All the Light in the Sky
Director: Joe Swanberg Run Time: 117 min. Format: Digital Rating: NR Release Year: 2012
Starring: Jane Adams, Kent Osborne, Sophia Takal
Part of the Northside Film Festival, All the Light in the Sky includes the BFC short, Amateur, and a Q&A after the film with Sophia Takal.
Jane Adams plays a woman living in a house perched precariously on stilts above the beach in Malibu who clings to her life’s ambitions in much the same way. With her age exempting her from more and more acting opportunities, her future is uncertain. That’s when her young niece — a superb Sophia Takal — comes for a weekend stay. The film captures their night conversations, fears and stories that emerge in the witching hours. Swanberg has become a master at eliciting inspired performances from his actors. Here, he’s working at the height of his powers and, with Adams, he’s clearly tapped into an actor with creative reserves. Negotiating the language and relationships of 21st century Americans, Swanberg’s alchemy is at its best. [Synopsis courtesy of Lane Kneedler and AFI Fest]