The films of Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson are simple but deeply felt portraits of people trying to do right by themselves and finding profound connections with others and within themselves along the way. The Chicago-based filmmakers and life partners made their feature debut in 2020 with “Saint Frances,” written by and starring O’Sullivan, directed by Thompson, about an aimless 30-something finding a friend in the 6-year-old she’s nannying. Their second feature is “Ghostlight,” which they co-directed from a script by O’Sullivan, a similarly small-scale indie drama with a huge heart that fearlessly tackles the kind of big feelings that can seem impossible to manage.
As it’s a family affair behind the camera, it is in front of the lens too. O’Sullivan long had Chicago theater actor Keith Kupferer in mind for the lead role of Dan, a construction worker who stumbles into a community theater production of “Romeo and Juliet” during a time of personal turmoil, and Kupferer so happens to have an actor daughter, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, and a partner, Tara Mallen, a stalwart of the Chicago acting scene, who slot perfectly into the roles of Dan’s fiery daughter Daisy and wife Sharon. With such close-knit family ties making up the production, “Ghostlight” is a film of uncommon intimacy, a reliable feature of O’Sullivan and Thompson’s work.
The pair makes films refreshingly populated by characters that feel like real people navigating real situat.
