The Lighthouse Review

The Lighthouse
Director: Robert Eggers
Cast Headliners: Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson, you'll have to see
Original Release Date: October 18th, 2019(limited)

  With 2015's The Witch (or technically to some, The VVItch with to v's) Robert Eggers proved he's an incredibly unique director for both the horror genre and films as a whole. His style is already so distinct in ambiance and darkness with delicate use of period-centric dialogue and audio. The Lighthouse ramps up that atmosphere tenfold to offer a chilling but more dramatic psychological look into the despair of two men in the void of the sea.
Sometime in the 1800s (and after one of the few glimpses into the outside world of other people) a rookie lighthouse keeping “wickie” Ephraim Winslow(Robert Pattinson) settles in the far ocean under the employ of salty seadog veteran Thomas Wake(Willem Dafoe). The two men must contend with an unforgiving environment, arduous tasks, illusions and tales of monsters, but most of all the biggest trial: each other.
This is as mentioned a film with such little quantity in terms of location or characters but it makes up for it in complexity and quality. There's some seagulls and an indeterminately illusory mermaid (Valeriia Karaman)  but otherwise its these two sea-men and their watery, rocky surroundings.
This isolated context makes the script and acting so key to the experience upon which the film delivers quite well. Each is a masterful highlight in their own way. Dafoe's Wake takes most of the spoken screentime and he's packed with all kinds of quotable intense moments. Acting far beyond his age he's as saltily grumpy as they can be with a mad look and a gloriously dirty large bird. He manages to be so absurd that its at times comical (on purpose) between his stern fearsomeness.  Conversely, Pattinson proves his acting talent as Winslow. He seldom speaks but carries so much power in his take whether it is through stressed outbursts or the cold lack of any emotion forged in his locale. It's unrecognizable from anything he's ever done and makes a strong, total immersion case for anything he does like the greats. Together these two have such an intricate relationship that will cause questions and introspection for years to come even if it at times becomes repetitive.
Aiding this dramatic stress is the aesthetic chosen by director Robert Eggers. The movie is entirely in black and white which brings to mind both the bygone era but also such visceral works such as Eraserhead and the Elephan Man by David Lynch. This greyscale gives mind an old-timey photograph in motion (aided by the set design and dialogue) while also adding to the cosmic horror nihilism at play. Mark Korven's eerie scratchy score also adds to this wonderfully. Some surreal, weird, disturbing images pop up at times which makes it seem more like a work of art than “joyful entertainment” but the combination of all these dark factors makes for something incredibly memorable.
It's a very long and slow burn to the pulse pounding thrills but it's one worth the wait for one willing to embrace what it's going for. The performances here, like the context of the film, mark actors with a career nearer to its end and one just beginning. So too is this yarn just another accomplishment by Eggers and one can't wait to see what he does next if it builds even further upon this atmosphere.  8.6 out of 10