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The Lighthouse
Canada / USA 2019
produced by Robert Eggers, Youree Henley, Lourenço Sant' Anna, Rodrigo Teixeira, Jay Van Hoy, Chris Columbus (executive), Eleanor Columbus (executive), Sophie Mas (executive), Arnon Milchan (executive), Yariv Milchan (executive), Caito Ortiz (executive), Josh Peters (executive), Michael Schaefer (executive), Alan Terpins (executive) for A24, Regency, RT Features
directed by Robert Eggers
starring Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson, Valeriia Karaman
written by Max Eggers, Robert Eggers, music by Mark Korven
review by Mike Haberfelner
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It's change of the guard at a lighthouse in the middle of stormy
nowhere, and this time, seasoned keeper Tom (Willem Dafoe) brings with him
newbie Ephraim (Robert Pattinson) - the latest newbie in a long line, as
they all tend to go insane. Initially, the men have little love for one
another, as Tom likes to work Ephraim to the bone and bullies him while
getting drunk most of the time and locking himself in with the light for
hours, to have as little to do with Ephraim as possible. It's only halfway
through his stint that Ephraim actually shows some spunk, and that
impresses Tom. He doesn't exactly grow to like Ephraim, mind you,
but he respects him. Now Ephraim does his best to not lose it, not go
insane like Tom's former partners, but there are things he sees, like
mermaids and stuff, that make him question his sanity, and he grows
increasingly bothered by seagulls, so much so that he kills one on his
supposed last day - which is supposed to bring bad luck according to
superstition. It's the last night, and the two men have an
alcohol-drenched farewell party, just like two friends would. Only, the
next day, the relief boat doesn't come. What does come is a mighty storm
that pretty much refines Tom and Ephraim to their quarters - which at
first is fine, they drink some more, tell some more tall tales, have an ok
time, really. But then the food runs out and the men are forced to live on
alcohol alone - and in one alcohol-drenched night, Ephraim makes a
confession that really worries Tom. And this is where Ephraim really
starts to lose it ... Granted, The Lighthouse feels a
little long and repetitive in spots and could have been easily trimmed
half an hour without losing anything of its impact - and that said, it's
also an extremely fascinating film that gets most of its creepiness out of
very little indeed, limited locations, merely two actors, black and white
images shot in the almost forgotten 4:3 ratio - but a visionary
directorial effort and camerawork make this work just as much as the two
leads, and the writing is really excellent in this one, as it shifts
audience sympathies from one character to the other, often intentionally
leaves the viewer in the unclear who did what, or if what we're saying is
(the film's) reality or the imagination of one of the characters. Now it's
one of these films that leaves many questions open for sure (and on
purpose), but if you're ok with that, it's pretty much a must-see.
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