Once I like a movie or a TV series and its over I tend to look for other similar productions that can generate similar emotions so I decided to watch another Robert Eggers black and white psychological horror film, this time around the infamous The Lighthouse (2019) that if it wasn't for Nosferatu (2024) I would probably wouldn't watch mostly because its not my type of visual movie until now I understand how beautiful it is, and to be hones now I just can’t get its haunting imagery and bizarre narrative choices out of my brain. It's set on a remote New England island in the 1890s and two lighthouse keepers slowly go mad, this is the story of a true bromance that goes bad. The film is shot in an almost square aspect ratio, giving it a claustrophobic atmosphere, the stark visuals and industrial sound design place you instantly in another time. The movie feels like an old relic from the past of cinema, but it is also a film that very much has a modern edge to its exploration of isolation and masculinity. It’s an interesting movie because it’s so balanced between intense psychological horror and unexpected dark humor that it’s unsettling and oddly entertaining.
Source
The story develops the characters of Ephraim Winslow played by Robert Pattinson, who takes a four week job as an assistant keeper at a remote lighthouse. Thomas Wake, a crusty veteran lighthouse keeper with peculiar superstitions and an obsessive love for the light, is his superior, role played by Willem Dafoe, it makes so much sense that after The Lighthouse, Egger probably choose him to be on Nosferatu too?. Slowly but surely days start to feel like weeks for them and soon the isolation is starting to affect the two men, their relationship growing ever more complicated and explosive. They drink together, they tell stories, they eventually lose it all. Things go dark when Winslow kills a seagull, which Wake had warned was bad luck because seagulls contain the souls of dead sailors. Then this act seems to start a chain of more and more disturbing events with a mix of strange visions of mermaids, tentacles coming up from under the floor boards and horrible hallucinations that blur the line between real and insane.
Source
To manage such a great movie, square, monochromatic, close space and few characters is nothing but amazing to happen when other movies with way more context and material to work with fail. Willem Dafoe goes full Thomas Wake, reciting long monologues in a thick period accent, his character is menacing one minute and oddly paternal the next, during the drinking scenes when he forces Winslow to participate in traditional toasts. As the story progresses, Winslow really gets more unhinged and loose, proving also how Robert Pattinson has evolve as an actor, reminds me of Di Caprio when he did The Revenant (2015). Hard weather conditions were endured by both actors on set, often getting soaked and crawling through mud holding their chemistry and their descent into madness is all the more compelling because it plays out in a dynamic that alternates between hostility and strange affection.
But given its unorthodox approach its only normal that the audience would be split in half since its not necessarily a movie that would appeal to everyone both on the drama and visual side. I'm sure most that give it a 8/10, like me, would be admiring the beautiful black and white cinematography and the committed performances by both Pattison and Dafoe rather than the other side who was looking more into the drama and action if any. The film's ambiguity and surreal elements can frustrating to many since its not a straight forward movie as both characters fall into madness. The thick accents have been noted as sometimes difficult to follow, but the dialogue but most critics agree that the story itself is not the film’s most impressive technical achievement, its sound design and visuals that make it a remarkable movie, no matter how you might feel about the story itself.
Source
It is only when a fierce storm hits, preventing their scheduled departure, their isolation intensifies and things go south, both turn to heavy drinking, alternating between moments of drunken camaraderie and violent confrontations, every time there is alcohol and a desperate situation like this, the outcome wont be any good. Their grip on reality slowly unravels as they grapple with their own dark secrets and desires. Winslow confesses his true identity as Thomas Howard, revealing a troubled past. Meanwhile, Wake's stories about his life become increasingly inconsistent creating this uncertain to Winslow who doesn't trust Wake and questions who he really is in between of all the drinking and craziness for isolation. The lighthouse itself becomes a source of obsession, with its mysterious light becoming a symbol of forbidden knowledge and power. As their sanity crumbles, the line between reality and delusion blurs completely and then the expected happens when Winslow goes full savage mode and attacks Wake, desperate to access the lantern room.
In a final, nightmarish sequence, he reaches the light, only to experience something that drives him to utter madness, the movie doesn't explicitly says or explain what is it but it has to be something out of proportion, cant really tell how he was feeling with all the adrenaline and alcohol going through his veins. The combination of extreme isolation, psychological baggage, power struggles and possibly supernatural forces ultimately pushes both men beyond sanity, all this combination makes me question if there was something else with them, an evil force of some sort but in a situation like this heavy drinking is just enough to set things on fire.
This movie does stick with you long after you’ve seen it because over all a very simple story, nothing complicated of any kinda of master plan that might create a jaw dropping moment but its the performance, sound and visuals that makes you feel and watch the quality of this movie and then you are like damn this is a good movie. Combining psychological horror with mythological elements and great performances, it is something truly unique in modern cinema. Of course it’s not going to be for everyone but it’s a bold piece of film making that pushes boundaries and pushes the viewer, you have to enjoy something like a horror movie that has no attachment to the cliche of buckets of blood and scare jumps. It’s a rewarding experience for those willing to embrace its weirdness and it proves horror cinema can still surprise and innovate.
