The Lighthouse (Review)
The Lighthouse is A Must See Movie.
The Lighthouse is one of the most bizarre and unsettling movies I’ve seen in a long time. It’s not quite as gut-wrenching as Ali Aster’s Midsommer or Hereditary, but Robert Eggers has proven with his sophomore feature film to be one of the best horror auteurs working today. Like with his cult classic The Witch, he continues his obsession with New England horror (I’m smelling a potential trilogy here) with a tale of madness that reveals the darkness that lurks within men when left to their own devices. He tackles a seemingly insurmountable task by using a single location with a minimal cast, yet The Lighthouse never loses momentum and is riveting from start to finish.
I’ve noticed that there have been a slew of lighthouse movies the past two years from Cold Skin to The Vanishing, and now The Lighthouse. Though, I will say that The Lighthouse is, in fact, the superior lighthouse thriller, making it the king of a rather bizarre sub-genre. The film follows two men (Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe) who arrive on an incredibly small island to serve as the keepers of the lighthouse. It becomes clear early on that the relationship between the two will be a tense one, but they manage to make things work for the most part during their four-week service. Keeping their building tensions in check with their sights set on the finish line, things go terribly wrong with a tremendous storm (or a Nor’easter as they call it in New England) prevents their relief from being able to reach them. As the storm rages on for days and days, they quickly lose their minds as they struggle to survive on limited supplies, close quarters, and surly attitudes, unsure when relief will actually come.
People who love horror, know that there are moments in movies where the heroes show up at a location and find it in complete chaos with bloody, mutilated bodies and ask, “What the hell happened here?” Well, The Lighthouse is the story of what the hell happened. Eggers masterfully crafts a tale of creeping madness as the characters their nerves become frayed and their tolerance for not only one another but the island and their duties. It’s a slow boil that sets up a number of elements that might seem trivial at first, but quickly eat away at not just the characters but the audience as well. From obnoxious seagulls to blaring fog horns warning ships at sea of the dangerous rocks to a character’s unrelenting flatulence, the film continues to grate away at nerves until there is nothing left by the end. The strange thing is that even though it all, it remains an enthralling tale.
As brilliant as the concept of The Lighthouse is, I doubt it could have been nearly as successful with anyone other than Dafoe and Pattinson in the leads. Pattinson has worked incredibly hard to shed himself of the baggage that came with playing a sparkly vampire and The Lighthouse is his greatest performance I’ve seen from him. He’s a far cry from pretty in this movie with his walrus mustache to his exhausted eyes, he starts the film seeming like a dog beaten into submission. That though is quickly shed as he’s nagged and gaslight by his superior, a cackling former sailor who loves the sound of his own voice. While Pattinson is incredible, Dafoe is irreplaceable as the salty cur who thinks of himself as king of the tiny island. The two slowly butt heads more and more, trying desperately to laugh off their argument and keep their spirits up. However, early on the seeds are planted for their inevitable confrontation. It’s their chemistry and nuanced performances that keep the audiences so invested in the outcome of their tale watching in grim anticipation as the two deteriorate.
The Lighthouse is an aesthetic masterpiece. Eggers takes an approach reminiscent of old-time silent films. From the grainy celluloid to the aspect ratio, giving the film a gothic horror feel reminiscent of the works from directors such as Fritz Lang. The contrast of dark shadows and blinding lights, the films create an ominous feeling of black and white as though there is no gray, and therefore no middle ground for the two to meet on. Combined with the constant ominous noises that become part as much a part of the setting as the island itself and The Lighthouse masterfully sets a very specific and appropriate tone for this tale of madness. Every detail in the film adds to the believability that the tragedy of this story is an inevitable force of nature. Like bodies lost at sea, the characters’ sanity is swallowed up by their circumstances and fades into the deep never to be seen again.
There have been a lot of good movies so far in 2019, but The Lighthouse is one of the best I’ve seen all year. It’s a strange film that definitely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but those that can owe it to themselves to see this on the big screen. Everything from the performances to the cinematography to the delightful thematic elements referencing classic Greek myths makes this nothing short of a masterpiece. That being said, it’s a movie I loved sitting through and will definitely be wanting to see again, but it’s still a film that takes an emotional toll. While it’s one that I gladly paid, it’s not one that I take lightly and because of that, I have to refrain from giving it a perfect popcorn score. Still, The Lighthouse is easily one of my favorite movies of the year.
