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The Lighthouse: the Lonely Seaman print (2020)

11/4/19

Directed by Robert Eggers (Regency Enterprises / A24)

The Lighthouse has been an intriguing film approaching its release into theaters. I’ve seen pictures of it for a long time, but could never get a grasp on if this was some sort of indie movie or if was even going to be shown widely in theaters. I couldn’t even tell what genre it was supposed to be, but when great reviews came out for it, I decided I had to see it. This is a minimalist film only staring two characters in its entirety. The Lighthouse is full of oppression, and has a story leaning heavily on symbolism. We slowly watch how these two men devolve into madness, addicted to alcohol and suffering from the tension and lifestyle of their remote location and hardships. It’s hard to say which man to root for, and its even more difficult to discern truth from fantasy, but this is an interesting film with an original story with incredible performances that I’m glad I saw. 

Time and setting kept vague, although appearing to be approximately the turning of the 20th century, two men arrive at an island containing a lighthouse under contract to maintain it for 4 weeks. Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) seems to be a seasoned sailor where this kind of work and familiarity with the ocean is commonplace. The younger Winslow (Robert Pattinson) is performing this sort of job for the first time, after floating from one job and vocation to the next. Wake is a domineering and superstitious Captain Ahab kind of seaman, and verbally abuses Winslow, at least when sober. However, the two get along quite well in their evenings getting drunk and dancing around the bunkhouse. Both men have a mysterious past, and both lie to each other and the audience about their backgrounds and motivations.

This movie feels like something out of the 1950′s; a blend of Hitchcock and Kubrick telling a tale of madness and insanity. The atmosphere is gritty, wet, and miserable. The 4:3 aspect ration gives The Lighthouse and old school look, but  adds to the claustrophobic and enclosed sense of scenery of the story (not to mention being filmed in black and white). One of the greatest mysteries of the film is that Wake insists on taking all the shifts standing at the actual apex of the lighthouse itself, and locks the hatch at all times. Winslow is forced to do every other task on the island, and I was surprised to learn how much there is to work on and island with a lighthouse in a low tech setting like this. Shoveling, delivering, and feeding the furnace of the turn table of the lighthouse is just one of many physically demanding jobs, and Winslow is forced to do them all, meanwhile Wake seems to enjoy his time in the lighthouse just a little too much.

The very best thing about this movie besides its atmosphere are the performances, especially from Dafoe. Every millisecond on screen and word he says feels 100% authentic and immersive. The movie even has several monologues (for both men) holding on long shots with lots of dialog and physical acting, and its pulled off brilliantly every single time. I wouldn’t be surprised if this movie was nominated for best actor for either of the two leads of this film, and they would both deserve it. Winslow seems to be descending into insanity on the island, both from the harsh nature of his supervisor and only companion, along with the labor and elements he suffers on a day to day basis. At first it feels like several moments are in his head, but then others feel like they could be influenced by Wake. The men have a love/hate relationship and the ongoing tension between them never lets up.

The sound design is also incredibly effective. The regular fog horn of the lighthouse sounds like a unfathomable Lovecraftian entity, and becomes like the heartbeat of the island. There is but one jump-scare in the entire movie, but like The Shining or other atmospheric horror movies, the sense of dread is always present largely due to the sound design and cinematography. You can tell Robert Eggers and his director of photography planed out every scene thoroughly as every frame has excellent balance and composition. Despite the film not being in wide screen, sometimes scenes are so dark, only the center of the screen is visible, making you forget temporarily this movie was done in the classic 4:3 ratio. Every audio and visual aspect of the film just adds to the quality of this movie on top of the already stellar performances.

The Lighthouse is not going to be a movie for everyone, especially with how symbolic events of the story are, and its overall ambiguous ending. Brush up on your Greek mythology because that’s what I believe the film makers draw the most inspiration from. This movie could be classified as a psychological horror experience, and if you enjoy more cerebral and stories up for interpretations, you will like this film a lot. I can’t say enough good things about the performances, lighting, sound design, and cinematography. I can see The Lighthouse being studied for a long time to uncover all of its meanings, and to use as an example of the descent into madness in film. Expect a low key experience with some surreal events and hypnotizing atmosphere, and prepare for some of the best acting you’ve ever seen.

La premiere di Bohemian Rhapsody al Wembley di Londra

La 20th Century Fox ha annunciato che la premiere mondiale di Bohemian Rhapsody sarà organizzata alla SEE Arena di Wembley.

Il tour promozionale di Bohemian Rhapsody, quindi, partirà il 23 ottobre da Londra, e più precisamente dalla SEE Arena di Webley, l’arena che sorge di fronte al Wembley Stadium, luogo in cui i Queen suonarono nel 1985 davanti a 72 mila persone.

Lo studios, in…