‘All The Light We Cannot See’ Review – A Rough-Around-The-Edges Adaptation Of A Beloved Novel [TIFF 2023]

After selling over 15 million copies and sitting on the New York Times bestseller list for over 200 weeks,  Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel All the Light We Cannot See has been adapted into a four-part Netflix miniseries. Tackling such an immensely popular and dense novel is never an easy feat but director Shawn Levy (Stranger Things, The Adam Project) and screenwriter Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) mostly rise to the occasion. The series’ biggest misstep is in its reliance on heavy-handed dialogue and action rather than attempting to replicate Doerr’s rich, lyrical story. Despite its shortcomings, however, the adaptation is fast-paced, sweet, and visually handsome. 

The series takes place in Nazi-occupied France and follows Marie-Laure LeBlanc (Aria Mia Loberti) – a blind French girl whose illegal radio broadcasts are aiding the resistance – and Werner Pfennig (Louis Hofmann) – a German orphan and radio whiz forced into a life as a Nazi soldier – their paths colliding during the 1944 Battle of Saint-Malo. The series bounces back and forth between past and present, exploring the fateful events that culminate in the bombing of war-torn Saint-Malo. For the resistance and Nazis, the radio is a mere tool to aid in the war. For Marie and Werner, however, it’s a beacon of hope. A lifeline. It’s their gateway for connecting with other people in a time of tragedy. 

Prior to Saint-Malo, Marie lived in Paris with her Papa, Daniel (Mark Ruffalo), a locksmith at the Museum of Natural History. Along with cultural preservation in the face of fascism, Daniel strives to protect a famed jewel known as the Seas of Flames. According to legend, the Sea of Flames has the power to grant immortality but will bring great misfortune to the one who possesses it. Terminally ill Nazi and jewel collector Sergeant Major Reinhold von Rumpel (Lars Eidinger) believes Marie and her father know the location of the stone, and will stop at nothing to find it. 

Aside from some aggravating accent choices (the French speak in British accents), All the Light We Cannot See has some applause-worthy performances, including that of newcomer Aria Mia Loberti. Loberti and Hofmann (Dark) both succeed in their portrayal of clear-eyed, emboldened youth. They rarely share the screen, yet the parallels between their characters are felt throughout the series. In addition to its strong lead performances, All the Light We Cannot See is beautifully shot and James Newton Howard’s score reinforces the show’s emotion and suspense. 

It’s in the third and fourth episodes that the script becomes louder and messier, no longer bearing any real similarities to the source material. Marie-Laure’s uncle Etienne (Hugh Laurie), a veteran and agoraphobe, is one such narrative that suffers from the on-screen changes. There are many moments that are repetitive and lack the sensory pleasures that make the novel so deliciously compelling. Levy also opts to change the story’s ending – sidestepping a painful outcome for a softer, more hopeful conclusion. 

That being said, for those without an attachment to the book, All the Light We Cannot See is an enjoyable watch with impressive production value. Levy delivers visuals that are loaded with thematic implications. His puppeteering and use of light – whether it’s sunlight penetrating a room or the moon’s reflection on water – provides a stunning juxtaposition between dark and light. Misery and hope. War and beauty. Light is always present, even within the brutality of war or a cursed diamond.

While All the Light We Cannot See doesn’t quite measure up to Doerr’s elegant, evocative prose, it offers a feast for the eyes and ticks all the boxes for an entertaining watch. As a fan of the book, I wish it had done more. It felt like a missed opportunity to immerse viewers in Marie’s perception of the world and truly deliver something fresh and original. 

“All the Light We Cannot See” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, September 10. The limited series hits Netflix on November 2nd.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdE-JvKqpBQ]