The Lighthouse - Movie Review

Last year, near the end of 2019, we got some incredible movies. Jojo Rabbit, Doctor Sleep, Joker, Marriage Story (which I still have to watch), Klaus, and more. But there was a couple of movies that when beyond that, movies that I (and plenty of others) think will live on as legends of cinema. One of these films is The Lighthouse. I was really hoping to see this film in theaters, but the closest theater where it was available required a seven-hour drive. In response to this I made a very angry social media post about how I lived out in the middle of nowhere so of course I didn't get to see it while my family, living near Detroit, MI, were able to see it early after its public release. Then early last week I was at Walmart and I saw it on the shelves and I almost burst into tears and I immediately bought it.

For those who don't know The Lighthouse stars Willem Defoe and Robert Pattinson as two lighthouse keepers stuck on an island because of a storm and they slowly begin to descend into madness. This film caught my attention because one of my favorite movie reviewers, Chris Stuckmann, reviewed this film and gave it a perfect score, his first perfect score to a new film in two years. That instantaneous caught my attention and so I had to watch it. As I said though there were no nearby theaters that were playing it, but now that I own it and watched it I can absolutely understand and agree with his score. To me this film will be like The Shining, a horror movie with high memorable acting and visuals scenes.

Speaking of visuals, that's probably the first thing that will catch people's attention because this film looks it was shot in 1930s, in that it's black and white with a narrow aspect ratio. Modern cameras were used to film the movie, but they had unique lenses equipped and the film was edited in post to give it its vintage style. Add in some post effects to make certain levels of white and blacks pop out more and you got some very chilling and scary moments. I absolutely adored this style of film-making because I've found a lot of old horror films, despite looking cheesy now-a-days, very creepy because they actually had physical objects and now digital CGI make-believe. Now I'm not saying there is no CGI with this film, there is, but there's also some good practical effects and the real environments.

This movie was shot in Nova Scotia, a fantastic spot if you want to feel like you're battling against the elements, which I'm pretty sure the film crew had to do a lot of. They did have to build a lighthouse as well, but overall the setting just really works. The whole island throughout the movie felt battered and constantly needing repairs in order to survive the waves and the wind. It did look comfortable inside the main house, but I could tell that was because it was constantly being fixed. As the storm continues to batter the island we can see this more as the place begins to leak and fall apart more with the minds of our characters.

There is only two real characters throughout the movie played by our main characters. There was somebody walking from the lighthouse at the start of the film and there is a mermaid that made an occasional appearance, but the only two real characters throughout the film were Dafoe and Pattinson's lighthouse keepers, Thomas Wake and Ephraim Winslow. With this film I think we can official throw away all those jokes about Pattinson being in Twilight because this was absolutely Pattinson's best performance in cinema. And Willem Dafoe was just fantastic. Winslow (Pattinson) starts off very quiet at first, just doing his job and keeping the lighthouse running while Wake (Dafoe) is a lot more talkative and open, leading to Winslow slowly opening up. It's a great growth of character through interactions and there is some really good dialogue that comes from this.

That there is the heart of the film because both characters agree and disagree on things, leading to tension that leads to some crazy conflict. Wake is friendly and experienced, but superstitious and can be a bit of ass who farts loudly close to others below him. Winslow on the other hand is often silent and hard working, but bottles a lot of his thoughts up and has some guilt over some of his past mistakes. Together there is a lot of cheerful camaraderie and some violent clashing of wills. Both of these go to higher levels as the film progresses, leading to some very tense moments. There's one scene in particular (you might have seen it on Youtube), where Wake is unhappy to find out Winslow doesn't like his cooked lobster. Now that sounds funny at first, but how it's shot and the dialogue from Wake makes what I thought was going to be a comedic scene into one that gave me chills and scrunched me up inside.

My experience with this film left me very attention and worried through the whole viewing. With only two important or noteworthy characters in the film you need moments that make you care for these people, but you also need moments that fill you with fear, uncertainty, and unease. Throughout the film, despite the character's psyche deteriorating, we get scenes that make us question what we are seeing, wondering if we are seeing the wrath of the sea and its possibly real, yet mythical denizens slowly begin to invade the lives of our characters.

One thing that some people might complain about is that there are no definite answers throughout the film, like are we seeing real monsters or are these just signs of madness. To that I say... Shut up. No just kidding, but seriously I think it's great we don't get clear answers to this film because it wouldn't work with the style of film-making that the director, Robert Eggers, was going with. And sometimes films like this are better because we can go back to them and discuss what the film might be about because there are no definite answers. I have heard one of the big themes this film is showing is that of power and how people want to feel treated, but that's not my thoughts so I'll have to watch it again to figure out my own ideas. But as I said because there is no clear answer people are going to watch this again. And again. And again.

On a final note, I just want to talk about Robert Eggers. After watching this film I feel I need to watch more of his work like The Witch because he isn't trying to show off with this film or say, "Hey look what I can do, I'm so cool!" No, what I see is a guy really trying to tell an interesting and unique story. The film was originally inspired by the incomplete last work of Edger Allen Poe, but it developed into something more. Eggers, while doing a fantastic job, wasn't trying to be pompous with The Lighthouse, that's why he added fart jokes to the film (which were implemented well). There were a lot of unique and difficult film elements, from the film style to the filming environment to the only two actors carrying the film. This is true film-making everyone.

The Lighthouse might be my top movie of 2019 and one of my favorite movies ever. I have no regrets buying this film for myself because it's a film I cannot wait to share with others. All of this, plus fantastic editing and a well-done musical score, will make The Lighthouse a legendary film for years to come. I just found, while writing this article, that Bill Murray recently cosplayed as Thomas Wake for something called the Independents Spirits Awards, which celebrates independent films. This psychological horror movie a must watch because it'll be remembered for years.

Tentative Score: 10/10

Definite Score: 10/10

I am not kidding guys, this film is truly a masterpiece. If you can watch it, watch it. Just please give it a watch! You'll be blown away. And maybe you'll get a craving for lobster. I definitely could use some right now.