Review of The Lighthouse (2019) by Legitsalt — 06 May 2020

The Lighthouse is in many ways an art-house film with its minimalistic presentation, non-traditional aspect ratio, disjoint sequencing, and black and white colouring. The best thing about this movie is Willem Dafoe, who gives a career-defining performance.

Dafoe plays Thomas Wake, a picturesque light housekeeper. Dafoe’s salty intonations and frenzied mannerisms go a long way to sell his character, but even more than this is his dedication to his role.

He is always in character, his presence ever-looming, even while being buried alive. If charted, the movie’s power dynamics would make the most erratic of double helixes with the dominant role constantly swapping between Dafoe and Robert Pattinson.

Pattinson, as the central character of the movie, also gives an outstanding performance. He is in a way more defined but is also ousted as an unreliable narrator. For the movie’s beginning, Pattinson is given credence and focus so that the audience gives him the benefit of the doubt.

As the movie grows more sinister though it becomes clear that neither the presentation nor the dialogue is playing fair. This movie has so much meaning behind it that needs to be digested and analyzed.

The Lighthouse is an ominous piece that drops the viewer off with its characters and leaves them washed ashore trying to play catch up. Despite the accents obscuring parts of the dialogue, and the looming sirens (auditory and fish lady) constantly encroaching, a deep appreciation for Robert Eggers must be developed.

Eggers shows that he has great potential as a director. The Witch and The Lighthouse are just the beginning.