When Chicago-based filmmakers Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson first came across our radar with their charming “Saint Frances,” it was clear we were witnessing the birth of a powerhouse pair of indie filmmakers. Even in that first film, which marked Thompson’s feature directorial debut and that O’Sullivan both wrote and starred in, what would become their signature was obvious: a canny combination of heart and humor that go beyond basic loglines.
“Saint Frances” was eventually nominated for three Gotham Awards and the Indie Spirits’ vaunted John Cassavetes Award, and when chatting with IndieWire about their delightful gem, the pair even admitted that simple plotlines don’t quite do their works justice. “Saint Frances” comes with what seems like a downer of a description: “After an accidental pregnancy turned abortion, a deadbeat nanny finds an unlikely friendship with the 6-year-old she’s charged with protecting.” As the duo told IndieWire in 2021, “We struggled with that line too. It’s so funny, every time we describe the movie, we just want to say like, ‘We know, but—’” (that’s O’Sullivan), with Thompson cutting in, “It’s funny! It’s good!”
This is all a way of saying that, with their next film — “Ghostlight,” which the pair directed together — they’re working in similar territory. The film, which debuted at Sundance this January before being snapped up by IFC Films, arrived in Park City with its own not-quite-it logline: “When a construction worker unexpectedly joins a local theater’s production of ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life.”
Of course, that’s all true, but it’s just the start of a film that this writer noted in our IndieWire review, “makes you marvel at the pleasure of storytelling as an actual practice, not an oft-repeated buzzword with little actual emotion behind it.” It’s funny. It’s good.
The film stars a real-life family, with Keith Kupferer as Dan Mueller (the construction worker of the synopsis), with his wife Tara Mallen starring as Dan’s wife Sharon (a theater teacher and the soul of the family), plus their daughter Katherine Mallen Kupferer (who some may recognize from last year’s charming “Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret”) as their troubled daughter Daisy.
After an on-the-job outburst is witnessed by a local community theater group (led by a delightful Dolly De Leon, who plays the spiky and outspoken Rita), Dan finds himself unexpectedly pulled into their orbit. He doesn’t know much about the production they are putting on (even if it is the most famous Shakespeare play), a detail that takes on added resonance when we learn about Sharon’s job and Daisy’s own theatrical streak. As the family, plus Rita’s wacky band of theater pals, pull together to put on a show, something truly special unfolds.
Check out the first trailer for “Ghostlight,” an IndieWire exclusive, below. IFC Films will release the film in New York and Chicago theaters on Friday, June 14, with a national rollout to follow.
