Derek Cianfrance to direct The Light Between Oceans for Dreamworks

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Derek Cianfrance has found his first directorial effort through a major studio with THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS for Dreamworks. David Heyman of the HARRY POTTER franchise will produce via his Heydey Films banner. This marks the biggest project for the BLUE VALENTINE and THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES director.

Cianfrance has a very lyrical and haunting quality to his filmmaking which has served him well in the independent feeling films he has made so far. I am sure the subject matter of THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS fits with the same story elements in his two most recent films:

Author M.L. Stedman’s debut novel and international bestseller is about a lighthouse keeper and his wife who find a boat washed ashore on their remote Australian island with a dead man and a baby girl. They choose to bury the body and raise the child as their own, with devastating consequences.

I wanted so badly to like THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES but ended up liking sections of it. It did not live up to the originality of BLUE VALENTINE. One thing consistent was the appearance of Ryan Gosling who was good in both movies. It remains to be seen if Gosling will join Cianfrance’s next film, but I really don’t want to hear the guy butcher an Australian accent.

I would be willing to bet that Dreamworks will position THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS as an Oscar caliber film so keep an eye out for some casting news as the project progresses.