All The Light We Cannot See Review: Lost In Adaptation

Your enjoyment of the All the Light We Cannot See adaptation may depend on your level of attachment to the source material. Therefore, fans of the book may feel let down.

It was never going to be easy adapting an over 500-page book for screen.

However, the All the Light We Cannot See limited series has several fatal flaws that could have been avoided. The first is its focus on creating a standard war epic. At times the series feels like 1917, in the way it’s shot and some of the scenes. 

That film’s beauty comes from the shots and the anxiety that it induces. All the Light We Cannot See doesn’t achieve the same level of elegance and heightened emotions.

At times, the Netflix series also has elements seen in spy films, historical romances, and other great war films. It has the tone and style of a variety of great movies but it doesn’t feel like the beloved book.

All the Light We Cannot See looks fantastic. It’s easy to see that Netflix spent a lot of money on it. They produced fewer episodes but put more into the production of them.

Therefore, this decision may appeal to fans of big-production war films and series. However, as a fan of the book, its appeal wasn’t the long shots of planes, bomb montages, and standard war hero tales — with emphasis on the Americans coming to end the war.

It’s the characters and various small ways they help rebel, the emotional toll of war, the inner struggle to keep a moral compass as things get darker and bleaker, and to find light in the darkness. Netflix’s All the Light We Cannot See makes attempts to show these things but without much nuance and subtlety.

This miniseries has a major telling not showing problem. It explains everything through dialogues and monologues.

It lacks the confidence to allow the viewers to read between the lines.

You know Werner is good because, despite working with them, he kills some bad Germans. Plus, Etienne tells you that he is good. It doesn’t allow you to understand he’s in a complex situation where he does bad things to survive, but, at his core, he’s a kind soul in an impossible situation.

Werner is not as idealized in the book as he is in the show. He goes along with things because it is his duty and because he wants to survive. The show also eliminates any complexity to Werner’s character by eliminating some of the other German characters who are not complete monsters.

This change is understandable because no one wants to (rightfully) make the story seem sympathetic to Nazis. Therefore, Werner has to become as heroic as possible to make viewers like him despite him being a German soldier.

It doesn’t let viewers think for themselves, such as Werner stating that Etienne was like a father to him, which viewers should be able to interpret on their own. Every thought and feeling of the characters doesn’t need blunt expression.

Werner’s changes aren’t the series’s biggest flaw. It’s generally stripping away so much of the characters’ depths and complexities and turning them into typical screen characters.

All The Light We Cannot See makes a brave attempt to adapt this popular book. However, it strips some of the key elements and replaces them with carbon copies of other movies and shows in this genre.

Even if you pretend the book doesn’t exist, this Netflix miniseries still falls short as an example of compelling television. Unfortunately, it is generic at times when it could have been captivating.

For special effects fans, it does an impressive job but what about beyond that? The story loses itself in the adaptation process.

However, All The Light We Cannot See has some major strengths, and that mainly comes in the performances. Aria Mia Loberti radiates on the screen in her debut performance.

She is Marie-Laure in every way. She is the perfect casting choice. Her presence gives Marie-Laure the strong, kind heart that makes the character so powerful.

Louis Hofmann also gives a masterful performance. He perfectly captures the ability to show vulnerability and create a character that also becomes a bit of an action hero at the end.

Hugh Laurie, Lars Eidinger, Marion Bailey, and others also give great supporting performances in their prospective roles.

In conclusion, All The Light We Cannot See isn’t a terrible series. It just doesn’t fully capture what it set out to accomplish. It feels like untapped potential.

What did you think of  All the Light We Cannot See? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Stream All the Light We Cannot See on Netflix.

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