Light From Light
“Light From Light” tells the story of a woman fascinated in the paranormal, and whom has lived with prophetic dreaming over her life. She has some renown- we see her on a radio show early in the film- but she also works a dead-end job at a rental car desk while trying to provide for her son. One day, a priest hears her on the radio, and reaches out to her; he has a friend whom might be experiencing paranormal activity, and he wants Sheila (Marin Ireland) to investigate. She goes to meet Richard (Jim Gaffigan), and takes his case.
This is a very simple premise for writer-director Paul Harrill, and one of the things I like about it is how small a story it is. While there subplots involving Sheila’s son (Owen, played by Josh Wiggins) and a classmate he likes (Lucy, played by Atheena Frizzell), the fundamental story revolves around whether Richard has a spirit in his presence, and whether Sheila can prove it. There is a connection between the two that drives their story together beyond the paranormal idea, and Ireland and Gaffigan (whom between this and “Them That Follow” is proving himself to be a really interesting character actor) have a nice, palpable chemistry that holds our interest. I’m not sure that Harrill really lands the emotional and spiritual punches he wants to land with these characters. They both have events in their lives that have led them towards believing in a world not of our own, but I don’t feel much of a belief in that world on the part of Harrill’s screenplay, or a conviction to really get to the emotional truth of these characters, that is necessary to making this film work. Even for an 82-minute, it feels as though there is too much “fat” on the story with a romantic subplot involving Owen and Lucy that doesn’t really amount to much. Our interest lies in what this story means for Sheila and Richard, and even though it has a moving final act that gets some emotional closure, and even leaves us (and the characters) some questions about what’s real, it isn’t really enough to have this film give us the impact it wants us to have.
