The Lighthouse

Frantically dubbed online by confused audiences as ‘arthouse’, The Lighthouse is definitely a film to be discussed, appreciated and studied for some time. Starring Willem Defoe and Robert Pattinson, The Lighthouse follows two men stranded on an island with only themselves for company, unsurprisingly they spiral into madness as the weeks go by with blood, sweat and alcohol. From the moment the film begins, Robert Eggers ensures an attack of the senses, with sounds of waves crashing, foghorns blaring and seagulls screeching to trap you inside this merciless 1.19:1, greyscale nightmare. The choice to use Black and White was critical, as it gives an edge to this pyschological horror that wouldn’t have been achieved to the same extent had the audience been given colour to find comfort in. With a restrictive aspect ratio, the cinematography thrives, bringing a creative vibrancy that ironically forces the audience too stare into a bleak and dark window. Speaking of creative vibrancy, Defoe and Pattinson’s acting and on screen chemistry is phenomenal, accurately presenting the effects of madness in an authentic and raw performance, with an everchanging relationship which builds the tension to the climax.Whilst the strength in the performances and sensory atmosphere is already enough to guarantee the films success, Egger’s writing and the context interlaced elevates his work to new heights; the film at surface level simply depicts the maddening effects of isolation and how this effects the human psyche, on a deeper level Eggers makes several references to philosophy. The pacing is well structured with a rhythm in the first half reflective of the labor and monotony which is gradually distorted when all hope is lost and the protagonists lose themselves, descending into an unforgiving savagery that we have no other option than to witness. Eggers undoubtedly points a finger to humanity as we see two men pick each other apart out of jealousy and mistrust as they both pursue the comfort of the ‘light’ which ultimately transforms them into carcasses to be picked apart by the seagulls that haunt them. The Lighthouse is both film and experience, to categorise it as solely one or the other would be undermining its beauty.