I read somewhere that Kenneth Tynan took a friend who knew nothing about Chekhov to see a production of "The Cherry Orchard;" as they were leaving the theatre, Tynan asked the other guy what he made of the play, and got the reply, "Rather boring, I thought. Nothing happens." "Nothing except the end of an age and the birth of the next one," was Tynan's response. I think that something similar applies to this version of "To the Lighthouse;" the film is heavy with pathos, regret, longing, decline, all coming from the interactions each member of the household has with all of the others. I felt again the pleasure of watching Mrs Wolff's genius at work, in the mosaic created by so much seeming-random-but-always-revealing dialogue as well as the interior monologues spoken by some of the characters. I was completely enthralled by the film and deeply impressed by the great honesty of all the actors' performances. Definitely a winner in my estimation.
Review of To the Lighthouse
