Liebe zwischen den Meeren (2016)

Liebe zwischen den Meeren: Directed by Derek Cianfrance. With Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz, Florence Clery. A lighthouse keeper and his wife living off the coast of Western Australia raise a baby they rescue from a drifting rowing boat.

“In my review of u0026quot;The Two Faces of Januaryu0026quot; I described it as a film that u0026quot;will be particularly enjoyed by older viewers who remember when story and location were put far ahead of CGI-based special effectsu0026quot;. In watching this film I was again linking in my mind to that earlier film… and that was before the lead character suddenly brought up the two faces of Janus! For this is a good old-fashioned weepy melodrama: leisurely, character based and guaranteed to give the tear ducts a good old cleaning out.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s 1918 and Michael Fassbender plays Tom Sherbourne, a damaged man seeking solitude and reflection after four years of hell in the trenches. As a short-term job he takes the post of lighthouse keeper on the isolated slab of rock called Janus – sat between two oceans (presumably as this is Western Australia, the Indian and the Southern Oceans). The isolation of the job previously sent his predecessor off his trolley.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eEn route to his workplace he is immediately attracted to headmasteru0026#39;s daughter Isabel (Alicia Vikander) who practically THROWS herself at Tom (the hussy), given that they only have snatches of a day at a time to be together during shore leave. Tom falls for her (as a hot blooded man, and with Vikanderu0026#39;s performance, this is entirely believable!) and the two marry to retire to their u0026#39;fortress of solitudeu0026#39; together to raise a family and live happily ever after…. or not… For the path of true motherhood runs not smoothly for poor Isabel, and a baby in a drifting boat spells both joy and despair for the couple as the story unwinds.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e(Iu0026#39;ll stop my synopsis there, since I think the trailer – and other reviews Iu0026#39;ve read – give too much away).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile Fassbender again demonstrates what a mesmerising actor he is, the acting kudos in this one really goes again to Vikander, who pulls out all the stops in a role that demands fragility, naivety, resentment, anger and despair across its course. While I donu0026#39;t think the film in general will trouble the Oscars, this is a leading actress performance that I could well see nominated. In a supporting role, with less screen-time, is Rachel Weisz who again needs to demonstrate her acting stripes in a demanding role. (Also a shout-out to young Florence Clery who is wonderfully naturalistic as the 4 year old Lucy-Grace.) So this is a film with a stellar class, but it doesnu0026#39;t really all gel together satisfyingly into a stellar – or at least particularly memorable – movie. After a slow start, director Derek Cianfrance (u0026quot;The Place Beyond the Pinesu0026quot;) ladles on the melodrama interminably, and over a two hour running time the word overwrought comes to mind.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe script (also by Cianfrance, from the novel by M.L.Stedman) could have been tightened up, particularly in the first reel, and the audience given a bit more time to reflect and absorb in the second half.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film is also curiously u0026#39;place-lessu0026#39;. I assumed this was somewhere off Ireland until someone suddenly starting singing u0026quot;Waltzing Matildau0026quot; (badly) and random people started talking in Aussie accents: most strange.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCinematography by Adam Arkapaw (u0026quot;Macbethu0026quot;) is also frustratingly inconsistent. The landscapes of the island, steam trains, sunsets and the multiple boatings in between is just beautiful (assisted by a delicate score by the great Alexandre Desplat which is well used) but get close up (and the camera does often get VERY close up) and a lack of u0026#39;steadicamu0026#39; becomes infuriating, with faces dancing about the screen and – in one particular scene early on – wandering off on either side with the camera apparently unsure which one to follow! A memorable cinema experience only for Vikanderu0026#39;s outstanding performance. Now where are those tissues…u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e(Agree? Disagree? Please visit bob-the-movie-man.com for the graphical version of the review and to comment. Thanks!)”