Film Review: Under the Lantern Lit Sky
Under the Lantern Lit Sky – Film Still
Written by: Jan Alex
For fans of classic American literature, “A Streetcar Named Desire” is one of those lasting stories that will never lose its value and significance. It is a deeply personal narrative, one that touches on love, relationships, mental illness, and remains familiar no matter the era. For Michelle Bossy, director of the independent art film, “Under the Lantern Lit Sky”, it is a tale that clearly has had a lasting impact. The new film, which is also Bossy’s first feature, which premiered at the Brooklyn Film Festival, is a soapy southern gothic tale that explores the backstory of Blanche Dubois, the ill-fated protagonist of “A Streetcar named Desire”.
One of American literature's most complicated and troubled characters, Blanche’s past is only hinted at it in the original play, and “Under the Lantern Lit Sky”, written as a screenplay by Jacklyn Bethany, attempts to explore the moments in her life that lead to the character we see in “A Streetcar Named Desire”.
Under the Lantern Lit Sky – Film Still
Shot on location in New Orleans, Louisiana for under $100k, the film captures the lush, evocative world of the south in a perpetual golden haze that radiates the inebriated glitz and glamour of the time period. Featuring a diverse cast of respected theatre actors, the narrative is driven by the emotional performance of the screenplay’s writer, Jacklyn Bethany as Blanche Dubois, Devin Kawaoka as Blanche’s husband Alan, and to some extent that of Christy Escobar as a younger and not yet married Stella.
Visually rich and full of vibrant color and light, the film shows Blanche and her husband Alan struggle through a challenging marriage and follows them to a Louisiana casino for a opium and booze fueled getaway weekend that quickly turns disastrous as Blanche discovers Alan’s hidden sexuality and his relationship with a longtime friend/lover, played by actor Dan Shaked. The film's culmination is strikingly tragic, and we leave Blanche at the moment before she enters the world of “Streetcar Named Desire”, reeling from the loss of her husband and still deeply battered from past trauma.
Under the Lantern Lit Sky – Film Still
Through moments of intense dialogue against repeating backdrops, the film's thematic roots are clear, but the real highlight is the constant and deeply emotional dialogue between Blanche and her husband. For fans of soapy melodrama and evocative dialogue, the relationship between these two characters is the prime focus and the actors do well to convey rich emotion in their performances.
Though it is truly a period piece and achieves the 1920’s feel it aims for well, “Under the Lantern Lit Sky '', is ultimately a modern commentary on contemporary themes of sexuality, trauma, and identity. For a short film, it packs an emotional punch, wasting no time to deliver an emotionally charged narrative that transcends its time period. And of course, It does Blanche Dubois justice, telling her story in a way that honors and informs the legacy of one of American literature's most important tales.
