FILM REVIEW: THE LIGHTHOUSE
Director: Robert Eggers
Writers: Robert Eggers and Max Eggers
Starring: Willem DaFoe, Robert Pattinson
Where to see it right now: Stream on Amazon Prime
Release Date: November 1, 2019
★★★☆☆
❍ s–o–m
★☆☆☆☆=waste of time
★★☆☆☆=a time waster
★★★☆☆=very good
★★★★☆=excellent
★★★★★=perfection
Industry giants Willem DaFoe and Robert Pattinson team up in a two-man cast (plus mermaid siren) to bring us Director Robert Eggers second feature film The Lighthouse; a small movie lush with grandiose feels.
When Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) lands a month long job as lighthouse keeper to foreman Thomas Wake (Willem DaFoe) the two instantly clash as they bring out the worst in each other. But as the conditions at the lighthouse worsen the two become more reliant on each other for grounding; with dire consequence.
It is no insult to say Robert Eggers replicates his genius storytelling skills in the same fashion he did when he brought into our lives horror movie visionaire, The Witch. It’s no insult as Eggers thus far knows success.
As one would imagine The Lighthouse explores the effects of isolation and grueling natural conditions on the body, mind and soul. It begs the question, if you had nothing except a small parcel of land on a rock and infinite amount of ocean, what would be your basis for reality?
Equally as important as the characters themselves is the time period The Lighthouse is set—New England in the late 1800’s which serves as the backdrop is already a precarious time for exploration and survival.
Fans with a specificity for the horror genre payoff will not find it as black and white as was laid out in The Witch; when against all odds we gazed in awe as Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy) flies ecstatically into the night sky with her coven. (Balenziaga times a thousand!)
If you are seeking to feel enlightened and uncomfortable in your own skin; you will become voyeur to debauchery and madness of both the mind and the body as The Lighthouse serves you a dish you might not want to eat.
