Ghostlight review, portrait of a family in distress

Ghostlight is one of those small indie films that are a delight to find. It probably won’t make a big splash, but it is beautifully done and touching. It’s a story of a family in crisis and how a work of art helped heal their pain.

Ghostlight doesn’t explain the situation. It plunks you in the middle of a family crisis. They know what they are going through but the audience does not. The film was written by Kelly O’Sullivan and directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson.

Dan (Keith Kupferer) is the father. He works a construction job. He’s working in the street outside a tiny community theater space. Rita (an absolutely fabulous Dolly De Leon) is one of the actors. She yells at him for making so much noise, and then recruits him to come be in the play they are rehearsing.

Dan’s wife is Sharon (Tara Mallen). She’s a teacher. Their teen daughter is Daisy (Katherine Mallen Kupferer). (This group of actors are a family in their real life.) Daisy is angry as hell and in trouble at school and at home.

Daisy loves acting, but announces she’s not trying out for the school musical this year. This surprises both her parents.

Dan enters the small theater space with trepidation. He’s no actor. Rita and the people inside won’t take no for an answer. They want him. The cast is small, most of the people are old. He gets sucked in slowly and reluctantly.

They are doing Romeo and Juliette. Dan claims not to know the story and not to know the ending. While this seems impossible to me, Dan not knowing how the play ends is crucial to how the story works out.

While working, taking Daisy to therapy, and worrying over an upcoming deposition that isn’t explained, Dan gets interested in the play and how it feels to experience emotions as someone other than himself. There’s a lot of meta conversation about acting and about what the actor thinks vs. what the character thinks.

Dan and Rita, both in their 50s, end up playing Romeo and Juliette. Ridiculous. Or is it?

By the time the film is over you learn what the family’s problem is and why Romeo and Juliette is particularly relevant to this family. Before the play is performed, the whole family is involved.

Ghostlight is emotional and touching. It’s a bit of a tearjerker, too. You can find this gem of an indie on AMC+ or for rent from Prime Video. If you are able to watch it, I’d love to know your thoughts. The comments are open.