will. [emoji173]️[emoji173]️[emoji173]️
I love fassbender, vikander, fassbender+vikander, weisz, Cianfrance, the book and more and more. [emoji6]
It's enough for me here.
 
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#19,488
Powered by Strong Performances, The Light Between Oceans Could Fill a Sea With Tears
TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2016 AT 7 A.M.
BY APRIL WOLFE
Tension and release is the driving principle of a tearjerker, where every good fortune is countered by something worse. And as dismissive as critics often are of the genre, it’s actually quite difficult for a director to make people cry en masse and genuinely feel things. Derek Cianfrance’s foreboding melodrama The Light Between Oceans follows a quiet lighthouse keeper whose family crest seems emblazoned with misery after the end of the first World War, until he meets a woman who will marry and join him on his own private island. Then, of course, the results of this isolationism are also catastrophically sad. But for all the tragedy descending upon the characters of this film, it’s difficult to muster adequate tears — not because the acting is lackluster (it’s incredible, actually), but because the onslaught of melancholia is so relentless that it’s near impossible to refill the tear reserves.

Cianfrance may be the best actors’ director working in the business today. His heartbreaking relationship drama Blue Valentine (2010) is unrivaled in its realism, complexity and compassion, achieved through intense development with his two leads, Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams — they lived in a house together for months to create their characters and dialogue. In this film, the trifecta of Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander and Rachel Weisz could themselves sweep the acting categories at the Oscars.

Fassbender is Tom Sherbourne, a quiet man who saw so much death in the war that he’s convinced he can never be allowed in the same room with happiness. He does surrender to joy, however, in the form of a young woman, Isabel Graysmark (Vikander). The two become married and retreat to the lighthouse on Janus Island, where Tom is the keeper. They frolic in the breeze-blown grasses until they must stake not one but two gravesites for babies who didn’t make it to term. Isabel’s grief resonates as she heaves, sobs and gasps while sitting at her piano, realizing her body’s betrayal; we watch her confused emotions as stray, unsure smiles ripple over her face for a full minute in this scene. The couple’s loss is compounded by their circumstances — with so many dead after the war, they feel it's imperative that they procreate — and their remoteness. So when a baby washes ashore in a rowboat, the event seems almost a blessing, but the baby’s accompanied by a dead body, and Tom knows an albatross when he sees one.

The context and the substance of this story are heart-wrenching, but Cianfrance sometimes relies too heavily on our “mirror” neurons — watching people cry continually for two hours becomes more numbing (or grating) than moving. And the characters become frustrating, despite the performances. Playing into this is the economic film language Cianfrance employs to swiftly carry the story along (it’s based on a novel, so there’s much ground to cover). He uses pre-lapping dialogue, an artful montage technique in which words spoken in a new scene are heard before the film has cut from the preceding one.

This allows Cianfrance to convey the characters' thoughts while making room for more quick, soundless moments to add texture to the story. For the first two acts of The Light Between Oceans, the technique is seamless and mastered (his longtime editors Jim Helton and Ron Patane deserve much credit for their work). But toward the end, I found myself begging for a break, for just one lengthy scene where no women had wet eyes to round it all out.

As with any brazenly romantic and tearful film, there are clichés: Women are carried and prostrate more often than they are walking, and men are always hugging their pregnant women from behind while the female is washing dishes or cooking. But the sense of authenticity that marks The Light Between Oceans at its best has everything to do with the acting — and if all Cianfrance ever gives us is that, it’s worth the price of his lagging third act

http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/fil...en-oceans-could-fill-a-sea-with-tears-8034485
Another review that talks about lacking storyline and lacking character development. but praises the cinematography and acting.
 
#19,489
Another review https://t.co/Uun5Kk3eja

When I learned Academy Award winners Rachel Weisz and Alicia Vikander and 12 Years A Slave/Steve Jobs nominee Michael Fassbender had a film release based on the novel of one of my favorite writers M.L. Stedman, I knew this was a must see.
Stedman’s “The Light Between Oceans” was published in the U.S. in July 2012. Immediately embraced by readers and critics alike, it landed on both The New York Times and USA Today’s bestseller lists, as well as, Amazon’s Best Book of the Month for August of that year. Since then, it has been translated into over 35 languages.
Having said that, I often thought that the “light” referred to the lighthouse, which is a staple fixture of symbolism in the novel and the film. However, after seeing the film I realized the “light” symbolizes love, loss and the secrets that bubble to the surface.
You know that old saying…”What’s done in the dark comes to light”? Well, baby what comes to light in this film affects everyone on-screen and is emotionally wrenching. It just goes to show you that love is an emotion that sometimes transcend all reason and common sense. After all, you only have to forgive once. Resentment takes too much work.
Michael Fassbender as Lighthouse keeper Tom Sherbourne is a tortured soul. When asked about Tom, the actor commented, “These things happen in life where you have to make a choice that has no simple or right answer. The story’s not about judging who is good and who is bad. It’s really about how we deal with the outcomes of our choices, and to me that is what defines us as human beings.” Fassbender is a chameleon when it comes to inhabiting characters, which is the thing great actors are made of. His vulnerability is admirable, yet sad and pathetic all at once. I adore him.
Alicia Vikander as Isabel is beautiful, spirited and determined. Very much like her character from her Oscar-winning turn in The Danish Girl, complete with tears. I love her, but Im’ma need her to do a drama without crying through the whole film.
Rachel Weisz was right on the money as Hannah Roennfeldt. Every emotion she spoke through her actions and not necessarily with words. Like Vikander, most of her scenes were extremely emotionally heart-wrenching. Weisz is a class-act and one of her most intense scenes comes in Hannah’s first face-to-face encounter with Isabel after her daughter (Lucy)returns. “It’s two devoted mothers facing off,” describes Weisz, “And it’s highly charged.”
Set in a remote part Western Australia, following the devastation of the Great War, the imagery is absolutely gorgeous and made me want to go find a lighthouse on the beach to live in far away from the noise of today’s society.
The Light Between Oceans is a beautiful love story of relationships and what one does when faced with a choice to do the right thing…or not. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures for Dreamworks, The Light Between Oceans is released in a theatre near you on September 2nd.
 
#19,490
FassbenderLover said:
Someone watched TLBO
bellpickle 18h18 hours ago so I watched a preview screening of the light between oceans and it was kinda disappointing
pros: really beautifully shot, well-acted, and the premise is inherently interesting
cons: vikander's character is painfully one-dimensional compared to weisz and fassbender it's a shame for an actress of vikander's talent
aside from one fleeting expression of guilt, for 90% of the movie vikander is never shown harboring feelings of guilt/doubt/indecision
Bell ‏@bellpickle it's so frustrating because the writers had such an opportunity to make her character just complex & realized as fassbender & weisz's
Bell ‏@bellpickle MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD: in the end, vikander even dies off screen which really takes the air out of what little development she had
by choosing to focus on fassbender, the movie really does become a prototypical adam & eve esque story of a woman tempting a man to do evil
other than the lifetime movie comparison, this summarizes the rant I went on last night

CrHPnNvUAAARMG8.jpg
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LOL Lifetime movie comment is embarrassing. Derek Cianfrance should have focused more on writing a good script than playing cupid. Too late now.
 
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#19,491
Esizzle said:
LOL Lifetime movie comment is embarrassing. Derek Cianfrance should have focused more on writing a good script than playing cupid. Too late now.
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I was actually thinking that this could almost have played well as a silent film. Very little happened that their facial expressions, the camera angles, or the sweeping panoramic shots didn't convey much more eloquently than words. It made the script seem almost superfluous--you can tell Cianfrance wrote it and thought of it as just another tool in the director's toolbox, if that makes sense. An interesting approach--the anti-Steve Jobs, in a way.

Sadly I think that reviewer totally missed the crux of Isabel's character.
 
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#19,492
aprilmayjune said:
I was actually thinking that this could almost have played well as a silent film. Very little happened that their facial expressions, the camera angles, or the sweeping panoramic shots didn't convey much more eloquently than words. It made the script seem almost superfluous--you can tell Cianfrance wrote it and thought of it as just another tool in the director's toolbox, if that makes sense. An interesting approach--the anti-Steve Jobs, in a way.

Sadly I think that reviewer totally missed the crux of Isabel's character.
Click to expand...

Oh, did you see it? I may have missed that post.
 
#19,496
FassbenderLover said:
Meaning, they hooked up day 1 on set LOL
Whatever they had in the beginning fizzled looong time ago. Now its all about staying together to promote a movie. If the movie doesn't get any nods for next awards season they might split before year's end, if not, then after awards season. (HUGE) IF anything else happens, ie engagement, its for publicity then split after awards season. I do not see them getting married at all when neither one is ready. Or even like each other at this point
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This thing that actors need engagements to be nominated is hilarious,honestly. But I've given up.. And don't worry.. Vikander has won an Oscar and Fassbender has been nominated some months ago.. I doubt they feel the need to nominate them again this year.

carmencrem said:
Lol you and Selayang would like this tho; the second one (!!):
View attachment 3453449
View attachment 3453450
I never saw Cianfrance as a sort of Malick, he's more "real". Way more real. I think they're pretty opposite. But maybe this time it was the cinematography and the gorgeous landscape.. [emoji57]
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I've read other people comparing the first part to Malick. I guess it's for the pace,landscape and cinematography.

carmencrem said:
Yeah it's difficult this movie will get only positive reviews.
I'm pretty sure they'll praise the cast and cinematography (not so sure about the script/directing bc I haven't seen it yet and most of all bc every negative review was more about the directing part and the script/plot than the performances) but I'm not sure everybody's gonna like it. It's okay! [emoji1316][emoji2]
Romances are often a bit underrated nowadays, and many people find them boring (I just don't know HOWWWW) or just non interesting enough. But luckily the movie brings up other important issues too ;)
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I've read some mixed "reviews" and the performances are always praised. I'm sure they've done an amazing work. I expect some complaints about some plot points being too predictable,which is not the director's fault because that is the story. I've not read the book but I'm sure that some things can be treated differently and with more nuance using a different medium.

FassbenderLover said:
Someone watched TLBO
bellpickle 18h18 hours ago so I watched a preview screening of the light between oceans and it was kinda disappointing
pros: really beautifully shot, well-acted, and the premise is inherently interesting
cons: vikander's character is painfully one-dimensional compared to weisz and fassbender it's a shame for an actress of vikander's talent
aside from one fleeting expression of guilt, for 90% of the movie vikander is never shown harboring feelings of guilt/doubt/indecision
Bell ‏@bellpickle it's so frustrating because the writers had such an opportunity to make her character just complex & realized as fassbender & weisz's
Bell ‏@bellpickle MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD: in the end, vikander even dies off screen which really takes the air out of what little development she had
by choosing to focus on fassbender, the movie really does become a prototypical adam & eve esque story of a woman tempting a man to do evil
other than the lifetime movie comparison, this summarizes the rant I went on last night
Click to expand...
That "review" has been already posted by carmen.. And these obscure blogs are irrelevant,even if some of them are added to R&T.

carmencrem said:
I hope people won't read all these posts with spoilers. Some would love to enjoy the movie. I will. [emoji173]️[emoji173]️[emoji173]️
I love fassbender, vikander, fassbender+vikander, weisz, Cianfrance, the book and more and more. [emoji6]
It's enough for me here.
Click to expand...
Eh..
Esizzle said:
LOL Lifetime movie comment is embarrassing. Derek Cianfrance should have focused more on writing a good script than playing cupid. Too late now.
Click to expand...
Apparently,we have the critical response.. :rolleyes:
 
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#19,497
mollie12 said:
I think this is the first review from an official newspaper, top critic on RT, or critic that's counted on Metacritic, and it is a brutal pan.

http://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/the-light-between-oceans-soap-gets-in-your-teary-eyes/
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"This is one of the core problems with “The Light Between Oceans,” a gorgeous but plodding and borderline ludicrous period-piece weeper. We’re supposed to feel for Isabel and Tom and the plight they find themselves in — but THEY PUT THEMSELVES IN THAT SITUATION, and what they’ve done isn’t just criminal, it’s cruel."

This particular part of the review reminds me of mchriss calling Tom and Isabel baby kidnappers. Made me laugh out loud.
 
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#19,498
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