“Island of misfit toys” Rita (Dolly De Leon)
Rita aptly describes her ramshackle community-theater group and unknowingly describes the tough family at the heart of the dramedy film Ghostlight. Having survived an unbearable tragedy, construction worker dad, Dan (Keith Kupferer), secretly joins the group to play Romeo, in an adaptation of the Bard’s colossal tragedy that mirrors the challenges of the film’s nuclear family.
Writer, director Kelly O’Sullivan (along with co-director Alex Thompson) shows the therapeutic value of theater, just as director Greg Kwedar did for Sing Sing, in which prisoners found redemption from theater productions. The family finds out about Dan’s secret life, eventually healing because of it.
The film’s actual acting family of Keith, outspoken teen Daisy played by his daughter Katherine Mallen Kupferer), and mother Sharon played by wife/mother Tara Mallen lends a spirit to the film whereby each gently-revealed setback can’t destroy the love they feel for each other on stage and real life. Oscar nominations should follow that real family.
Arthur Miller would approve the admixture of love, humor, and tragedy in one of the two best movies of the year. To see it at holiday time is to remind us the salutary effect of quality family drama in film, theater, and life itself. Streaming on Prime.
Ghostlight
Directors: Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson (Saint Frances)
Screenplay: Kelly O’Sullivan (Saint Frances)
Cast: Keith Kupferer (Widows), Katherine Mallen Kupferer (Are You There? It’s Me, Margaret)
Rating: R
Length: 1h 55m
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts NPR’s It’s Movie Time and Cinema Classics as well as podcasts Back Talk and Double Take (recently listed by Feedspot as two of the ten best NPR Movie Podcasts) out of WCBE 90.5 FM, Columbus, Ohio. Contact him at JohnDeSando52@gmail.com