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Exploring the Theaterapeutic
Films that begin with an angry older man venting his feelings invariably end with that anger diminished, overcome, replaced by some more positive, admirable way of behaving, understanding, and being. Just as invariably, the turnaround is triggered by a therapeutic encounter—the counsel of a priest, the advice of a good friend over drinks, an understanding spouse, weekly sessions on a psychologist’s couch. And, if it’s well done—and “Ghostlight,” co-directed by Kelly O’Sullivan (her first feature) and Alex Thompson, deserves that accolade—you won’t learn the source of the older man’s bitterness for quite a while, and then in fits and starts, and the genre will be, if not disguised, at least nestled in a thoughtfully contrived frame that expands rather than narrows the questions being raised. That’s “Ghostlight” in a nutshell.
Above, Dan (Keith Kupferer, in foreground from the back), a city street construction worker,
is confronted by Rita (Dolly De Leon), whose amateur acting company
has been disturbed by the construction noise.
The angry man is Dan (Keith Kupferer), an ordinary, 50-year-old family guy, who operates an earth-mover at a downtown (the Chicago exurb, Waukegan) construction site. When his repression explodes in an assault on a complaining motorist, he’s suspended from his job, and too embarrassed to tell his wife. His family (it’s the Kupferer family in real life) could be of help at this moment, but they’re suffering too, and in ways that can’t help Dan, mainly (and delightfully) expressed in his daughter Daisy’s (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) outrageous behavior as a feisty, embittered teen. His wife Sharon’s (Tara Mallen) efforts to mourn by toiling in a particular garden plot only make matters worse. Dan doesn’t respond well to standard couch therapy.
Dan doesn’t respond well to standard couch therapy.
Fortunately, Dan’s angst and depression have been noticed by Rita (Dolly De Leon, “Triangle of Sadness,” 2022). Rita has had her own, rather minor conflict with Dan, over the construction din that’s been irritating her nearby mostly amateur acting company: “You look like someone who might want to be someone else for a while.”
The therapist has arrived, and it isn’t just Rita, but the “third space” (not family, not work) of the legitimate theater.
The therapist has arrived, and it isn’t just Rita, but the “third space” (not family, not work) of the legitimate theater, with all that encompasses: the power of making a play, of being part of a production—of something both obviously artificial and yet intensely real; the representation of real emotion (method acting) before an audience, holding out the possibility of catharsis; the ease of expressing oneself in someone else’s words; the idea that acting involves the possibility of being “someone else,” even if that someone else is younger or a different race or gender; the role of acting—whatever form it might take--as therapy. And all, in this case, played out in the production and presentation of one of William Shakespeare’s great tragedies. The play within the film.
Right, Dan (Kupferer) and Rita (De Leon) share an "acting" kiss. Does the
stage kiss incorporate some reality?
What is the role of acting?
There’s much to enjoy here. The film (and the acting company within the film) is perfectly cast, the characters nicely drawn. De Leon is intense as complex and in-charge Rita, and the amateur troop (mostly Chicagoans) is appropriately amateurish. Dan and his family (real and otherwise) deliver nothing but honesty and credibility. Scenes of Dan’s emotional migration, as a participant in the theater company’s preparation and rehearsals, and onstage in Shakespeare’s world, are genuinely moving, bringing Shakespeare’s words into the present. And, of course, there are all those questions about the theater and acting to ponder. Is acting inherently therapeutic?
Scenes of Dan’s emotional migration are genuinely moving.
“Ghostlight” is a welcome addition to the genre of films that incorporate a play, short of an adaption. Among the best of these are “Shakespeare in Love” (1998, “Romeo and Juliet”), “The Salesman” from Iran (2016, “Death of a Salesman”), and the 1996 documentary with Al Pacino, “Looking for Richard” (“Richard III”).
It’s all too pat.
Unlike in those notable works, with “Ghostlight” one wishes for a trifle more subtlety, for less melodrama, less contrivance, a bit less performance fantasy (they locate a stage and sound equipment and make costumes 4 days before their one-night performance), a respite from the therapeutic. It’s all too pat. O’Sullivan, who wrote the screenplay, seems infatuated with performance as a healing device. Not only is Dan ultimately transformed, but his daughter Daisy is too, emerging from her own depression while doing a karaoke version of “I Cain’t Say No” from the musical “Oklahoma!”. A deposition comes across more as a performance than a legal proceeding, and it’s preceded by the over-the-top stuffed giraffe scene that makes that whole process moot.
Above, Dan's daughter Daisy (a delightful Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Keith's daughter
in real life), comes out of her own emotional nadir (a little too cloyingly)
with a karaoke performance of "I Cain't Say No" from "Oklahoma!"
The episode that has overturned Dan’s life, and the Shakespearian tragedy that parallels it, overlap perhaps too closely. A friend and Shakespeare scholar suggested one should read the film and its stage analogy not as an overly contrived analogic narrative that distorts reality, but as a parable. “Don’t fall into the representational trap,” he advised.
Dan plays Romeo.
Despite its flaws, “Ghostlight” is one of the more interesting filmic explorations of the therapeutic.
He says: For all the good questions it asks, I felt at times as if I were watching the Hallmark Channel.
She says: The title puzzled me until I found out it’s a term referring to the theater tradition of keeping one light lit on stage, even when the theater is dark, a sign of good luck or warding off bad luck.
Date: 2024
Directors: Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson
Starring: Keith Kupferer, Dolly De Leon, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Tara Mallen
Country: United States
Language: English
Runtime: 115 minutes
Other Awards: 5 wins and 16 other nominations
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