Director Michael Groom directs this modest fable set over three Christmases in the north of England, telling the story of a cynical woman who meets a man who can commune with spirits.
There’s a side of Britain that doesn’t get much exposure on film. We see unrealistic, romanticised versions in films like Notting Hill and The Holiday, or crasser versions in classics like Lynne Ramsay’s The Mousetrap and Ken Loach’s Kes. In between are market towns and bustling modern cathedral cities like York, with its ancient architecture and its skincare brands like Kiehl’s. York is the setting for much of the spiritually-tinged romance Between the Lights, which also touches on the neighbouring Lake District, including Keswick. The film opened this year’s Keswick Film Festival and screened at Dances with Films in Los Angeles, where it won the jury prize.
The story depicts the romance between Alice (Inès de Clercq, in her first full-length feature film role after mostly small TV appearances, in a convincingly natural performance) and Jay (Samuel Edward Cook, in a performance of convincing earnestness and heart). Alice and Jay have good chemistry and chemistry, with one big difference: Jay is sensitive to paranormal energies, or at least he claims to be. Jay is aware of how this will be perceived, and doesn’t try too hard to turn Alice into a believer; rather, he is a little hesitant to acknowledge this unusual aspect of his life. When Jay opens up, he speaks rationally and matter-of-factly about his gift, citing various science-esque explanations that aim to reconcile the existence of ghosts with conventional physics. Similarly, Alice expresses her skepticism calmly and respectfully; she doesn’t sneer, she simply (repeatedly) explains why it’s hard to take it seriously.
These conflicts between faith and empiricism between Mulder and Scully often culminate in moments where the film decides which worldview to support, and in the pursuit of compelling stories, it’s generally much more satisfying to see mysterious forces triumph over boring old reality. Whatever you think about these issues in the real world, in fiction it’s hard to enjoy “and there was a perfectly logical explanation for it all” plot twists, as writers try so hard to make them plausible (the cookie-cutter endings of Scooby-Doo mysteries being the notable exception, of course). That’s evidenced here, but there’s also a bit of tinkering with which aspects of the paranormal are and aren’t in the mind.
The film may be too subtle. The romance is well played and the leads have good chemistry, but it’s pretty polite and restrained. Similarly, the ghost elements are pretty low key, and most of the things that go bump in the night are more hesitant. The tragic elements are sad, but not a gut-wrenching tearjerker. There are some memorable scenes, including a fun reference to a road sign from “LA Story,” especially when the sign in question turns out to be fussy about grammar. Overall, Between the Lights could have done with trusting its instincts and letting loose a bit more like this. You find yourself craving headboard-shaking passion, the clanging of ghostly chains, and hair-pulling misery.
The film’s best moments are its most distinctive scenes, but it never quite achieves that Stephen King elusive “must see” factor, the “let’s stay up for another 15-20 minutes, I’ve got to see how this chapter goes” (the author’s own words). As such, it’s unlikely to wow mass audiences around the world, given that it’s a bit restrained for hardcore fans of the genre, but locals will be pleased to see their hometown portrayed with such affection.
