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:

Crime | 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:

107 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Records show that on December 12th, 1900, Thomas Marshall, the second assistant keeper, wrote in the lighthouse log of "severe winds the likes of which I have never seen before in twenty years". He also noted that Principal keeper James Ducat had been "very quiet" and that the third assistant, (the Occasional) Donald MacArthur, had been crying, although MacArthur was a seasoned mariner and known as a tough brawler on the mainland. The December 13th entries stated that the storm was still raging and that all three men had been praying, despite the fact that all were experienced lighthouse keepers and were safely situated in what was a brand new lighthouse, 150 feet above sea level. Also strange is that weather records of the day had no reported storms in the area on the 12th, 13th and 14th of December that year and show the weather was calm, with storms not coming until December 17th. The final log entry at the lighthouse was made on December 15th. It simply read "Storm ended, sea calm. God is over all."

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Goofs

The dog on the island disappears during all fight scenes and also during any scene in which an additional surprise human being appears on the island.

User Reviews

A Greek Tragedy on Film about Lighthouse Keepers vanished in 1900

The movie is a tragedy, an imaginary tale of what could have happened to the real "keepers" who indeed vanished back in mid december of 1900, and never heard of again.

The truth is that nobody knows for sure what was the fate of the real three men at the Flannan Isle, and anybody's guess is as good.

Theories abound about what really happened, from alien abduction to a giant wave, and anything in between.

Was it a terrible natural accident, such as the three men falling down a cliff or down inside a cave? Or something more sinister as the men kill each other?

Your guess is as good as mine.

In the real diary entry logged by the real keepers, they write about a terrible weather "as the one they have never seen in 20 years at sea."

That particular entry in the book is extraordinary, having in consideration that weather reports at the time indicated that weather was fine and calmed and the first rain can in on december 17, 1900. That is baffling to say the least.

Will we ever know what happened to those 3 scotish men, thomas, donald and james? sadly, most probably not, which is so sad, especially because they had wives and children.

About the movie itself, i'd say its pretty good. i give it a 6.

acting is excellent from the three main actors, as well as from the supporting characters. all did a good work, and the director set the grim tone right from the beginning.

the drama unfold with camera close to the faces of the actors to emphasis the tragedy going on, no images from the beauty of the ocean and a blue scotish sky don't expect to see that.

all is sad from the very beginning and the only laughs occurred when donald and james found gold in the chest. other than that, all is grey.

i'd recommend the movie to anyone who likes thrillers and tragedies on film. no special effects just plain good old fashioned acting (good actually) and an ending kind of predictable, still enjoyable (again if you like tragedies).