Film Students' Reactions to "Shadowlands"

On Saturday, January 31, 2026, three Regent students gathered to watch “Shadowlands,” a film about C.S. Lewis’s life and his wife, Joy Davidman, for a class assignment. The movie highlights Lewis’s journey from academic detachment to discovering a deeper human connection and love. The screening event took place from 3:30 to 7:00 in a dorm room in Foundation Hall at Regent University. Both Allie Munro and Darija Villwock are enrolled in Film 110: Visual Storytelling and were required to analyze “Shadowlands” for its use of implicit narrative techniques as part of a discussion post. Sophie Webster, however, chose to join simply for fun and the community experience.

Before the movie began, they shared their expectations for the movie to have a depressing tone, with Webster saying, “I’m pretty sure someone is going to die, so I think it’s going to be a sad movie,” while Villwock added, “I expect that I will probably cry at the end of this movie, but it will be good.” The group settled in with snacks to watch the 2 hr film, occasionally pausing to highlight storytelling elements or to share their reactions to specific scenes.

At the end, Webster expressed that she genuinely enjoyed the film, saying, “It had some highs and lows and some emotional moments.” Villwock jokingly claimed she “did not survive” because of the heavy, emotional themes, but acknowledged, “It was a really great movie—really well done and a really great story.” All three students came away having learned and reflected on the meaningful themes presented in the film, and could better understand how powerful storytelling through film is.