A heady concoction of emotions comes alive in "A Bit of Light," featuring Anna Paquin and directed by her real-life partner, Stephen Moyer. This work is a film interpretation of playwright Rebecca Callard's creation featuring the same title. Paquin plays the character Ella, a recovering alcoholic who's lost her daughters' custody to her former husband Joseph (Youssef Kerkour) and his new partner, Bethan (Pippa Bennett-Warner). She now resides with her father, Alan (Ray Winstone), as her life remains on hold.
Ella spends most of her time disregarding group therapy and spending time in parks, reminiscing about better days with her daughters. During these solitary moments at the local playground, she meets Neil (Luca Hogan), an almost fourteen-year-old boy with an old soul. He attaches himself to her, recognizing a void in her that he desires to fill, presumably due to his own loneliness (given his frequent references to his noticeably absent, much older parents). Thus, they form a healing friendship which helps Ella stay afloat amidst her self-loathing and despair.
While "A Bit of Light" is not particularly inventive with visuals and editing, it focuses largely on the relationship between Ella and Neil. This relationship, given the age disparity and absence of adult oversight, is at best controversial and at worst, problematic. Similarly, Neil's character appears to serve solely as a cure for Ella's loneliness to the extent that at certain points in the film, he seems almost imaginary or supernatural. He regularly appears in the periphery, always says the right things, and, quite distinctively, never wears a coat despite the cold English weather.
Hogan, in his debut role, delivers a performance to match Neil’s character requirements, generating minor laughs with his straightforwardness and somewhat conceited attitude. However, "A Bit of Light" overshadows the more captivating dynamics at play, such as that between Ella and her father. Alan also battles alcoholism and has upheld sobriety for many years. The interplay between Ella's stubbornness and Alan‘s exasperation provides intriguing scenes with a potential to explore further. Unfortunately, this subplot is often overlooked.
Joseph and Bethan's characters seem underdeveloped, with Joseph's meekness and Bethan's strong personality defining their roles. Both struggle to interact with Ella, and there's no trace of the intimacy that once existed between her and Joseph. Every encounter with either of them results in clashes emphasizing Ella's misery. The choice to prioritize Neil and melodrama while downplaying grounded moments suggests "A Bit of Light" leans on contrived emotional investment, leaving behind the potential richness of everyday life complexities.
