Independent Film Review – Look To The Light

Sometimes you see people in a film or, indeed, in real life and immediately know that you aren’t going to like them. In fact, you sometimes wonder how they could possibly have anyone in their life that manages to do more than tolerate them. But then you notice that they probably have more friends than you do (not difficult in my case) and realise that they must have something about them that other people find quite palatable. I think it has become much more obvious since the rise of reality TV. If I’d known back in 2000 what Big Brother would lead to I would have watched it even less than I actually did. 

To be honest, my wife was the real fan. I mght watch occasional round up shows but she was the real addict. By addict I mean watching every show that was broadcast, watching the live streaming when it started, paying small fortunes for three day old British newspapers while we were on holiday in France, that sort of thing. But what I did notice was that “ordinary” people were becoming “celebrities”. Previously my idea of ordinary people becoming celebrities tended towards people like the Beyond The Fringe, Monty Python, and Goon Show teams.

I’m Going In To Win

It seems a bit like intellectual snobbery but, while I was quite happy with Oxbridge drop outs appearing on the TV, the thought of a builder, fishmonger, or hairdresser was slightly unsettling. Still, back then, nobody thought that you could become a TV star just by being on TV without actually doing anything. Look To The Light is based on that concept. Apparently there is a programme called Love Island which takes a couple of dozen young, attractive people and drops them on a sun drenched island. While there they do a variety of pointless tasks but the main aim is to get them paired off and film them getting intimate. 

Look To The Light is based on this rather dubious idea of entertainment. The programme in this film is called Love On The Rocks and the putative contender is called Eddie Reynolds (Charlie Goddard). Eddie is a typical late teen/early twenties jack the lad; full of confidence, indestructible, and convinced that he’s god’s gift to women. At the start of the film it is January and Eddie is having a six month anniversary meal with his girlfriend, Lauren Kelly (Lily Blunsom-Washbrook). Having that combination of fitness, good looks, and confidence that some of us never managed he gets the bill and also the waitress’s phone number.

Where Does That Leave Me?

On the way home Eddie’s brother, Wesley (Cole Dilley), stops them. He is mad with excitement and saying that there are TV cameras at home and it looks like he’s been picked for “the programme”. It dawns on them that, if he is being recruited then he needs to be single and Lauren is unceremoniously pitched out of the car and made to walk home. At home the shows presenter, Mickie Martell (Kele Le Roc), bounces in and Eddie’s family go mad with excitement. They are all assuming that Love On The Rocks is the gateway to fame and fortune. It is just unfortunate that Eddie has to be single. Eddie’s mum (Lucy Benjamin) is happy enough for Lauren to be given the elbow. 

However, there’s more going on in Lauren’s life than anyone knows just at the moment…including Lauren! There follows a series of ups and downs, some more predictable than others. Family dynamics, criminal records, medical mishaps, all have their effects on everyone. There are arguments and fallings out. They rapidly go from being a family on top of the world to a family at each other’s throats. I’ll be honest, I had guessed the gist of the ending but not the fine details. As a result Look To The Light kept me guessing up to the end. 

Look To The Light is available on UK digital from 27th May 2024.

Movie Grade: B+