It's December 1918. Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender) returns from the war tired and seeking isolation. He takes a job at a remote lighthouse and marries local girl Isabel Graysmark (Alicia Vikander). She has miscarriage after miscarriage. One day, they find a boat washed ashore with a baby and a dead man aboard. She wants to keep her and convinces Tom to cover up the discovery. He learns of Hannah Roennfeldt (Rachel Weisz) who lost her husband Frank and their baby when a mob chased the German to row out into the sea.
This is beautifully filmed but slow as heck. There is limited tension. It is overwrought and a big emotional epic. Being over two hours does not help. The first half hour lacks any tension with the no drama courtship. There is a flatness to the start of the movie that throws the rest into jeopardy. It never picks up enough speed to truly get started. It would be an easy fix but the movie is intentionally without action. Tom is haunted by war but the movie doesn't show any war scenes. Frank's escape from the mob could be heart-pounding but it doesn't show that either. The story-telling seems very old fashion but it's darn beautiful. By the time the movie get emotionally epic, it had already spent almost two hours of bumping around.
This is beautifully filmed but slow as heck. There is limited tension. It is overwrought and a big emotional epic. Being over two hours does not help. The first half hour lacks any tension with the no drama courtship. There is a flatness to the start of the movie that throws the rest into jeopardy. It never picks up enough speed to truly get started. It would be an easy fix but the movie is intentionally without action. Tom is haunted by war but the movie doesn't show any war scenes. Frank's escape from the mob could be heart-pounding but it doesn't show that either. The story-telling seems very old fashion but it's darn beautiful. By the time the movie get emotionally epic, it had already spent almost two hours of bumping around.