Foghorns, the relentlessly howling wind, the seagulls is it any wonder if they were as mad as a box of frogs? We are forced to question constantly who is mad, or perhaps madder? Are they in the grip of a storm, or are they in Hell?Īnd the soundtrack! No one I can think of uses sound to create atmosphere quite like Eggers.
There are moments of comedy amongst the gloom, the two men stranded on the rock endure a tumultuous relationship, by turns suspicious, angry and even savage, then there are unexpected moments of comradeship fuelled by alcohol.
The film plays with our perceptions and moods throughout. Every scene is filled with ominous portent and obscuring shadows. The decision to film in black and white is a stroke of genius. There are parallels with his earlier film, The Witch, elements of psychological horror which Eggers clearly finds interesting and hopefully hasn't finished exploring just yet. Robert Eggers' second (?) feature is a superb piece of mind-bending cinema. That the fate of the two men ends so tragically is no wonder given the exposition, and you'll come away convinced that it's bad luck to kill a seabird.
It even has a 'B' quality look, though the subject matter goes beyond the simplistic efforts of early film, and challenges the viewer with a myriad of interpretations one could assign to the story. Cinematically, the picture reminded me of all those great black and white films of the Thirties and Forties emanating from the silent era. Of the two, it's Pattinson's character who eventually experiences visions and nightmares as he goes about his daily chores, subservient to the demands of his nominal supervisor Wake. Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) and Tom Howard (Robert Pattinson) are alternately at each others' throats or gleefully imbibing their way into a state of stupor, at one point suggesting a homoerotic encounter, but quickly devolving into yet another fit of pique. One of those where I'm glad I watched it but am really unlikely to ever watch it again.īleak and brooding, "The Lighthouse" is a study of the descent into madness of two lighthouse keepers, stranded beyond their original four week assignment, and despairing in the fate of their existence together. For myself I felt a bit of that - at the end that I more appreciated what it did well and how it did it than I actually 'enjoyed' the film as a film. I do think that for a lot of viewers it will be a reasonable reaction to be put off the film - mainly because feeling uncomfortable for several hours is not an easy experience to sell. The performances come with an intensity and realism that sells the film even when so much of it is hard to accept on the face of it. The fruity accents and gruff delivery makes it hard to catch every word, but it did cause me to lean in. The selection of the ratio, keeping the shot tight no matter what shot it was the noise of the sea and sight of the waves but even the dialogue - which was distracting in some ways but effective in others. I thought this aspect of it was done well in many different ways. The manner of delivery of this is an oppressive approach, making the viewer feel uncomfortable and not giving space to get away from it. The narrative isn't much to talk about, but the tone and tension is what works - if it works for you.
#MOVIE ABOUT LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER ROBERT REDFORD FULL#
This is not quite good enough to carry the film for its full 110 minutes, because it is a bit too long, but it is enough to grab the viewer and more or less keep them there until the end - more or less. What is consistent though is the sense of dread and claustrophobia that comes from the limits of the location and the fear of this unknown threat - whatever it may be. For much of The Lighthouse, I was not wholly sure what was going on, which I guess is deliberate as it is never quite clear what is what.
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