The Lighthouse
NOTE: I originally wrote this back in Autumn of 2019 when the movie was first released but failed to publish it in a timely manner. Due to Washington State having a Shelter-in-Place order at the moment, I felt it is more than appropriate to post this review considering the quarantine in effect.
In the past, writing reviews for movies I have seen came easy to me, but lately I’ve been struggling to express my feelings about Robert Egger’s latest film, “The Lighthouse”. This is Egger’s 2nd film (the first being “The Witch” in 2017) and it can already be said that this movie might be considered his masterpiece.
For once, I don’t want to even touch on spoiler territory for this film (because of how good it is), but I will go as far as saying not to even watch the trailers, as it might ruin the first half of the film for the viewer. In essence, this movie is a psychological horror, but in reality, it isn’t. I know that sounds ridiculous, but there really isn’t a single genre that categorizes a film like this, because it blends so many themes - like comedy, suspense, drama, and thriller all together. What I can mention is - this movie is a slow burn look into the human psyche involving two lighthouse keepers, but saying anything else would only taint the movie experience going forward.
What I can confidently say is that every aspect of this movie is perfect when it comes to acting, score, set design, directing, writing - everything. The film only has two characters in the story, (played by Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattison) who gave performances that should at least get them Oscar nominations. Mr. Mustang and I discussed both actors in length, and we believe that Willem Dafoe gave the performance of his career in this film, with a speech dialect that was so spot on we could only assume Dafoe was secretly a lifelong lighthouse keeper from Nova Scotia this entire time. Robert Pattison’s performance was truly wonderful as well, but it (through no fault of his own) took me about 5 minutes into the film to see him as the character Winslow, instead of the Twilight vampire dude. Despite the film being 90% dialogue, it never felt boring. Instead, the conversations were so engaging it was like the audience was simply another seagull observing the two lighthouse keepers from a close distance.
Honestly, the best thing about this film is something that is not typically mentioned - the score. The music in the first 30 seconds of the film immediately sucks you into the environment, and the score is perfectly blended into the story throughout the movie, making you forget you are sitting in a theater. This movie was also expertly directed and shot in a rarely used 1.19:1 aspect ratio on 35mm film, all in black and white, giving a gritty feel to the landscape the audience was transported to.
Overall, the movie is extremely straightforward and simple, but the true plot of the film is experiencing how these two characters cohabitate with each other that is a refreshing take on the human psyche. Now, despite this movie getting rave reviews across the board, and most likely sweeping the Academy Awards, this is a movie not meant for everyone. I’m a huge movie fan myself, however, I had to marinate on this film for a few days because of how big of an impression it left on me. The first emotion I experienced when leaving the theater was that of utter confusion, but after mulling over the film for the next few days, the story sunk into me deep - like an anchor being slowly lowered into the sea. The next couple of days afterward, my first thoughts when waking up in the morning were still about this film, and I slowly started to recognize subtle themes and details that were missed during the initial viewing. Even now, as I write this, I can still hear the haunting (yet beautiful) lighthouse horn from the film echo in my head, beckoning me to watch the movie again.
Will I see this movie again? Absolutely - perhaps two more times depending on my mood.
Rating: 10/10