Light Years

Light Years is the newest film to be included in a bountiful array of family dramas. Written and directed by up-and-coming filmmaker Esther May Campbell, this independent film seeks to narrate what happens when a family has to cope with a sustainable tragedy.

The mother of the doomed household has a fatal illness for which she needs permanent care in a home. Removed from their mother, the three children of varying ages must fend for themselves while pater familias immerses himself at work to forget about the imminent loss of his spouse.

Light Years has an unfamiliar but notwithstanding talented cast. The main performers are the children (Sophie Burton, James Stuckey and Zamira Fuller), who due to their anomalous upbringing have adapted into socially awkward beings. Burton plays Ramona, the surly teen of the family, who begrudgingly does what she needs to for her siblings; Stuckey plays Ewan, a boy who is overly wise for his age but curious in his behaviours.

The parents (Beth Orton and Muhammet Uzuner) are merely peripheral like most adults in this film, as Light Years is mainly a focus on a child’s ability to cope when times become arduous. They are adept enough, but it is young Fuller as Rose, however, who delivers the most outstanding work in this film. As the rat-loving eight-year-old who did not truly know her mother before she became ill, she is determined to be united with her parent – even, if only for a day.

Light Years is oftentimes surreal, but this is befitting in comparison to a child’s imagination. While certainly not the best of its kind, this is a film about the strenuous journey that is needed to accept certain truths and is well-worth your watch.

Kim Varod

Light Years is released in selected cinemas on 24^th September 2016.

Watch the trailer for Light Years here: