The Light Between Oceans

Coming off of his Ryan Gosling-led crime drama The Place Beyond the Pines, director Derek Cianfrance headed into adaptation (and studio) territory for his next drama. From author M. L. StedmanThe Light Between Oceans follows a lighthouse keeper on a remote island in Australia who, with his wife, rescues a baby they find in a rowboat and raise as their own. Led by Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Rachel Weisz, we now have a new full-length trailer.

Showing off more beautiful cinematography by Adam Arkapaw (Macbeth) and diving deeper into the story, it looks like it could be a promising kick-off for the fall slate of dramas. Set for September 2nd, it’ll miss festivals like TIFF, but perhaps we’ll see it show up earlier at Venice or Telluride, or it’ll skip festivals altogether. Check out the new trailer below.

DreamWorks Pictures’ “The Light Between Oceans” is a heart-breaking drama about fate, love, moral dilemmas and the lengths to which one couple will go to see their dreams realized. Starring Academy Award® nominee Michael Fassbender, Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander, Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Rachel Weisz, Bryan Brown and Jack Thompson, the film is written for the screen and directed by Derek Cianfrance based on the acclaimed novel by M.L. Stedman. The producers are Academy Award nominee David Heyman, p.g.a., and Jeffrey Clifford, p.g.a., with Tom Karnowski, Rosie Alison, Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King serving as executive producers.

In the years following World War I, Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender), a young veteran still numb from his years in combat, takes a job as lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, a remote island off the coast of Western Australia. As the island’s sole inhabitant, he finds comfort in the monotony of the chores and the solitude of his surroundings. When he meets the daughter of the school’s headmaster, Isabel Graysmark (Alicia Vikander), in the local town of Partageuse on the mainland, Tom is immediately captivated by her beauty, wit and passion, and they are soon married and living on the island. As their love flourishes, he begins to feel again, their happiness marred only by their inability to start a family, so when a rowboat with a dead man and infant girl mysteriously washes ashore, Isabel believes their prayers may have finally been answered. As a man of principle, Tom is torn between reporting the lost child and pleasing the woman he loves, and against his better judgment he agrees to let Isabel raise the child as their own, making a choice with devastating consequences.

The Light Between Oceans opens on September 2nd.

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