The Lighthouse

In 2020 I wanted to watch more films that weren't just mainstream blockbusters. So often the Oscar season comes around and I would have rarely seen any of the Best Picture contenders prior to the big event. But I also wanted to challenge myself and look beyond the typical Oscar favourites and when I saw the opportunity to attend an early screening of Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse, it was too good an offer to miss. Here I would watch an arthouse film in a dark cinema with the sound turned all the way up while free of any distractions to be completely immersed in this twisted tale of two people looking after a lighthouse.

The year is 1890 and two lighthouse keepers, one grizzled and highly experienced while the other young and relatively new to the profession, are sent out to an island off the coast of New England for four weeks of work miles away from the mainland. Willem Dafoe is Thomas Wake, an old sea-dog assigned to monitor Robert Pattinson's Ephraim Winslow as they maintain the premises during several storms but things soon take a turn for the strange when Winslow has disturbing visions around the island.

To capture the spirit of the era, Eggers shoots the film in a square, black-and-white frame that's free of scratches and other such markings which affect footage from that time but the end result is truly gorgeous. This could have been a gimmick but just as 1917 pulled-off the long takes, The Lighthouse grabbed my attention from the first shot and then we're quickly introduced to the two leads once they land on the island and watch the ship that carried them across from the mainland disappear into the foggy mist. The mood is eerie but this is not your usual cabin fever thriller.

Films that revolve around a small space or limited environment will sometimes use wide overhead shots to set the scene but Eggers take uses his two leads' expressions to capture the atmosphere. Both of them are perfect in their roles and offer powerhouse performances as they endure weeks of each other's company. I read in advance that the accents for both characters were heavily researched, just as Daniel Day Lewis did in Gangs of New York, and this really helped to bring the film alive as Pattinson parts ways with any remaining affiliation to Twilight.

Robert Eggers tall tale of two men in a lighthouse is a gripping experience that kept me engaged right through until the end and I'm glad I took the chance to see it on the big screen. I can't say the film is perfect as some elements felt familiar which took away some of the surprise but these are only nitpicks to an otherwise engaging and twisted thriller. The Lighthouse gets my full recommendation for those in search of something a bit different from the mainstream and should be seen in the cinema or if you're at home, then do yourself a favour and switch off your phone for the full experience.