Without this solid foundation, the strong performances and captivating original story are brought down. When the drama finally begins in The Light Between Oceans, the impact of the scenes are not as strong, as the film has already let viewers down and failed to engage them completely within the story.

The film drags its viewers along, barely keeping their attention.

Viewers will go into the film expecting a heartbreaking story of loss and agony, yet will find themselves waiting for the heartbreak to begin. The decision to extend scenes and emotions in this film was one that caused it to suffer greatly. Many decisions within a film can make it or break it. The movie follows the arc of their love story – through all the wonderful moments, as well as through the most devastating. Hesitantly, Tom accepts – that is until a few years later, while visiting the mainland, he finds the child’s grief-stricken mother. Isabel convinces her husband Tom not to report the finding, as is his duty – that instead they can say it was their child, that the child they had been expecting came early. The day following the loss of their second unborn child, a rowboat washes ashore with a young infant inside. Newly married, and eager to begin a family, their lives are quickly marred with tragedy, as Isabel experiences multiple miscarriages. The Light Between Oceans is the story of a young couple living together in isolation, operating a lighthouse on Janus Rock.

The story itself is heartbreaking, and it is very clear why a studio would have thought it would make a good movie, yet this is one occasion where the movie should have stayed a book. While the story the author had intended to tell came through clearly on the big screen, accurately depicting the book’s themes and symbolism, it was lost at times through long, drawn-out scenes that threatened to lose the attention of viewers.

The light between oceans author