The Lighthouse

Bon film !

Bon film !

Bon film !

Bon film !

source: The Lighthouse

"The Lighthouse" is one of the strangest films I've ever seen. Describing it or even knowing whether or not I liked it is pretty difficult. Suffice to say, it was is a very, very unique movie...one that is quite haunting and difficult. The story is set in the late 19th century and a lighthouse keeper (Willem Dafoe) and his assistant (Rob Pattinson) arrive at the facility for their tour of duty. At first, things seem pretty mundane, though over time they both seem to be losing their minds...Pattinson's character in particular. Where it goes from there is ugly, disturbing and weird. This is definitely NOT a film for everyone. In fact, I'd go so far as to say most people probably would not like the film....and fewer yet would really enjoy it. But it also is a wholly original viewing experience and I can respect the folks who made it. The acting is good....and it feels much like peeking inside the mind of a madman. Overall, not enjoyable but also pretty amazing.

Robert Eggers' second (?) feature is a superb piece of mind-bending cinema. 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. The decision to film in black and white is a stroke of genius. Every scene is filled with ominous portent and obscuring shadows. The film plays with our perceptions and moods throughout. 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. 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? And the soundtrack! No one I can think of uses sound to create atmosphere quite like Eggers. Foghorns, the relentlessly howling wind, the seagulls; is it any wonder if they were as mad as a box of frogs? Willem Dafoe is absolutely fantastic in The Lighthouse. He really should be considered for an Oscar for his turn as the saltiest of old seadogs, spouting rage-filled Melville-esque invective straight from Davey Jones' locker, at sporadic intervals. I don't think there are many actors who could've pulled off that performance with such aplomb. He chews the scenery mercilessly, but it is exactly what the role requires; his Thomas Wake is a force of nature in human form. The Lighthouse won't be to everyone's taste, and it would be a mistake to view it as a moody twin sister of The Witch (which was a genuine horror); but I found it to be mesmerising and intriguing, and a fabulously well-crafted psychological drama with trimmings of horror.

Both actors demonstrated excellent acting; in a way I saw it as a play rather than a feature film. Aside from the acting, the movie was boring, difficult to understand (was there anything to understand?) and confusing. I enjoy psychological thrillers, but this was not even near that. The ending gave no answers....a movie that has no proper ending or even a hint of an ending is not worth watching. Having said that, I do not recommend this movie, for me it was a waste of time.

If you've ever taken an acting class where the instructor gives the actors some thin idea and then two actors go on about 4 times longer than is interesting--well that's the flaw in this film. The two actors are good, Pattinson better than I thought possible, maybe even great but how much drunker can you get? How much crazier can you get? That's all a good part of this story is about. There isn't any development just another scene just like the one before, two guys in a barely illuminated room getting drunk and babbling, just like the previous scene that lasted 7 minutes and just ended was. The film feels like it's 2 and a half hours long. This is a misfire from a promising director. People argued if his previous film, The Witch, was really a horror film people may argue if this is even a movie. I saw it opening night. The audience was small, two women walked out about ten minutes from the end. Neither actor really has a character to play just a type and in lessor acting hands it would have all been even worse. Around the edges of the, 2 guys in a room being drunk and crazy sequences, there is moody B and W, purposely narrow framed atmosphere, The music and sound design are well done. There are few real supernatural visuals and of these I just say, more mermaid please. I guess it's more like THE LOST WEEKEND on an island than an island based supernatural story, just don't expect much in the way of story and gobs of exposition and talk talk talk, a movie that doesn't show and just tells. It has various gross out bits that the director avoided in his first film and also lacks an ending--instead opting for film schoolish ambiguity and feels much much longer than it is. Slow and steady becomes laborious and also frankly though its visual tricks are impressive at first they really don't develop much and the lack of color also weighs the film down, though really the script is what just isn't there. It feels like it's written by the two brothers while on cocaine, lots of focus on details that don't add up, energetic over-concentration on small details and no perception of anything else. No building momentum exists to bring it all off as a story of as a feature film. A few bits of intentionally dark humor get lost in the general grime as do the few vivid Lovecraftian tentacles. Really a let down this film is.

This film is completely devoid of any content , and skill . It's a bit like actors warming up before a stage play ; just odd noises and exaggerated gestures . The entire film is about artsy acting, which is a terrible thing if you are not an actor, or into pretentious displays . Apart from that, by my count it's the third movie with that same old lighthouse theme in recent years, and by far the worst re. story, acting, editing and camera work .