The Lighthouse (2019)- BFI London Film Festival 2019

Review

109min

Genre:       Drama, Horror, Thriller

Director:    Robert Eggers

Cast:         Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Valeriia Karaman…and more

Writers:     Robert Eggers and Max Eggers

-Synopsis-

The bleakness of a late 19th century New England island lighthouse holds the fate of its caretakers, one an ornery veteran seaman and the other his newly arrived Canadian apprentice, whose suspicion and resentment towards his new master grows as the claustrophobic days tick over, becoming a struggle for survival when he learns of the mysterious fate of the man he has replaced, in this frightening and hallucinatory period tale from the director of ‘The Witch’.

After firmly grabbing our attention in 2016 with his dark and foreboding New-England period folktale and mesmerising directorial debut ‘The Witch’—and feeding into a new wave of nuanced and atmospheric indie horror fuelled by vibrant American production and distribution house A24—East Coast filmmaker Robert Eggers returns to his roots and their bleak past to deliver an appropriately unsettling and striking sophomore effort. Delivering on a unique vision by masterfully crafting an uncomfortably ominous other-worldly meditation on isolation, paranoia and obsession.

Robert Pattinson stars as ‘Thomas Howard’, a young Canadian with a hidden past sent to a small rocky seagull-colonised island off the American East coast to serve as an apprentice to the resident ornery lighthouse keeper ‘Thomas Wake’ (Willem Dafoe), an uneasy arrangement with the younger maintaining the island while the elder hogs the lighthouse duty. But as the monotonous days tick over and become longer, isolation conspires with the elements while resentments and paranoia start to weigh them down, as their pasts are soon unveiled and the island reveals its dark secrets—turning their trying shift into a struggle for sanity and survival.

For ‘The Lighthouse’ Eggers was likely influenced by the Chris Crow 2016 biographical British film of the same name and the real 19^th century ‘Smalls Lighthouse Tragedy’ on which it was based, which also deals with isolation and the descent into madness of two stranded lighthouse keepers. But the New Hampshire filmmaker takes things to a new level of artistry and atmosphere here, pulling thematic inspiration from Stephen King adaptations like ‘The Shining’ and ‘Misery’ to create a truly tense and ominous cabin fever period drama with strong nautical themes and a hint of seafaring mythology.

Beautifully shot by Oscar hopeful cinematographer Jarin Blaschke in vivid black and white monochromatic glory and using a narrow early Hollywood ‘Movietone’ 1.19:1 aspect ratio—which not only bolsters the film’s period credentials but adds both a tunnel vision claustrophobic feel and an otherworldly quality—‘The Lighthouse’ boasts striking aesthetics to go with its sterling production designs, which include a custom-built Canadian lighthouse just for the film. All of which combine with the all-important outdoor elements, the intense sound designs, plus a jarring and haunting brass and wood heavy score from Mark Korven to establish the film’s foreboding atmosphere—not to mention the alarming and constant sound of the island’s mighty warning foghorn.

Aside from the brief appearance of a hallucinatory female presence, ‘The Lighthouse’ is essentially a chamber piece island-set two-hander, and despite the considerable style framed by Eggers and the masterful mood and atmosphere he sets, the film can only stay afloat on the performances of its to leads, two actors who somewhat reflect their characters—one a veteran self-styled master of all he surveys, the other a young contender with plenty of promise and vigour. But that’s where the similarities end, as Dafoe and Pattinson dig deep and pull out two award-worthy performances to set alight this battle of wills, between the old cantankerous sea dog who jealously guards the island’s secrets, and the young apprentice with a shady past and a need to break free. Joined by their growing suspicion and resentment towards each other and caught under the island’s bleak spell.

And the two manage to inject a memorable butting of heads—which mushrooms into a verbal (and physical) sparring match—into the bleak style and atmosphere established by Eggers, expertly handling the accents and colourful period dialogue, and masterfully delivering all the nautical tones and earthy blue-collar poetry of the language, occasionally to comedic effect.

However the real triumph in ‘The Lighthouse’ is its skilful framing of these deteriorating figures and their bizarre relationship against the bleak but hypnotic workings of the island’s upkeep—both from the lashing elements around them and the growing demons within—before the film takes a turn where fates are tempted and superstitions challenged. And once again a gritty Robert Eggers mystery provides a metaphysical final sting in the tail, and a Deus ex machina element which may change the context of the whole film . . . or not, yet still refuses to give away all its secrets.

By the end this stir-crazy human drama and claustrophobic pseudo thriller might well keep you away from any future lighthouse visits, and perhaps leave you steering clear of any small island trips too for that matter, but one thing is for sure—you’ll never look at a seagull the same way again.

The Bottom Line…

A dark and foreboding masterclass in mood with the bleak stylistic credentials to back it up, with ‘The Lighthouse’ Robert Eggers expertly blend a duo of gloriously raw and intense performances with an atmosphere which hangs heavy in the air, creating a tense and ominous other-worldly period meditation on isolation, paranoia and obsession . . . with more to it than meets the eye—solidifying his growing reputation among a new crop of daring young visionary indie filmmakers with a dark side.

‘The Lighthouse’ is out on the 31st of January 2020 in UK cinemas.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The Witch (2016)

In the search for a more pious existence, a family of 17th century puritanical English settlers leave their plantation for the isolation of rural New England, but dark forces in the woods will test their faith and threaten their family in this stark period horror from production designer turned writer/director Robert Eggers.

Directed by Robert Eggers and starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie among others.

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