I haven't read the book, so this based entirely on the film. Loved the windswept grasses on the island, the lighthouse interior, period clothing, especially the knitted baby caps and sweaters, the birds singing in the churchyard rhododendrons, and all the actors. The story was spare, so details matter. I will mention a couple of little plot points that annoyed me: The town was a very small seaside hamlet, (Stanley, Tasmania, pop 481, standing in for fictional Partageuse.) Hannah and Gwen's father, Septimus Potts, was the richest man in town, and a local benefactor. Isabel Graysmark, Hannah and her sister, Gwen Potts, were longtime, (perhaps lifelong?) residents who might have even attended the same school; yet neither Isabel or her parents know who they are, or that Hannah's husband and baby were lost in a rowboat at sea. That surely would have been the biggest news in the little town; it also defies logic that the Commonwealth wouldn't have sent a cable to Tom the Lightkeeper to be on the lookout for a lost baby in a rowboat.Second, while questioning Tom Sherborne, the constable said that Frank Roennfeldt still had "the (German) accent, by all accounts," yet when he was sitting in bed talking about forgiveness with his wife, Hannah, Frank speaks with a perfect English accent.I also thought that Hannah going to Isabel's house and offering to give back Lucy Grace in exchange for testimony against Tom to be unbelievable on the whole, and somewhat cruel to Isabel, ostensibly in an effort to "do what's right for her daughter," after LG ran away. Other than those sticking points, I enjoyed the film.

Another movie that could have been very good if there was just one uplifting second. Morose and too moving to be moving, you find yourself shouting at the screen for the story to just hurry up. It's not a complicated story and could have been told in half an hour. Too many short scenes that should have been a lot longer and far, far too many long scene that could have been told in minutes. I haven't read the book so I don't know if any sub plots were taken out to facilitate this piece of hard work. I rarely get an hour into a film and give up watching and I didn't for this one. I wish I had.

There are many moments of sweetness that will make you smile as you wipe away a tear or two (not me...I'm dead inside). But for the most part it's depressing, which is good for me as you all know I do like a melancholic drama. In this tale, a couple reside on a remote island where, after failing to give birth twice, they decide to keep a baby from a boat that has been washed ashore. Riddled with guilt, the husband can't help but contact the real mother who is still mourning her presumed deceased baby. Just that premise alone makes me feel sad. The story as a whole really worked, I was emotionally invested and found the pacing to be consistent...for the first two acts. It starts to lose steam during the final thirty minutes but was pleasantly surprised how quick the time went. It's a tale filled with ultimatums and will evoke the precedent question of "what would I do in that situation?". The film explores this well, and Derek Cianfrance's direction was beautiful. I mean he is already an accomplished director, but my word the visual imagery and the landscape shots were breathtaking. Powerhouse performances all round. Fassbender, Vikander and Weisz all fight to own every scene. There's so much acting here that it's difficult to determine if the narrative was overacted or not. I wanted more from Weisz and the screenplay didn't give her the opportunity. Fassbender and Vikander were perfect though, on screen chemistry was electric (regardless of their off screen relationship). Loved the environment of Western Australia and thought the costumes were authentic and captured the post-WWI years very well. Slightly too melodramatic for my taste, clearly giving cues for the audiences when to cry. And it felt like at least fifty letters were being narrated during its runtime. So. Many. Handwritten. Letters. However, I found this to be heart achingly beautiful but just tried too hard at going for awards. Love the title of the film though!

.... seems to be the core influence of the story. No tap-dancing curly haired moppets, but the the main gist is the same. JMO.