Once you understand Racing Daylight is a metaphysical romance, not really a ghost story, it becomes a simple, lovely little gem of a movie; quite easy to follow. It is about a group of people who inhabit the same space in two different times. Melissa Leo's Sadie returns to the home of her childhood to care for her bedridden grandmother. This people of the town have, as she is told often enough, 'always lived here'. The town seems to be what some people call a thin place. Lost and lonely Sadie begins to move in and out of her time and that of her civil war ancestor, Anna.
The story is lyrical and romantic, told through exquisite performances by Melissa Leo, David Strathairn, Giancarlo Esposito and a superb supporting cast. Racing Daylight does come off as a little stagy at times; the sets and cinematography are basic, almost dogme-ish. While I suspect some of the spareness is due to budget constraints, some of that choice is central to director Nicole Quinn's vision: the framing, sets and costumes convey the fluidity of time.
Racing Daylight was a pleasant surprise early on a sleepless morning.
The story is lyrical and romantic, told through exquisite performances by Melissa Leo, David Strathairn, Giancarlo Esposito and a superb supporting cast. Racing Daylight does come off as a little stagy at times; the sets and cinematography are basic, almost dogme-ish. While I suspect some of the spareness is due to budget constraints, some of that choice is central to director Nicole Quinn's vision: the framing, sets and costumes convey the fluidity of time.
Racing Daylight was a pleasant surprise early on a sleepless morning.