It's an exciting time to be fan of original storytelling in the movies and Robert Eggers is a huge reason why. Showing both a proclivity for mythology and understanding of suspense in his directional debut "The Witch", Eggers builds on this profoundly and puts to rest any chance of a sophomore slump (Though from the first glimpses of the film's trailer, I don't think there was ever any doubt.)
The Lighthouse (2019) is, to recycle a hackneyed phrase, something that you've never seen before... but seriously. It's a nightmare set in motion from the very first frame where unknown figures in the shadowy distance slowly emerge amid a screen full of murky sea fog. Like a classic Bergman film, the introduction is devoid of dialogue and set only to the ambient sounds of its ambiguous setting.
I was hooked from the first frame; there is little explanation as to who the two protagonists are, where they are or why they are there but an acute sense of foreboding is immediately felt thanks to the superb cinematography (shot on hundred-year-old lenses and black-and-white 35mm film stock with a tight square aspect ratio 1.19:1 used all the way back in the silent era) and incredibly atmospheric sound design. Technically, it's a marvel.
As for the 3 performances (if we're counting the seagull), they were absolutely spot on. Dafoe and Pattinson take this material and totally lose themselves in it, showing the full emotional extent one can go through in such a claustrophobic maddening. I can't seem them not at least garnering nominations for their extraordinary commitment and manic turns on display here; they're both sublime.
There's twists at every turn and all the while establishing an increasing sense of dread and claustrophobia that never lets up. Even in the moments of dark humour (and there are certainly a few), there's an unsettling energy growing that's constantly brewing beneath the surface and one that's able to gets under your skin in ways few films are able to do. The direction, cinematography, score, production design, sound design all combine here to create a psychologically draining film of the highest art form conceivable. Now, when did I start writing this review... Five weeks? Two days? Help me to recollect.
The Lighthouse (2019) is, to recycle a hackneyed phrase, something that you've never seen before... but seriously. It's a nightmare set in motion from the very first frame where unknown figures in the shadowy distance slowly emerge amid a screen full of murky sea fog. Like a classic Bergman film, the introduction is devoid of dialogue and set only to the ambient sounds of its ambiguous setting.
I was hooked from the first frame; there is little explanation as to who the two protagonists are, where they are or why they are there but an acute sense of foreboding is immediately felt thanks to the superb cinematography (shot on hundred-year-old lenses and black-and-white 35mm film stock with a tight square aspect ratio 1.19:1 used all the way back in the silent era) and incredibly atmospheric sound design. Technically, it's a marvel.
As for the 3 performances (if we're counting the seagull), they were absolutely spot on. Dafoe and Pattinson take this material and totally lose themselves in it, showing the full emotional extent one can go through in such a claustrophobic maddening. I can't seem them not at least garnering nominations for their extraordinary commitment and manic turns on display here; they're both sublime.
There's twists at every turn and all the while establishing an increasing sense of dread and claustrophobia that never lets up. Even in the moments of dark humour (and there are certainly a few), there's an unsettling energy growing that's constantly brewing beneath the surface and one that's able to gets under your skin in ways few films are able to do. The direction, cinematography, score, production design, sound design all combine here to create a psychologically draining film of the highest art form conceivable. Now, when did I start writing this review... Five weeks? Two days? Help me to recollect.