The Lighthouse

Without trying, this film manages to be so immensely unsettling. From the atmosphere it builds, the tension between the two and the portrayals of the characters. It effortlessly is truly unnerving throughout its entirety. Best part is, that’s not even scratching the surface of how impressive this movie is. I think for one, the thing that stands out for me the most in this film is the absolutely breathtaking cinematography in this film. Easily the best shot film I’ve seen in the horror genre so far. Each frame and variation of shots are so intentional in furthering the world building of this dark, grim and unsettling world you’re plunged into in this film. These shots remote landscapes, rough waters and grimy workplaces fully immerse you into the dark world they’re trapped in. The B&W color grading was also just about the best choice they could’ve made for a film as eerie as this one and it ends up looking absolutely stunning. There’s so many shots in here to be blown away by in terms of the lighting and atmosphere they bring. Another thing I wanted to highlight was the acting performances. Pretty much a two man show ran by Willem and Robert Pattinson but that was still far more than enough to keep me entertained. Robert completely buys into and captures the hopelessness and paranoia of this character being further trapped and engulfed by this isolated world. Willem also is good at bouncing off of that energy in his portrayal by making a menacing and authoritative type character in his performance. They both do an amazing job of making you feel every ounce of slowly stirring anger and animosity towards each other. Not to get to the most important part with the narrative which starts as this slow and unsettling build up teasing and foreshadowing you of the insanity to come. In a way while not fully getting into the horror landscape of the film In those moments, I think the narrative throughout the time it spends in that atmosphere still covers a lot about the affects of isolation and being trapped into this hard labor workforce. The lighthouse being the setting in the narrative is no random choice at all. It’s possibly one of the most remote places you can think of which allows for the most immense isolation to occur in the characters. And I think what this film says about isolation is how it can truly drive you insane, especially in conditions like that. Throughout the film, Howard progressively gets frustrated more and more because of not only the conditions of working but also because of his isolation. Howard in this remote and isolated land has no one but himself to voice his frustration about Thomas Wake’s bothersome persona to. Therefore he has no one or nowhere to let his anger out which leads to it being bottled up and finally unleashing in only the worst places like the face of Thomas Wake himself. It’s a genius study of built up rage and how having nowhere to channel emotions affects you physiologically. He gets more mad at small things like messing up on the job because he never got a chance to cool off from his additional anger caused by Wake in the past. Perhaps the most subtle and least touched on topic in this film weirdly enough was the most unsettling flashes of horror in the whole film that Robert saw on the job. Even with that, I still managed to form a bit of an interpretation of their importance. I think it is there to get a further feel of Thomas Wake’s true authority and autonomy over Howard. Over the course of the film, Howard becomes more aware of Wake’s manipulative and selfish character. However, the one advantage I think Wake has over Howard in Howard’s realization and time of finally attempting to retaliate is the horrifying things in this lighthouse area. Not only do the horrors in the area further send Howard into insanity and paranoia, but they could also be used by Wake as a ploy to strike fear into Howard that the unsettling things that lurk could strike karma on him for attempting to hurt and get payback on Wake. So the horror elements I think really represent the sheer power Thomas Wake has in this situation. So to say the least, this film and Eggers endlessly mesmerizes me with his way of meshing an insane horror atmosphere building with commentary on isolation, Toxic personas, power over others and so much more.