The Lighthouse

"Doldrums. Eviler than the devil. Boredom makes men to villains"Eggers deserves more than a round of applause for this film. The inspiration and references to other authors or artists is undeniable. For example, Poe's last poem, also called "the Lighthouse", in which two sailors are haunted by ghosts in a lighthouse. Also a clear Lovecraftesque influence, with mermaids and tentacled monsters. On the other hand, it is similar to "Moby Dick", where a sailor tries to tame nature to hunt a whale. He also took inspiration from painters such as Albrecht Durer, Knut Ekwall, Martin Schongauer, Theodore Rombouts, Jean Delville and Sasha Scheider (the latter with an obvious reference to the painting "Hypnose" in one of the scenes of the movie). The film has a unique photography and design. They manage to make the film look and feel like it's from the 1900s. It's shot entirely in black and white and has a rarely used until then aspect ratio of 1.19:1, almost square. Therefore, the atmosphere is gloomy and claustrophobic. Close-ups predominate. Thus, the characters are locked up and isolated, in a frame from which they cannot get out. He also skilfully plays with high and low angle shots, especially in the scenes where they are arguing, granting or taking away the dominant role from the characters. I see the lighthouse house as a reflection of Ephraim's mind. Upon the arrival to the island, the house is in good condition. But as the house becomes a mess, like him, it goes crazy and crumbling. There are several theories as to what the hell is going on in the movie. I will present a few: -PROMETHEUS-PROTEUS THEORY: In Greek mythology, Prometheus (Thomas Howard) was a man-friendly Titan who liked to give. That's why he stole fire from the gods to give it to humans. As punishment for this, Zeus chained Prometheus to a stone where an eagle ate his organs every day. This was endless since every day Prometheus regenerated his intestines, and thus the agony continued indefinitely for the rest of his life. On the other hand, Proteus (Thomas Wake) was one of the gods related to the sea in myths. He was a prime custodian of knowledge that looked superior. He was a friend of sea animals and knew everything there was to know but hated sharing this knowledge, as well as being a shapeshifter. Thus, Howard goes up to the lighthouse, as Prometheus goes up to Olympus, where light (fire) is found. As punishment, he is eaten for all eternity. Thomas, on the other hand, shows us various corporeal forms throughout the film (a mermaid, a sea monster...) and seems to control the sea and the storms, as well as watch over the life of the fauna in the lighthouse. -THEORY OF MIND: Howard has been bad since before. He killed his friend (Ephraim) and stole his identity. But the lighthouse ended up driving him crazy. The guilt of being a murderer seems to weigh on him, to the point of pushing him to the limit. He dreams of drowning and logs, and sees flashes of the man he killed. At the end he kills Thomas with an axe, which reminds us of his old profession (lumberjack). He's running from his past, but he can't get out of his mind. Thomas could be not real, but part of the protagonist's imagination, for several reasons: we find out that they are both called Thomas; in one scene, Howard breaks his leg, and Thomas has a peg leg; Thomas suggests to Howard that he and the lighthouse may be a figment of his imagination; when Howard sees Thomas smash the boat with the hatchet, he tells Howard that he did it himself. The older Thomas may be a representation of Howard's guilt. Thus, the light of the lighthouse represents Howard's salvation, but when he reaches it, not even the purest light can save him, he is lost. -RELIGIOUS THEORY: The whole movie is Howard's path to salvation, to redemption. And the island is a kind of purgatory, where they face a God, and then ascend to heaven. Thomas can be, in the Christian religion, the apostle Thomas. But at the same time, "Thomas" is known as the counterpart of Judas the traitor. We see Thomas lie to Howard with the registration, to get him kicked out, betraying him. Thomas is a higher being than Howard. He orders him, humiliates him, and also keeps the keys to the lighthouse, to heaven. He decides who enters or not. Howard wants to get to that heaven, and he confesses his sins to Thomas and begs him to let him in, but is denied entry. Unsuccessful, Howard kills God (Thomas) and tries to break into the lighthouse, but is banished to the depths of Hell, where he is eternally punished. -MASCULINITY THEORY: Sexual frustration is a constant in the film: they constantly observe each other, secretly masturbate, at one point they are about to kiss... Also, Howard sexually desires the mermaid, and we later find out that this is actually Thomas. There is a great homoerotic tension. This is also demonstrated by the lighthouse itself. At one point it is emphasized that this looks like an erect penis. The locks, on the other hand, are representations of the vagina, which Howard is constantly trying to open. But the focus is more on the questions that those homoerotic nuances generate in one. They are constantly asserting their masculinity. Thomas gives Howard chores involving women. But at the same time he has flashes where he tells him that he is very cute and that he has a very pretty face. Thomas also refers to the lighthouse as "she" his one and only true lover. He says this only to hide his true wish, which is that the lighthouse is a phallus. They push each other out of fear of who they are. It is a film about identity, in which they try to survive while discovering themselves. They are two lovers who can never be. And in the end, Howard is condemned to love and personal disappointment, a feeling that eats his guts (literally).