The Lighthouse was directed by Robert Eggers, whose previous film, The Witch: A New England Folktale, I enjoyed immensely. In this next film of his we move forwards in time to late 19th century. A lighthouse keeper (Willem Dafoe) and his new assistant (Robert Pattinson) are just starting their month-long shift at an island far out to the sea. But why isn't Pattinson's character allowed up to see the light?
Eggers seems to be a fan of heavy stylization. The Witch included dialogue spoken entirely using the dialect and accents of 17th century New England. Almost forcing you to use subtitles, but also giving the whole film an eerie layer of authenticity.
Whereas this film is filmed in black-n-white using a near square 1.19:1 ratio, evoking the feel of those old film reels from the birth of cinema. The only missing touch is the fact that it is not a silent film, although I'm sure Eggers considered it.
But of course these are all just gimmicks. Good gimmicks, but it's the story and the characters that make the film work. And here I have no problems either. The two characters clash almost instantly and when the hardship of running a lighthouse start to pile up it doesn't get any easier. Both Dafoe and Pattinson give incredible performances.
The only real gripe I have with the film is that it's not as... tight as The Witch. In that you had clearer idea about what was really happening. Whether the girl was going crazy or the devil himself was actually involved, is up to debate, but nevertheless you had the major building blocks figured out. Here it's not quite as clear. Something to do with the sea? Perhaps with some Lovecraftian spice thrown in? Who knows.
Then again, perhaps it's part of the process that we don't know what's causing all this misery, anguish and suffering. The characters certainly don't.
Very much worth a watch. It's not a film that will leave you all that contended after you've watched it, but it's not aiming for that.
Eggers seems to be a fan of heavy stylization. The Witch included dialogue spoken entirely using the dialect and accents of 17th century New England. Almost forcing you to use subtitles, but also giving the whole film an eerie layer of authenticity.
Whereas this film is filmed in black-n-white using a near square 1.19:1 ratio, evoking the feel of those old film reels from the birth of cinema. The only missing touch is the fact that it is not a silent film, although I'm sure Eggers considered it.
But of course these are all just gimmicks. Good gimmicks, but it's the story and the characters that make the film work. And here I have no problems either. The two characters clash almost instantly and when the hardship of running a lighthouse start to pile up it doesn't get any easier. Both Dafoe and Pattinson give incredible performances.
The only real gripe I have with the film is that it's not as... tight as The Witch. In that you had clearer idea about what was really happening. Whether the girl was going crazy or the devil himself was actually involved, is up to debate, but nevertheless you had the major building blocks figured out. Here it's not quite as clear. Something to do with the sea? Perhaps with some Lovecraftian spice thrown in? Who knows.
Then again, perhaps it's part of the process that we don't know what's causing all this misery, anguish and suffering. The characters certainly don't.
Very much worth a watch. It's not a film that will leave you all that contended after you've watched it, but it's not aiming for that.