Score: 10.2/12
Overview:
The Lighthouse is a haunting story that uses manic visions, dry humor, and poetic writing to show the duality of men stuck in isolation. Shot in black and white with a 1:1 aspect ratio, Robert Eggers' second film keeps a very old line feel complimented with a score composed of: the wind, waves, seagulls, and sirens. The turbulent setting of an isolated rock allows for clever cinematography, using the darkness for intentionally confusing scene changes and ironic timing from seagulls and lightning strikes to complement the poetic monologues of a drunken seaman. The way in which Eggers tells this story, with all of its beautifully horrific scenes, a portrayal of men's madness, and out in the open ending, makes it a classic along the likes of many Hitchcock thrillers.
The opening act sets a daunting tone with the rhythm of a steamboat’s engine chugging as the lighthouse is approached, we meet the two men, unnamed at the time as they stare into the camera. The ominous tone is quickly killed as the older of the two, played by Willem Dafoe, places his pipe in his mouth upside down before entering their quarters. More childlike comedy ensues for the rest of the opening scene, which mainly pertains to farts, which lets you know what type of relief to expect in between nightmares and manic states.
The two workers are shown to be complete counterparts, one is young and handsome, the other a dirty old man that has been wicking the lighthouse for years. One drinks, one does not. One uses a pipe, the other prefers cigarettes. One ocean fearing, the other God-fearing. The two bicker and bond as they remain stuck on the rock, using liquor and masturbation to console themselves as they realize their relief may never come. The descent into madness is shown through the point of view of Robert Pattinson’s character with his frustrations, nightmares, submission to vices, and reflection of his past.
The Lighthouse is the equivalent of the tunnel scene in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory made into an entire movie; with bone-chilling scenes, great writing, and just enough humor to keep it from being unbearable to watch. From the confusion of the first half of the film to the sinister closing shot, you will never be bored watching this film.
Analysis (spoilers):
If you plan to watch this movie, which you should, I would recommend not reading further until you have done so. Eggers leaves us breadcrumbs of the truth that are best left discovered on your own. It’s bad luck to read spoilers.
We first get the sense that Pattinson’s character, Winslow, is troubled when he begins to open up to the old man, Tom. Winslow talk about old jobs which Tom dissects as him running from something, this is complemented further with his first nightmare where he drowns chasing after the siren. The siren is one of the most confusing parts of the film to me as it is never clear as to what her purpose is. We see her the second time washed onshore as Winslow mounts her, I couldn’t get anything out of it until she began screaming the most wretched sound I have ever heard that literally made me start to sweat. The lust is further played on with multiple scenes of him masturbating, the last scene of this has him going through visions of the siren, a blonde man that we do not know, a dead man, and fish pudenda.
Things start to make sense when Winslow finally spills his beans, about the man that he killed when working in Canada. This causes Tom to temporarily go missing and Winslow finds himself on top of the lighthouse. Winslow turns his head to find him holding himself as Tom stares at him with the light beaming from his eyes, the lighthouse is nowhere in sight even though they were inside of it just a moment ago.
This is the scene that made me realize that the two men were the same person. This was confirmed when Winslow told Tom that his real name is Thomas after there moment of brief intimacy that ended with them beating the shit out of each other. This was a symbolic scene of the two opposites coming together to be the same person. The old man was everything that Thomas hated about himself, crazy and drunk with no family or future. The younger version was him trying to hold on to what he wished he could still be.
This brings me back to the mystery blonde man in the nightmares. Theory one is that Tom really did work in Canada and that is the man he killed which is the reason why he is going crazy. Theory two is that the old Tom is the real Tom who has been working there for 13 years and killed his old coworker on the rock, which was the dead body found in the fishing cask. There is also some crazy theory that I read where they are stuck in a time loop, perpetually fighting with one another which has some good points such as, Older Tom walks with a limp and when Pattinson falls down the lighthouse at the very end there is a very audible crack of his leg-breaking. There is more theory involving the tale of Prometheus as this is obviously a modern twist on that story, but I am not well-read enough on that.
Let me know what you guys think, this is probably in my top 3 thrillers and I definitely need to watch it again.
コメント