The Lighthouse

Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse is about on par with his masterful debut feature *The Witch*.  In a nutshell, it follows late-18th century lighthouse keepers Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) and Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) as they basically drive each other and themselves insane for just under 2 hours.  Look, one goes to a Robert Eggers movie for the experience rather than the plot, and like his previous film, The Lighthouse is one hell of an experience.  The black-and-white cinematography gives it a creepy, vintage German Expressionism-influenced atmosphere that sets it apart from anything else in 2019.  Willem Dafoe also steals every scene as a drunken, psychotic fart machine.  The most surprising aspect of this film in particular is how oddly funny it is, and by all accounts, it’s funnier than most comedies from 2019.  Any serious movie where Willem Dafoe gives Robert Pattinson grief for not liking his lobster, and Pattinson berates him for “yer goddamn farts” will get a place in my year-end top 5.  Through the leads’ performances and the darkly funny-but-creepy tone, this is by far one of the most original films of 2019.  The best way I can describe it stylistically is the Coen brothers meet David Lynch meets Stanley Kubrick, with a dose of Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton, plus fart jokes. The Lighthouse is by far the weirdest movie of 2019, and I loved every Freudian minute of it. And here’s a hot take: this movie should have won the Oscar for Best Cinematography rather than *1917.*  Don’t get me wrong, Roger Deakins is still a god.  But still, that FILM GRAIN!!