Directed by: Robert Eggers
Release date: November 1st, 2019
Rating: 9/10
The Lighthouse is a film about two men stationed at a lighthouse by themselves, and are stranded when their relief failed to show up. Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe play these two men stuck together on a rock. An important note about this film. It is shot with an aspect ratio of 1.19:1. It is also shot in black and white. These things make the film feel as if it was filmed around 50 or 60 years ago.
First off, this movie is not a casual, easy watch. It’s full of symbolism and dark themes that can go unnoticed or not understood without a careful eye. Eggers does a fantastic job in creating this eerie atmosphere and also creating a unique relationship between these two men. At times you feel as if it’s them against the elements and God, at others you feel it’s one against the other.
Pattinson and Dafoe are brilliant in this film. Some of the best scenes, in my opinion, came from dialogue between the two of them on screen. I had always known that Dafoe was a great actor, and I knew Pattinson was pretty good; but Pattinson in this film is fantastic. A lot of people still see him as Edward from Twilight. Well I challenge you to see Edward at all in this movie. He completely inhabits the role of Ephraim Winslow, young lighthouse steward.
The sound design and mixing is one of the strongest parts of the movie. It sounds like a 50s or 60s movie in the dialogue, but not only that, there are also auditory cues and certain noises repeated throughout the film that really push the sense of impending doom without even showing a visible threat.
The Lighthouse is a fantastic tribute to films of the past. Its expertly made and fantastically acted. While it’s not an easy watch and certainly isn’t fun, it’s definitely a film worth watching at least once; especially if you love older films.