A surprise twist elevates this sobering British film
Christopher Manoe’s new film, Look To The Light, focuses on a young man named Eddie (Charlie Goddard) who has starry-eyed dreams of fame and fortune. He has already racked up thousands of followers on social media but he wants to be more than just insta-famous. He wants to be a TV star too, something that looks set to happen after he is chosen to be on the reality television show Love On The Rocks.
Eddie’s family are over the moon about his upcoming TV appearance but understandably, his girlfriend Lauren (Lily Blunsom-Washbrook) isn’t as enthused about his taking part in a show that is all about matchmaking. Eddie is encouraged to keep his relationship with Lauren on the down low to give the impression that he is single. As you might imagine, this doesn’t sit well with Lauren who begins to question the future of their relationship.
In the first half of the film, Eddie has a choice to make: TV stardom or a life with Lauren. He makes his decision but this becomes something he later regrets. The second half of the film details the emotional fallout of the choice he makes, with saddening repercussions for both him and the people he is close to.
Look To The Light is a sobering reflection on how the pursuit of fame can wreak havoc on a person’s life. Eddie is desperate to get his face (and muscular body) on TV but ironically, considering the title of the show he has signed up for, it’s a very real case of ‘love on the rocks’ when his hunger for stardom impacts on his relationship.
The film is certainly topical. We live in an age when people will do anything to get on TV, even if that comes at the expense of their jobs, families, and personal integrity. Eddie is ready to gamble away everything he holds dear but this comes at a painful and potentially tragic cost. Does he come to his senses? This isn’t something we’re going to reveal here.
As Eddie, Charlie Goddard gives a suitably tortured performance. He’s not an actor with a huge résume but on the basis of this film, he has a bright future ahead of him. Lily Blunsom-Washbrook, as Eddie’s girlfriend Lauren, doesn’t have many credits to her name either, but she’s another up-and-coming actor with talent to spare.
The film’s cast is packed with unfamiliar faces, with the exception of Lucy Benjamin, who UK viewers will recognize from her role in the popular soap EastEnders. She stars as Eddie’s mum Elaine, a mostly unlikeable woman who pushes her son towards stardom so she can live vicariously through his fame.
Elaine isn’t the only unlikeable character in the film. Eddie is pretty despicable too at times, in the way he treats Lauren and some of the other people around him. It’s hard to feel sorry for him when he screws up his life, but this doesn’t mean his plight has no dramatic potential. When his dreams of stardom crash and burn, you might watch the unfolding events with ghoulish fascination, a little like watching the aftermath of a dreadful car accident.
In a lot of ways, Look To The Light isn’t too dissimilar from other films depicting the dark side of celebrity stardom. We’re thinking of the 2020 movie Spree, for example, which shows the troubling lengths somebody might go to when trying to achieve online fame. Recent docuseries The Greatest Show Never Made is also worthy of mention due to the involvement of real-life people who, like Eddie, gave up all that was previously important to them to get a taste of TV stardom.
But while Look To The Light is overly familiar at times, it still makes an impact because of a shocking twist near the end of the film. It would be remiss of us to go into detail about this, so we won’t give away the surprise. But be prepared to have the proverbial rug pulled out from beneath your feet as the film’s last scene approaches.
Look To The Light is a dark and thought-provoking film that manages to grip for most of the runtime. It’s a little too melodramatic at times, so you can expect a lot of emotional outbursts and relentless soul-searching. But with a decent cast and a story that is less predictable than it initially appears, this is still a film we can recommend.
Read More: Look To The Light – Ending Explained
Feel free to check out more of our movie reviews here!
-
Verdict - 6.5/10
6.5/10