Made to Fade

The universality of Shakespeare is at the center of Ghostlight, one of the best films of 2024 that has was mostly ignored by all end-of-year voting bodies. Although this may be in part due to the film’s relatively low budget and virtually unknown cast, it's also a story that never would’ve worked if it came out of the studio system. Ghostlight is a celebration of the artistic process and what it does for creators, but doesn’t imply that a majority of their work will be made to last. Given how presumptuous Hollywood is about the value of its output, Ghostlight may have offered a pill that was too tough to swallow.

At the center of Ghostlight is magnificent performance by breakout star Keith Kupferer in the role of Dan, a construction worker in a perpetual state of grief due to the recent suicide of his teenage son, Brian. After lashing out at a stranger while on duty, Dan’s energy is observed by the local actress Rita, played by Triangle of Sadness co-star Dolly De Leon. Daisy’s presumption is that Dan has a sense of guilt and sadness within him that could be utilized in a creative output. Given that he’s not expected to return to work soon, Dan’s decision to reluctantly join Daisy’s community theater production of Romeo & Juliet makes sense.

The depiction of a small-time theater production in Ghostlight is the dream and nightmare of every working actor. On one hand, Dan’s greeted with a warm company of co-stars that offer him support during a time of personal strife, and encourage him to accept responsibilities that he’s uncertain about; despite initially slated to appear as the haughty Lord Capulet, Dan’s subsequently placed in the lead role of Romeo. However, Ghostlight has no presumptions about the impact that this performance will have, as it’s eventually performed on an amateur set with an audience mostly composed of family and friends. Dan may have improved significantly in his acting skills, but he’s not Daniel Day-Lewis.

The aspect of acting that Ghostlight is most discerning in is the fear that comes with becoming so invested in a fictional story. Dan doesn’t have the ego to be embarrassed by his eventual performance, but is shocked by his realization of the surprising depth of the material. Romeo & Juliet is a romanticization of suicide, and made the implication that the most joyous of human relationships aren’t intended to last. Given that Dan’s son took his own life as part of a joint suicide with his high school girlfriend, performing this material comes with a personal burden. The separation of life and art becomes more difficult when Dan’s daughter Daisy, played by Kupferer’s actual daughter Katherine Mallen, is cast in the show as Mercutio.

If acting is a quest for truth, Dan’s dilemma is whether the ends justify the means. To be completely authentic in his portrayal of Romeo would be to empathize with the same dangerous mindset that led his son to take his own life; it’s easier for Dan to retain his anger, rather than to grant Brian’s mindset with any credence. Initially, learning the lines of Romeo & Juliet allowed Dan to at least center his emotions on something. The most potent observation made in Ghostlight is the notion that there has to be some degree of separation between an actor and the character they play; as much as “method acting” is lionized, it takes more talent to speak words that feel untrue.

Any film about artistic expression could become overly saccharine, but Ghostlight is nuanced in its depiction of the family unit at its center. Dan’s aloof, grumpy attitude is charming, but the suggestion’s made that he’s shielded himself from vulnerability, an attitude that his children have inherited. Katherine may have had far more acting experience than her father, but she abandoned it altogether in the aftermath of her brother’s death. The process of making Romeo & Juliet has allowed the father and daughter to reconnect, but there’s also an implication that Dan’s ignorance was more responsible for their separation than Brian’s suicide.

Ghostlight is subdued with its emotional revelations. Real life doesn’t conform to a three-act structure, and so Dan never makes one groundbreaking realization that in any way shifts his mindset. The joy of acting is being able to engage in heightened emotions, and then leave them behind; in reality, men like Dan are forced to carry their burdens without any hope of having them resolved.

There’s a metatextual reading of Ghostlight that writer/directors Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson made the film with the knowledge that an adult drama with no movie stars was unlikely to become a breakout hit; although the industry does occasionally find a crossover hit, the indies that go mainstream have a genre gimmick, an aggressive marketing campaign, or a transformative performance at its center. Ghostlight is successful on its own terms.