Let’s get that title out of the way because it sounds like this could be a horror film, but “Ghostlight” in fact refers to the tradition of theaters leaving a single electric light on, for purposes of safety or superstition or maybe a little bit of both. All the world’s a stage, as a certain playwright once put it, though it’s a different work by Shakespeare that becomes a pivotal element in this lovely and moving family drama from the Chicago-based directors Kelly O’Sullivan (who wrote the script) and Alex Thompson, who teamed up five years back for the offbeat and eccentrically charming “Saint Frances.”
Filmed primarily in Waukegan and with stops at other locales in the Chicago area (shout-outs to Shirl’s Drive-in in Waukegan and Reno Chicago restaurant in Logan Square!) and featuring a bounty of talented Chicago theater/TV/film folk, “Ghostlight” opens with “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ ” from “Oklahoma!” on the soundtrack as Dan Mueller (Keith Kupferer) lumbers out of his home just before sunrise and heads to his job as a construction worker. Dan’s a burly, world-weary, middle-aged guy who looks like he hasn’t cracked a smile since the Bears won a playoff game, and the reasons for that are gradually revealed.
First, though, there’s the matter of the kid.
Dan and his wife Sharon have been summoned to their 15-year-old daughter Daisy’s school because Daisy has shoved a teacher, just the latest incident in a pattern of acting out. (If this family unit seems particularly believable, well, they’ve done a lifetime of “research.” Sharon is played by the wonderful Tara Mallen, who is the founder of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and is married to Kupferer, and Daisy is played by their talented daughter, Katherine Mallen Kupferer,) At first, Daisy comes across as a clichéd, Self-Consumed Angry Teenager, but we come to see she has a blazing bright intelligence and a great heart. Her heart has been shattered, though, and the family unit is fraying, as they’re unable or unwilling to fully process the grief of losing Daisy’s brother a year earlier.
This is when “Ghostlight” introduces a plot development that stretches credulity but ultimately serves the story in beautiful and surprising ways. After Dan has to be pulled off a jerk motorist who nearly causes an accident at a construction site, a woman named Rita (the great Dolly de Leon, “Triangle of Sadness”) who witnesses the whole thing invites Dan to accompany her down the block to a local theater troupe’s rehearsal for “Romeo and Juliet.” (The storefront theater is “played” by Waukegan’s Three Brothers Theatre.) Dan is no match for the irrepressible, foul-mouthed, strong-willed force that is Rita, and he suddenly finds himself agreeing to play Lord Capulet in this production, joining a diverse and warm-hearted group that Rita refers to as her “Island of Misfit Toys” colleagues.
This leads to a quietly charming sequence in which Dan, who knows nothing about Shakespeare, asks Daisy, an aspiring theater geek, to walk him through this particular play. She cues up Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 “Romeo + Juliet” and wryly notes, “Leonardo DiCaprio does NOT look like that anymore.”
With the 55-ish Rita playing Juliet because, hey, this is a volunteer ensemble and you work with what you’ve got and Rita is the only member of the troupe with any true talent, it’s decided that Dan, yes Dan, will play Romeo. This might be ridiculous were it not for the fact that O’Sullivan’s script carries not a whiff of condescension for any of these characters. The viewer sees the parallels between the tragedy of “Romeo and Juliet” and the tragedy that struck the Mueller family before Dan puts it all together and comes to embrace the chance to fully experience his grief through the character he’s playing.
“Ghostlight” becomes a love letter to the power of theater, to the power of the timeless written word, to move us, to make us feel, to change us. (A scene in which Dan quietly rehearses his lines to Sharon is stunning in its simple beauty.)
Dolly de Leon sparkles in a showcase, scene-stealing role. Gifted actors including Hanna Dworkin, Dexter Zollicoffer and Alma Washington provide valuable supporting contributions. Our three core leads turn in outstanding and layered work; by the time the closing credits roll over an ending sequence that is perfect in its understated reality, we feel as if we have truly come to know and care about the Muellers. “Ghostlight” is a quietly powerful triumph.
Directors Thompson and O’Sullivan will conduct in-person Q&A’s after the 6:45 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday screenings at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport.
