Look to the Light is a movie that dives deep into the messy world of toxic relationships by showcasing real-life examples of abuses like gaslighting, benching, red flags, etc. The story follows Eddie (played by Charlie Goddard) and Lauren (played by Lily Blunsom-Washbrook), who have been dating for six months. Things take a turn when Eddie gets a chance to be on a popular TV show called Love on the Rocks—like those reality shows such as Love Island or Splitsvilla, if you know you know! Eddie is super excited about the fame and attention, and he quickly chooses the spotlight over his relationship with Lauren. As he gets wrapped up in his newfound celebrity status, he realizes too late that fame is temporary, but love is supposed to be permanent. Despite this realization, Eddie cheats on Lauren and traps her in a cycle of toxic behavior where she never feels truly secure or loved. Look to the Light does a great job of showing how toxic relationships can pull you in and make it hard to break free. It’s painful to watch Eddie and Lauren go through these ups and downs, and you can’t help but wonder if they’ll ever find a way out of this mess. To see what happens to Eddie and Lauren in the end, you’ll have to read the explainer of Christopher Manoe’s movie.
Spoilers Ahead
Why did Eddie break up with Lauren?
The story centered around Eddie Reynolds, a famous celebrity influencer who everyone knew. Eddie was smart, charming, handsome, and quite the womanizer. Even while celebrating his six-month anniversary with his girlfriend Lauren, he took a waitress’s number. The audacity! Anyway, Lauren knew Eddie wasn’t the right match for her—her parents and sister had all warned her multiple times—but she was madly in love and supported him no matter what. Eddie, however, took her for granted, as he knew she would always forgive him and never break up with him. In the midst of their relationship, Eddie got a chance to be on a hugely popular TV show called Love on the Rocks, where he would be a contestant and go to Hawaii for several months. Lauren realized this would put a strain on their relationship with all the other girls around, but she trusted Eddie and supported him. Meanwhile, Eddie’s parents also pushed him to break up with Lauren. They thought she was too good for him and not cut out to be a celebrity girlfriend. They believed Eddie would have plenty of women once he got more fame and money, so there was no point in wasting time on Lauren. Eddie started thinking he deserved better and that being single would be best for his TV image. His producers agreed, saying it would be better for him to appear on the show as a single. So, Eddie decided to break up with Lauren. Lauren was heartbroken, not just because Eddie was leaving her but also because she was pregnant with his child. When she told Eddie, he was devastated. Being a dad on a show about finding love was a big no-no for him. He pushed Lauren to get an abortion and manipulated her by telling her that if she really loved him, she should not stand in his way. Realizing how toxic Eddie was, Lauren decided to cut ties with him and end their relationship.
What happened when Lauren caught Eddie cheating?Â
And now you’d think, better late than never, right? But wait. Remember how I said Eddie was manipulative and Lauren was the naive girl? Eddie got thrown off the show because of a drug conviction. So, he went back to Lauren and started asking for forgiveness, saying he wanted to be with her again. It was like Lauren became his only way of survival now that he had no purpose. Lauren knew Eddie was a walking red flag, but she chose to forgive him. After all, everyone makes mistakes. Eddie promised her he would never leave her again. They started spending time together once more, and Lauren thought they would finally be happy. They even started wearing those heart lockets that couples wear to symbolize eternal love. Eddie talked about how he wanted to marry Lauren and have kids with her. Lauren chose to forget that he’d once made her abort their baby, as she thought he did what was best for his career. She believed that now, with everything better, they had a real chance at having a family. Until one day, Lauren was out for lunch with her boss and saw Eddie on a date with the very waitress who gave him her number on their anniversary.
Lauren was shocked, shattered, and felt utterly betrayed. She couldn’t believe Eddie could do this to her again. And now we get to see Eddie’s restless side. Once he realized that Lauren wasn’t going to take him back and would break up with him, all his supposed love and devotion suddenly came to light. He started calling her at home and at work and became so desperate that he even went to her office to convince her to stay with him. Lauren didn’t want him to create a scene and humiliate her. One night, Eddie became so desperate that he followed her to a bar where she was celebrating with her colleagues. Lauren decided it was better to talk to him rather than let things escalate. She made him understand that he must let her go, or else it would become a toxic cycle, and neither of them would be happy. Eddie pretended to understand and offered her a ride home since it was late. Lauren felt it was safer and got into his car. But Eddie was drunk and didn’t see a car coming towards them, and they crashed. Eddie survived, but Lauren died on the spot.
After Lauren’s death, Eddie became a completely different person. It was like he literally forgot that Lauren died because of his selfishness. He started imagining things, acting as if Lauren was still with him all along. Nothing excited him anymore, not even when his parents bought him a car for his birthday. He refused to take it. He even turned down the offer to be re-invited on the Love on the Rocks show, thinking he couldn’t do that to Lauren. After all, that show had started the chaos in their relationship. Eddie, who used to be a womanizer, is now turning down meeting girls completely.
During Look to the Light’s ending, Eddie had become so depressed that he stood on a bridge, ready to commit suicide. He couldn’t stop blaming himself for everything that had happened. What if he had been a better boyfriend? What if he had understood Lauren more and been more loyal? But what was the point of brooding over it now? He thought it would be better to end his life. In the end, we saw Eddie’s brother come over to stop him. But what would Eddie do? Even though the movie did not show us that, we know that he needed to understand that his death wouldn’t solve anything. What’s gone is gone. Eddie should take proper counseling, try to become a better boyfriend if he ever gets into a relationship again, and most of all, be a better human being from now on.
