The Lighthouse is Chilling and Unique.

Overview:

When two lighthouse keepers become stranded on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s, they begin to lose their sanity and question what is real and what isn’t.

Initial Thoughts:

The Lighthouse is an unsettling drama and psychological thriller. This is something of a trademark for director Robert Eggers who’s previous film was A24's The Witch. It would be a sin to talk about this film and not mention the cinematography. This film is in black and white and with a 1.19:1 aspect ratio. This gives the film a more claustrophobic feel since about 90% of the film takes place in a small house. It’s honestly a shame that the cinematographer, Jarin Blaschke, didn’t win an Oscar for his work. Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe give some of their best performances in this film as Thomas Howard and Thomas Wake. This film deserves a lot of credit for trying something new and having a major theatrical release. A24 is at its best with this film and I’m excited to see how they’ll push the boundaries with their future projects.

Characters/Performances:

Robert Pattinson as Thomas Howard: Pattinson plays Howard, the youngest and most inexperienced of the two lighthouse keepers. Howard is a drifter with a mysterious past. Its clear from the beginning of the film that Howard is trying to escape something, as a result he’s very reserved compared to the outspoken, experienced, and drunken Wake played by Dafoe. This dynamic gets turned on its head as the two begin mixing spirits out of turpentine and honey when they run out of alcohol. Pattinson proves himself as more serious actor with this role. He’s worked in a previous A24 film called Good Time, if Pattinson stays with these indie experimental films I think he could finally shed his notoriety as Edward from Twilight. Might be a stretch but I think it's worth a shot.

Willem Dafoe as Thomas Wake: Dafoe plays Wake, the more experienced and outspoken of the pair. Its always weird to me to see Dafoe in more serious and neutral roles like this one because he’s more than capable of playing an over-the-top villain or just a general high energy character. Nonetheless this role just shows off his acting range and, that he can bring a serious and grounded performance is needed. As mentioned before Wake’s character takes a dramatic shift around the middle of the second act when Howard starts to lose his sanity. Dafoe basically gives two performances in one movie with this role, and its hard to not give him praise for it.

Final Thoughts:

The Lighthouse is eerie from start to finish. There are some moments where our characters have these dream-like hallucinations and wow…some of the visuals are very subjective to say the least. Theres one part where Howard fantasizes about being with a mermaid and thats all I’m going to say, you’re going to have to experience it for yourself here. The Lighthouse is a refreshing take on all of the genres that it touches and is defiantly worth a watch.

Rate:

A-