The Lighthouse (B or 3/4 stars)
Robert Eggers burst onto the scene a few yrs. ago with The Vvitch; a slow, bizarre, disturbing, black-&-white horror indie that made critics' Top 10 lists. Now, he returns with 'The Lighthouse'; a slow, bizarre, disturbing, black-&-white horror indie - more specifically, a moody exploration of loneliness which morphs into a descent into madness. What fun! The story is loosely based on the 1801 Smalls Lighthouse tragedy; though, this take on the story is less an accurate chronology of what happened, but more of an unsettling psychological tale of terror. Like something from a Melville sea novel, the film opens with an eerie shot of a fog-shrouded boat piercing the sea as it barrels towards the remote, desolate Maine isle where the lighthouse stands.
There, we meet our 2 lighthouse keepers, elder Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) & young Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson), who - for 4 interminable weeks - will face the trials of solitude, bad thoughts & dizzying nightmares which ride the fine line btwn. paranoia & sanity. Thomas is the ornery, pipe-smoking 'ole salt who recites ancient sea shanties & asserts his power over his young counterpart. Ephraim is a drifter & ex-logger-with-a-past, arriving to help the seasoned Thomas; who guards the entrance to the top of the beacon tower like a pit bull {only HE is allowed to tend to the "light"}. Looking like the Gorton's Fisherman, Dafoe lends an imperious character whose humanity only emerges under the freeing effect of alcohol.
On the other hand, Ephraim is taciturn & wild-eyed. And he bitterly resents being treated like a subordinate; Thomas berates him for being lazy & inexperienced. Over time, a tenuous companionship forms. Thomas even warns Ephraim not to kill a particularly persistent seagull, for they "hold the spirits of dead seamen". The two get drunk in their dank candle-light room one night; run their mouths, laugh, yell, dance, & things seem ... alright. But hatred rears its head. Violence hangs in the air. And when the day of departure finally arrives, a violent storm makes it impossible for the relief boat to retrieve them. Pushed to the brink, Ephraim's threadbare grasp on reality slips away quickly. The oppressive claustrophobia becomes unbearable. And both men are further vexed by the piercing blast of the foghorn, the howling wind, & their deteriorating mental condition. Madness ensues.
By employing luminous black-&-white cinematography & a boxy aspect ratio framing, Eggers' style hearkens back to the German Expressionist horror films of the 1930s. I appreciated that, as the style gives this film a sense of timelessness. Really, the entire production is impressive visually & sonically. The design of the lighthouse & the grizzled milieu of the isle are superb. And the sound design is staggering {wind, rain, horns, birds, farts ... yes, farts}.
Robert Pattinson gives a wholly uninhibited performance, here. I'm not sure it's his BEST performance ever, but he's no longer just the dreamy Twilight hero. He is a skilled thespian who pushes his character as far as he can go physically & emotionally. And yet, for as impressive as he is, Willem Dafoe is the one to make my eyes bulge in awe of what he brings as seafaring Thomas. Though he's often unintelligible, he lets loose with some verbal onslaughts that seem to last an eternity and, I was riveted throughout. And not only does Dafoe entrance with dialogue, it's also a physically-demanding role that he achieves with great agility; all while fostering a pronounced limp. Furthermore, Dafoe must modulate btwn. playing the Thomas who IS, and the Thomas as Ephraim SEES him. With scenes involving nude mermaids, monstrous tentacles & the like ... we're never quite sure if what we're seeing is reality.
So, yeah. 'The Lighthouse' thrives due to the strength of the acting, the production values & the burgeoning sense of dread. All that said, some aspects of the film deter me from loving it. Various establishing shots & transition shots linger too long; making me anxious to see the next scene and making me feel that the film is a tad pretentious. The film is heavy on mood; not so much on plot. And though many stretches of dialogue are engaging, the 19th century New England sea chatter made my head spin with its incoherence. The delivery is sometimes muddled. And raucous, overlapping arguments from our characters didn't help. Oh, and this film has the type of overt ending that you either love, or throw your hands up in frustrated surrender. The outlandish positives outweigh the nagging negatives, for me. But boy, was this a wacky trip; and one that mainstream horror fans might struggle with.
There, we meet our 2 lighthouse keepers, elder Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) & young Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson), who - for 4 interminable weeks - will face the trials of solitude, bad thoughts & dizzying nightmares which ride the fine line btwn. paranoia & sanity. Thomas is the ornery, pipe-smoking 'ole salt who recites ancient sea shanties & asserts his power over his young counterpart. Ephraim is a drifter & ex-logger-with-a-past, arriving to help the seasoned Thomas; who guards the entrance to the top of the beacon tower like a pit bull {only HE is allowed to tend to the "light"}. Looking like the Gorton's Fisherman, Dafoe lends an imperious character whose humanity only emerges under the freeing effect of alcohol.
On the other hand, Ephraim is taciturn & wild-eyed. And he bitterly resents being treated like a subordinate; Thomas berates him for being lazy & inexperienced. Over time, a tenuous companionship forms. Thomas even warns Ephraim not to kill a particularly persistent seagull, for they "hold the spirits of dead seamen". The two get drunk in their dank candle-light room one night; run their mouths, laugh, yell, dance, & things seem ... alright. But hatred rears its head. Violence hangs in the air. And when the day of departure finally arrives, a violent storm makes it impossible for the relief boat to retrieve them. Pushed to the brink, Ephraim's threadbare grasp on reality slips away quickly. The oppressive claustrophobia becomes unbearable. And both men are further vexed by the piercing blast of the foghorn, the howling wind, & their deteriorating mental condition. Madness ensues.
By employing luminous black-&-white cinematography & a boxy aspect ratio framing, Eggers' style hearkens back to the German Expressionist horror films of the 1930s. I appreciated that, as the style gives this film a sense of timelessness. Really, the entire production is impressive visually & sonically. The design of the lighthouse & the grizzled milieu of the isle are superb. And the sound design is staggering {wind, rain, horns, birds, farts ... yes, farts}.
Robert Pattinson gives a wholly uninhibited performance, here. I'm not sure it's his BEST performance ever, but he's no longer just the dreamy Twilight hero. He is a skilled thespian who pushes his character as far as he can go physically & emotionally. And yet, for as impressive as he is, Willem Dafoe is the one to make my eyes bulge in awe of what he brings as seafaring Thomas. Though he's often unintelligible, he lets loose with some verbal onslaughts that seem to last an eternity and, I was riveted throughout. And not only does Dafoe entrance with dialogue, it's also a physically-demanding role that he achieves with great agility; all while fostering a pronounced limp. Furthermore, Dafoe must modulate btwn. playing the Thomas who IS, and the Thomas as Ephraim SEES him. With scenes involving nude mermaids, monstrous tentacles & the like ... we're never quite sure if what we're seeing is reality.
So, yeah. 'The Lighthouse' thrives due to the strength of the acting, the production values & the burgeoning sense of dread. All that said, some aspects of the film deter me from loving it. Various establishing shots & transition shots linger too long; making me anxious to see the next scene and making me feel that the film is a tad pretentious. The film is heavy on mood; not so much on plot. And though many stretches of dialogue are engaging, the 19th century New England sea chatter made my head spin with its incoherence. The delivery is sometimes muddled. And raucous, overlapping arguments from our characters didn't help. Oh, and this film has the type of overt ending that you either love, or throw your hands up in frustrated surrender. The outlandish positives outweigh the nagging negatives, for me. But boy, was this a wacky trip; and one that mainstream horror fans might struggle with.