Casey Affleck’s reputation with women is uncomfortable to say the least. The younger Affleck brother has settled multiple lawsuits with women who accused him of inappropriate behavior on the set of I’m Still Here and many people were understandably upset when, despite these legal issues, Affleck won an Oscar and was celebrated by a Hollywood that claims to reject abuse.
Given his past issues, it’s a bit surprising to see the trailer for his new film, Light of My Life. Why? Because the movie is all about women and how important they are to a healthy, smart, functioning society. Don’t get me wrong, this movie’s plot is totally within my wheelhouse, something I’d absolutely eat up. But Affleck’s the star, director, writer and co-producer. Having a man with his allegations take on a film like this just feels a little skeevy to me. Is he trying to redeem himself? Is this a reflection of his view of women? Will it contain offensive, troubled gender politics? I’m not quite sure but it’s hard to not think of his past when watching the film’s first trailer.
That’s too bad because Light of My Life really does look quite good. It’s about an America where all women have perished because of a plague. All women but one apparently: Casey Affleck’s daughter. Affleck’s character and his daughter now roam the empty countryside with her disguised as a boy, waiting for the world to heal and become safe again. But much like The Road, It Comes at Night and so many other post-apocalyptic family dramas, things get complicated. Yes, this is territory that’s been explored by many other movies many times before but, damn, it still interests me. The breakdown of society, the longing of people to stay together, the way civilization limps to extinction — all of these tropes fascinate me. I’ll admit I’m a sucker for a movie like this and this trailer gets me going.
However, I’ll also admit that I’m torn because of Affleck’s involvement. If anyone else was running the show, this would be one of my most anticipated films of the year. But with Affleck attached in such a big way, I feel a bit uncomfortable whole-heartedly endorsing this picture. I know I should separate art from the artist but I guess I’m just not that forward-thinking yet. That being said, Light of My Life does look special, even if it feels like we’ve seen it before.