We have a palpable sense of how Winslow feels as he regards the horizon or looks up and sees the increasingly deranged Wake up in the lighthouse. When we venture outside with Winslow and/or Wake and the camera pulls back, there’s still something suffocating about the visuals. In fact, absurd as it might sound, one seagull in particular seems to have a grudge against Winslow.)ĭirector Eggers (“The Witch”) and the cinematographer Jarin Blaschke shoot “The Lighthouse” in a nearly square aspect ratio, further deepening the sense of claustrophobia. (It’s not like you can go for a walk, what with the jagged rocks and the pounding waves and the annoying seagulls and all. In addition to the lighthouse, there’s only a signal house containing the foghorn, and a small cabin where they both have to sleep, share meals and co-exist. Winslow and Wake are practically on top of each other for the duration. Pattinson plays a young drifter named Winslow, who has contracted for a monthlong gig on an isolated, storm-swept island as an apprentice for crabby-ass old lighthouse keeper Thomas Wake (Dafoe), who is given to barking orders, riding Winslow as if the guy is a prisoner doing hard labor - and filling the air with flatulence. “The Lighthouse” is set in the late 19th century, but it really does feel more like we’re immersed in some sort of between-two-worlds, suspended state of existence.
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I know: I’m really selling it, right? You’re already itching to click over to a movie ticket site so you can reserve your seats for this weekend!īut this truly IS must-see cinema - one of the most visually striking films you’ll ever see, featuring magnificent performances from the two leads.ĭafoe goes bigger and bolder in his work, but Pattinson has his moments of screen-filling madness as well. Rated R (for sexual content, nudity, violence, disturbing images, and some language). The Lighthouse won't be to everyone's taste, and it would be a mistake to view it as a moody twin sister of The Witch (which was a genuine horror) but I found it to be mesmerising and intriguing, and a fabulously well-crafted psychological drama with trimmings of horror.A24 presents a film directed by Robert Eggers and written by Eggers and Max Eggers. He chews the scenery mercilessly, but it is exactly what the role requires his Thomas Wake is a force of nature in human form. I don't think there are many actors who could've pulled off that performance with such aplomb. He really should be considered for an Oscar for his turn as the saltiest of old seadogs, spouting rage-filled Melville-esque invective straight from Davey Jones' locker, at sporadic intervals. Willem Dafoe is absolutely fantastic in The Lighthouse. Foghorns, the relentlessly howling wind, the seagulls is it any wonder if they were as mad as a box of frogs?
We are forced to question constantly who is mad, or perhaps madder? Are they in the grip of a storm, or are they in Hell?Īnd the soundtrack! No one I can think of uses sound to create atmosphere quite like Eggers. There are moments of comedy amongst the gloom, the two men stranded on the rock endure a tumultuous relationship, by turns suspicious, angry and even savage, then there are unexpected moments of comradeship fuelled by alcohol. The film plays with our perceptions and moods throughout. Every scene is filled with ominous portent and obscuring shadows. The decision to film in black and white is a stroke of genius. There are parallels with his earlier film, The Witch, elements of psychological horror which Eggers clearly finds interesting and hopefully hasn't finished exploring just yet. Robert Eggers' second (?) feature is a superb piece of mind-bending cinema.
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