The Lighthouse is a throwback horror movie in the vein of Hitchcock and the earlier, simplistic Hollywood horror films that relied on psychological fear, acting and the directors vision. In fact the film was shot and projected in 4 x 3 frame, with one location, two actors, a mermaid, a one-eyed seagull and a whole lot of rain and yet it was a thoroughly enjoyable film.
The plot is simple. Two men, The Keeper, Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) and his wickie Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) are sent to a small, remote island to keep up the lighthouse for four weeks. Two men, strangers, alone and with no one else for thousands of miles.
There’s a lot of ways this can go and although it pushes the points of becoming uncomfortable at times it stems from the realism and isolation of the two men, first trying to get by and eventually trying to survive.
In a juicy character-driven leading role that Willem Dafoe was born for, he dazzles as the grizzled light keeper. Teeth missing, a squint to his eye and a distinct English accent that conveys to the audience its late 19th century time period. Dafoe is flawless bringing this character to life.
But on this island there’s something more. There’s a lot of self-deception within this film among both the men and the lighthouse itself. Although their reasoning’s for being there are obvious there are dark secrets which the two hide from each other and it’s very difficult to obtain as a viewer who’s the crazed one, which works well in ratcheting up tension, especially as a storm centers on the island distancing the relief and sanity for additional weeks on end for our leads.
Its an interesting psychological experiment putting to grown men in one single space for an indefinite amount of time. What it does physically and especially psychologically. The need for alcohol becomes apparent and expedites or perhaps numbs the potential for insanity but without that and the days of rain and storms bleeding on top of each other what can a man do to pass the time?
I found it very impressive how director Robert Eggers (The Witch) navigates us toward that conclusion and how the mind can turn towards a maniacal state of despair, often self-produced which could have gone many ways but none more satisfying to me than what one can look forward to in watching The Lighthouse.
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