It’s been six years since Casey Affleck attempted to fool the world with I’m Still Here – the infamous mockumentary in which Joaquin Phoenix retired from acting to become a rap artist. Since then, he has developed a number of potential new projects to helm, but Light Of My Life is seemingly the first to reach the point of becoming a real movie.
Being so early in the process, there are few details to be found on the project. What is known is that Affleck will be directing from his own script, and will also star as a father trapped in the woods with his young daughter in a ‘post-pandemic’ kind of situation. This makes Light Of My Life more of a survival movie, but with an interesting pedigree.
While, in terms of dramatic performances, Affleck certainly does seem to favour narratives of the more bleak persuasion (The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, Gone Baby Gone, The Killer Inside Me), his previous escapades in screenwriting have been collaborations with other writers (Gerry, I’m Still Here). Here, it seems that the script will be all Affleck’s own work – and it will be intriguing to see the difference. Additionally, Affleck will directing himself in the lead role – something else he has never before undertaken. While he appeared in I’m Still Here, that was Joaquin Phoenix’s show – with Light Of My Life, the focus will be entirely on Casey Affleck.
There is no news yet about further casting for Light Of My Life, but the concept being a father and child in the woods would hopefully suggest a small budget, minimal cast type of film – something that would add to the inevitably eerie atmosphere we assume would accompany a post-pandemic world. We’ll certainly be watching with interest as this project continues to develop.
