The Vanishing (2018)

Three lighthouse keepers on the remote Flannan Isles find a hidden trunk of gold, leading to their mysterious disappearance.

Director:

Kristoffer Nyholm

Writers:

Joe Bone, Celyn Jones

Stars:

Gerard Butler, Peter Mullan, Connor Swindells

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Gerard Butler	...	James Ducat
Peter Mullan	...	Thomas Marshall
Connor Swindells	...	Donald McArthur
Søren Malling	...	Locke
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson	...	Boor
Gary Lewis	...	Kenny
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ken Drury	...	Duncan
Roderick Gilkison	...	Galley Hand
Emma King	...	Mary
John Taylor	...	Fisherman

Storyline

Formally known as KEEPERS, The Vanishing is Inspired by the Flannan Isle mystery. A small relief boat approaches the Isle, a tiny isolated island no bigger than a football pitch, 20 miles off a rugged coast. Its aim is to routinely replace the three lighthouse keepers, after 6 weeks alone manning the light. It nears the dock and none of the men greet them. The winch is broken. A call. Nothing. Experienced keepers Thomas, James and Donald have vanished. The lamps are clean and refilled; the table is laid for dinner. There is an upturned chair. Two sets of yellow oilskins are missing...The men were never found.

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Taglines:

What's left when the light goes out?

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 January 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Vanishing

Filming Locations:

Scotland, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mad As Birds, G-BASE, Head Gear Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The actual location where the mystery began was in the Flannan Islands, approximately twenty miles west of the Outer Hebrides island of Lewis, in Scotland. The small island where the lighthouse is situated is called Eilean Mor. On, or about, December 15, 1900, three lighthouse keepers stationed on Eilean Mor, Thomas Marshall, James Ducat and Donald MacArthur, mysteriously vanished without a trace, and speculation as to what became of the three men is still rife after almost 118 years.

User Reviews

Initially intriguing but ultimately predictable

The first few acts are intriguing but it quickly becomes a long drawn out tale which has a few twists and turns along the way but ultimately the ending is disappointingly predictable. For the last half hour of the movie it's obvious how it ends and in the final few minutes the movie seems to be taking another amazing twist and not ending predictably but sadly no. All in all the acting is superb as is the direction ,it's just the writing at the end that lets it down. It's a story that's been told before so that's what makes the ending predictable, which is a shame as it would have been a fine film otherwise for the formulaic ending. If you're under 21 then the ending may well come as a surprise but then I doubt the film will appeal to anyone under the age of 30