The Lighthouse

“How long have we been on this rock? Five weeks? Two days? Help me to recollect.”

Filmology Rating: 3 out of 4

The Lighthouse is the second film from director, Robert Eggers. It stars Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe as two lighthouse keepers on a remote island at the turn of the century.

Winslow (Pattinson) and Thomas (Dafoe) are in a lighthouse. That's all you get.

It's very tempting to flock to this film as a fan of cinema due to it being shot on black and white 35mm film with a tight aspect ratio. Though that aspect of the film is one of the greatest things about the film, it first must be viewed for what the film presents as a whole, not just visually.

What this film does so brilliantly is presenting the audience with the character of Winslow. And throughout the film, you, as well as Winslow, go absolutely insane trying to decipher what is real and what is in your head; the film makes you do multiple double-takes while watching the film, which made it one of the most layered, yet engaging films of the year.

The performances is what every fan of cinema drools for. It may be early in the awards season, but Willem Dafoe deserves that Oscar right now. He gives one of the greatest performances I've seen from anyone in years. His appearance and accent reek of chewed tobacco, salty dirt, and vodka. You get lots of Captain Ahab and Quint vibes from his performance.

Robert Pattinson also gives a towering performance. The great thing about him especially in the film is that his performance gets bigger and bigger as you watch. Until, at the very end, when Pattinson is emoting and expressing every possible emotion you could think of. These two performances combined made for a tango of clashing masculinity that results in an escalator of madness.

Often I say that a film looks great or beautiful, but this film is more than that. From the opening shot of the film, you can't help but open your eyes further to take in the gorgeous visuals from cinematographer, Jarin Blaschke.

This is one of those films that you won't be able to put your finger on after you watch it. It will take multiple viewings and time to really digest the film and think it over. Which leads to one of the issues with the film.

There really is no story. Which, I believe is why 'The Witch' is slightly better. This film largely driven by its beautiful aesthetic and its performances and there felt like more to latch onto in 'The Witch.' I desperately want to triumph 'The Lighthouse' over 'The Witch' purely from a cinematography and performance perspective. However, both must be viewed from different angles seeing that they are both so different.

The score is also something to praise. There is this constant wailing horn motif that almost falls into your unconscious because of how often you hear it. It was such a powerful score that it shook the theater itself. This is a must-see film in theaters.

Another issue with the film is its comedic tone. At times, there are very obvious moments that are supposed to break tension with some levity, which was hard to interpret, at times. Willem Dafoe gives the occasional monologue; it's so overpowering and it leaves you speechless. Then the end of it is a joke and wide shot. And that joke undercuts the tension that was built through the monologue. Not to say that all of the film's comedy didn't work- it was just a few times.

I cannot even fathom writing dialogue like Robert Eggers does. He is so brilliant at period dialogue that it doesn't feel like manufactured words he's putting together- almost like the actors are reading from actual writings from that time period.

This will be a very intimidating film for most, as it was for me. This is going to challenge you in almost every way imaginable. So take time to think about the ending and come up with your own interpretation of the material because no answer is wrong here. But it's impossible not to point out the obvious theme between sexual desire, isolation, and masculinity/testosterone.

I said this with Ari Aster's 'Midsommar', but 'The Lighthouse' is not perfect, but it's an original film from a real filmmaker who had an idea, wrote it down, and made it. That's something to celebrate.

Rating: See It

-Nolan