A shining light

I was the last in my family to watch this movie - South Solitary, but it was worth the wait.

In 1927 Meredith Appleton (Miranda Otto) arrives on the rugged South Solitary island with her only relative, her uncle George Wadsworth (Barry Otto) - the new replacement Head Keeper (as the previous one shot himself). Having lost her previous secretarial job, Meredith is forced to rely on her uncle’s charity by cooking and cleaning for him on whatever lighthouse he is stationed at.
The gruff Wardsworth sets to restoring discipline to the lighthouse, while Meredith attempts to make friends in the very hierarchical system, with Alma Stanley (Essie Davis) and her 9 year-old daughter Nettie (Annie Martin). But it is her liaison with assistant keeper Harry Stanley (Rohan Nichol) which forces the Stanley family to leave the island and Wardsworth to over exert himself and die.

Meredith & Jack

Leaving the troubled and reclusive Jack Fleet (Marton Csokas) as the solitary keeper, when a gale forces him and Meredith to spend several days trapped in the lighthouse tower together. The experience builds a relationship between the two and as Meredith leaves the island they promise to write to each other.
Being something of a lighthouse fan, I found the actual lighthouses (Cape Nelson and CapeOtway) the chief stars of the film. The cinematography of the rough rugged island with the tramway with its silvered timber tracks, the windblasted herbage, and the indomintable lighthouse tower was magnificent. And the lamb a bit of a star too.
The film has its own webpage at http://southsolitary.iconmovies.com.au/

Cape Nelson light & cottages