User Reviews

An unsettling slow burn survival tale with a methodic yet effective reveal, "Light of My Life" is a startling father-daughter road movie, which operates around a pandemic. A pandemic that has devastated the female population. A pandemic that now pits men against each other in desperate times.

Casey Affleck writes, directs and stars. And he is good. Without his usual Bawston drawl, Affleck is actually intelligible, which helps. Helps a lot. As a good guy on the run, even when there appears nowhere to go, Affleck delivers a stark little masterpiece that digs deep into a parent and child bond whilst the outside world is crumbling to hell. Similar to Cormac McCarthy's "The Road", "Light of My Life" relies heavily on the leads, and they shine. They shine when wet, when muddy, when frozen, when filthy, when bloody.

In the end it's not where they go, or what happens, it's about their little world, their unique connection. Affleck and Anna Pniowsky own the screen from the unforgettable opening sequence to the thrilling end. Easy to root for, this one is. Except for the terrible title of course.

• hipCRANK

In my opinion this is an engaging, well acted, tense movie. The ideological undertones are very transparent. Most men are rapists...check. Guns are bad...check (which completely undermines the protective father narrative.) Hero is an Atheist...check. Feminism...check. Some of these viewpoints are more subtle than others, but they're all there. That being said, I really enjoyed this movie. Some of it rings true, Some of it doesn't. The most ridiculous thing is the father's anti-gun stance. It undermines the entire movie,

Missing stuff...leaving questions like what happened to the old guy who ratted them out?? Why not take out the dead bodies and just live in the house?

A little slow moving but good storyline.

Casey affleck wrote and directed It. Good original story and extremely well acted. One thing for sure is Casey can act. However the thing that drove me absolutely nuts is you didnt want to use a weapon to protect your own daughter. The world has gone completely crazy with dangerous people trying to get your daughter... And you dont even want to use a weapon to protect her. Freakin unreal... She had the balls to use one to save your life But you are too much of a puss to use one to protect her... Maybe you can use harsh language to beat off those attackers in the sequel... Ug. Good movie except that huge flaw...

In a time when everyone are animals doing anything they can to survive, everyone would have weapons. Seven years on, the father would not be still thinking "I'll try not to hurt them." BS He would kill and not feel guilty to protect his daughter.

The acting in this was superb and the story was intriguing but...

possible spoilers ahead:

I had a really hard time watching the interactions between the father and daughter. He is never honest and open with the girl about why he's dressing her as a boy or why they have to hide and run. Of course no one wants to discuss the possible rape of one's child but given the really disturbing hints that there were bunkers of women being held for just that, I think it was remarkably stupid of the father not to fill his daughter in.

Also, the fool has no weapons. This is a survival situation and he has no weapon and moreover, in the one useful thing the girl learns in the whole movie (from a kind elderly man), namely how to clean and use a winchester, the father objects. Oh, he's anti gun. well, why not just serve your daughter up on a god damned plate. There is no survival without weapons, not in a situation like this. Even at the end, they don't take the winchester with them. It just blew my mind.

I also find it irritating when child characters are written so foolishly. She disobeyed his instructions to hide repeatedly, asked endless questions and while there's a time for such things, a survival situation like the kind displayed in this movie isn't it. Children are smart and resourceful, esp. at twelve and raised in that environment since practically at birth. She wouldn't be that naive.

The ending is ambiguous, which I also found incredibly irritating. I think it might be read as a girl's coming of age because in the end, the father is a whining, weeping mess and the girl is calm and in control. Their positions have switched. Still...it's left unclear as to what happens, where they will go from there and that rather ruined the movie for me (at least what the father's weapons-aversion didn't already ruin).

It was riveting. I was glued to the screen from start to finish. Sure, there are some similarities to other stories here and there but I thought it was a beautiful piece of work.

Visually Stunning - Those trees and mountains, my goodness!

Incredibly Acted - I know the girl is getting a lot of praise for this, as she should, but the real master at work here (I think) is Casey. What an open, touching, raw performance he gave!

Beautifully shot - Simple but stunning camera work

Believable - Every moment felt real and very believable. I'm certain things would go down in a very similar fashion if this event ever actually happened. Change my mind.

This is a very touching story. I felt every emotion, from the humor to the nearly paralyzing fear to the awkward way he tried to explain the birds and the bees (well done, still awkward as it would be).

Very nicely done!

I felt like there was so much missing in this movie, this could've been so much more! The beginning was way to tedious and long. I almost wanted to walk out of the theater. The middle part was good nothing missing. I was really disappointed with the ending, there was no ending... At least the acting was good, this could've been so much better. Sadly...

I'm writing this review as a father of two daughters and a son. I didn't mind the opening scene, only because it reminded me of all my bed time stories shared with my children. However, this is a movie and Casey made a mistake taking all that time right from the start. I felt like falling asleep listening that long to the opening bedtime story. The point of all the dangers, not to trust anyone, red alerts, emergency getaway plans was a constant throughout. So it's really damn dangerous out there and every day is a life or death struggle. It was drilled into his daughter and the audience. Which leads to the biggest problem. No weapons?! No gun?! No knife?! No bow and arrows?! This is a father struggling to survive a dangerous world with dangerous people and he doesn't have any protection? Was this some kinda anti-gun point? I wouldn't be surprised being how agenda driven Hollywood is. Even so, why not a knife, like a bunch of knives? Use the knives to make a bow and some arrows, a couple spears. How can you hunt for food without some knives, guns, something? As a father I'm writing this review and thinking that was probably the dumbest thing about this movie.

It's really hard to let the no guns aspect go, but putting that aside I really enjoyed the acting and the story. I loved the relationship between the father and his child. That is what kept me focused throughout the movie. Very well done by the young actress and Casey.

Finally the ending...that's the other problem. There was no ending. It was like they ran out of time because of that long opening bedtime story or they ran out of ideas. It goes from an intense scene to black and the credits start. There really is nothing worse than a bad ending, a movie without an ending.

When the Man at the Father's Grandparents House, asked him if he had a Weapon, after he invited them to spend the Night, and the Father said "No", I too found it completely unrealistic that he didn't at least have some Knives, and one or two, planted on his Daughter for her own last ditch Protection... and at least a Couple of them for himself!! He didn't even keep the Fire Poker - too unrealistic!

Then, when he knew that those three Men likely Killed the Friendly Squatters at his Grandparent's House, and then he was forced to Fight one of them who came up into the Attic with a Hammer to Kill the Father, which the Father ended up having to use to Kill or severely wound his Attacker... and then HE JUST TOOK OFF FROM THE ATTIC WITHOUT (THE HAMMER) THAT JUST SAVED HIS LIFE, TO GO ATTACK WHICHEVER BAD MEN WERE STILL ALIVE.... THAT WAS JUST TOO MUCH!! "Light of My Life?" I don't think so!!!!! I am a Father of two Girls and two Boys... and there is no way that I wouldn't use whatever I could as a weapon to defend "The Lights of my Life!" Whenever I had anything that would serve as a weapon during times of Mortal Combat, I certainly wouldn't leave it behind when the threats were still real!

Then too, when he announces the "Red Alert", and was getting ready to lower his Daughter to go to the "Safe Place", he doesn't have her take her (Go Bag) with the Sleeping Bag, as she was about to be going to that Shack, where she/they would otherwise be Freezing to Death! The Father also should have had her Trained, not to make a Beeline Straight for the "Safe Place", as her Tracks could easily be followed!

The Shotgun!!!!!!! It was Bad enough he didn't at least use that Hammer which had just SAVED HIS LIFE.... but then, when once again, a Real Weapon, an Ultimate Short Range Defensive, or Offensive Weapon, the very Weapon that his Daughter SAVED HIS LIFE WITH... he chooses to leave behind!!!!! 😳🙄 Casey, I offer my experience to you, or any other Hollywood Types, who would like to Produce a realistic Story, (FREE OF CHARGE!) for any Future Movies where you would like to make sure that the Main Story Lines make sense, and the use of, or the decision not to use Firearms (or even a Hammer), could use a Down to Earth Father's Input, about the Lengths that he would go through, to Protect his "Light of My Life!"

Greetings again from the darkness. The opening scene features an adolescent child spellbound by the bedtime story being told by a father. The story is an enhanced and personalized version of Noah's Ark, and the scene goes on for at least 10 minutes ... the camera never leaving their faces. What appears to be a simple campout turns curious, if not a bit ominous, as the father is next shown taking down a rigged security system and hiding certain personal items. This is the narrative feature directorial debut for Casey Affleck, who also wrote the story, produced the film, and is the lead actor (the father noted above).

As the daily rituals of these two characters unfold, the pieces of the puzzle come together and we learn there has been what is described as QTB - a female plague - that has killed off most of the females on the planet. As if a world of only men isn't frightening enough, the father's traveling companion is soon revealed to be a young girl disguised as a boy. This creates the ominous tone and explains the ever-present danger for these two, as rumor has it that the few remaining women are being held captive in camps to prevent the entire species from being eliminated. This is the story of one man's efforts to protect his precious daughter from a society gone awry.

Anna Pniowsky establishes herself as a young actress to keep an eye on, as she is terrific as Rag, the daughter in disguise. Wise beyond her years, and though she has a general understanding of the constant threat, she is also quite curious about herself, her mother, and this bizarre world she is traversing with the only person in the world she can trust. Elisabeth Moss appears as the mother during flashbacks for Affleck's character. This previous home life was a peaceful and loving environment, but the mother was stricken by the plague not long after giving birth to the daughter.

In contrast to the motherly environment, this father-daughter bond and existence requires constant preparation for escape. They must always be ready to "go" at a moment's notice. Their red alerts and back-up plans are discussed and repeated. Their life in hiding means they never know who they can trust, and their solution is to distrust everyone - even though the father explains not all men are the enemy. His low key sense of calmness masks the constant stress they face.

Mr. Affleck is an Oscar winning actor (MANCHESTER BY THE SEA), and he shows some promise as a filmmaker (after his previous experiment with Joaquin Phoenix in I'M STILL HERE). Expert cinematography is provided by Emmy winner Adam Arkapaw ("True Detective" season one). At its core, the film is a story of the bond between father and daughter; however, it's wrapped in a survival story. They strive to survive the next hour, the next day, and the next night. The film is a blend of CHILDREN OF MEN (2006), THE ROAD (2009) and LEAVE NO TRACE (2018), yet it brings a different tone and an emphasis to just how far a parent will go to protect their child. It's a dystopian tale with a splash of gender identity questions, and a bond between father and daughter best surmised with their own words, "I love you to the sun and back."

This movie is worth a watch . I found it to be good thriller .. there were several times I was worried for the main characters.. and at the edge of my seat. I really liked the goodness of the religious man and thought they could be happy there.

I did find silly he did not have a gun or other weapons.

Not perfect but suspenseful and held my interest.

But for him to leave the attic and go back down into the house leaving the hammer is just 100% unrealistic and stupid....and just the fact that he wasn't carrying a weapon. There are all kinds of weapons. ... in the end, a beautiful movie, but come on liberal Hollywood, keep it realistic.