The Lighthouse is Beautiful and Disgusting All at Once

Directed by Robert Eggers of The VVitch fame, The Lighthouse stars Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe as a pair of lighthouse keepers whose isolation drives them to madness. Both actors put forth incredible performances, and Robert Pattinson continues to show his phenomenal skills as an actor who is still unfairly connected to a movie series he starred in a decade ago. Pattinson takes on the role of a silent man who wants to just do his job and leave, whereas Dafoe is the old eccentric who switches from antagonizing his young assistant one moment to demanding he speak up and swap a few stories (maybe even enjoy a few drinks).

Visually, the film is hypnotic. The black and white shots of ocean waves crashing against the shore and storms rolling through in the distance left me in absolute awe. Its accompanying score is comprised of slow droning horns and strings which gradually get louder and fade into long gaps of silence, not unlike the bellows of the lighthouse itself. The soundtrack to The Shining certainly comes to mind, because the score has no distinct melodies but certainly does its job of dragging the audience further into madness with Pattinson and Dafoe.

As with The VVitch, Eggers maintained historical accuracy throughout the entirety of the movie. He and his co-writer (and brother) Max Eggers researched plenty of writings from 19th century lighthouse workers ("wickies") in order to ensure that the dialogue perfectly fit their manner of speech. Perhaps my only complaint about the film is the lack of subtitles in the screening I attended, because Dafoe's gravely slurred delivery combined with the poetic prose of his lines made it occasionally difficult to comprehend what he was saying. Notably, the Eggers brother sought out silverware and dishes which had been used by 19th century sailors in order to ensure everything was completely historically accurate.

The film is full of disturbing (and occasionally straight up disgusting) imagery. Don't do what I did and let the black and white visuals lull you into a strange sense of nostalgic security, because you're going to be confronted with some disturbing imagery that you'd never see in your favorite episode of The Twilight Zone. This film is unconventional and difficult to sit through in certain parts, but it's incredibly fascinating at the same time.

My parting piece of advice to those who are yet to brave The Lighthouse, but think that now is the time: you may want to brush up on your Greek mythology.