Coincidentally, our next Film Society presentation is another film about the transformative power of art, although very different than Sing Sing.
In Ghostlight, Dan Mueller, a grieving construction worker who has suffered an unthinkable loss, finds solace in the most unexpected of places.
The tragedy has hit each of the Meuller family differently and each has fallen apart in their own way. Dan’s wife Sharon is hanging by a thread, trying to hold their family together, and his teenage daughter Daisy is nearing expulsion from school after a rage-fuelled self-destructive fury.
Dan is a blue-collar guy who doesn’t believe in therapy or talking through his feelings, so suffers in silence. Nobody understands the depth of his sorrow, and, when he’s on the edge of either imploding or exploding, he finds himself offered a distraction.
Rita, an actress in the local acting troupe, convinces Dan to join their production of Romeo and Juliet. Dan gets recruited to fill in as Romeo to Rita’s Juliet. Reluctant at first, Dan decides to continue with the play as an escape from mounting stress at work, communication problems at home and an approaching legal case. n time, his daughter also gets involved with the troupe which is filled with quirky and hilarious characters, which provides some much-needed comic relief.
As we watch behind-the-scenes preparation for the play, the film slowly disseminates the tragedy that has caused the family so much pain, grief and anger, and the more you learn, the more you start to feel the weight of it yourself. Watching Dan put all of his pain into acting is such a powerful journey to witness – the final performance is as heartwarming and heartbreaking as can be. Theatre becomes the therapy that brings the family together in a purpose that doesn’t have to do with the tragedy.
Ghostlight plays at 5:00 Saturday, October 19 at the Classic.
