{"id":7953,"date":"2019-10-25T08:44:40","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T12:44:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=7953"},"modified":"2019-10-25T08:44:43","modified_gmt":"2019-10-25T12:44:43","slug":"review-the-lighthouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=7953","title":{"rendered":"Review: THE LIGHTHOUSE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Talented filmmaker Eggers tortures viewers with his high concept arty experiment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At around a half hour into \u201cThe Lighthouse,\u201d I was totally hooked. Watching Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson spar is fun, and then things took a cruel turn. The milk curdle of the painful last third will captivate those looking for something entirely different and frustrate others, who may have been curious to see what the Batman (Pattinson) will do next.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
These are not happy men.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Ephraim Winslow (Pattinson) arrives on a tiny island to work as a wickie, he\u2019s greeted by his gruff superior Thomas Wake (Dafoe). A \u201cwickie\u201d refers to Wake\u2019s profession, that of a lighthouse keeper. A pipe smoking, limping, often openly flatulent character, Wake is a rather disagreeable companion. When the supply ship leaves, the barren island is only inhabited by the two men, who are tormented by an inquisitive number of annoying seagulls. But there may be something lurking out in the sea, something tempting and dangerous.

As time passes, the two men grow somewhat closer, especially as they share a bottle. But when a storm threatens, and the supply ship is delayed, tensions run hot. We see an ugly, violent descent into madness that forces audiences to question the warped reality of is transpiring.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Miserable conditions translate directly to the viewer.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An experiment both narratively and technically, the unique visuals are certainly the film\u2019s highlight. Shot using vintage lenses and special filters that prevented red light from reaching the black and white 35mm film, cinematographer Jarin Blaschke, who worked with director Robert Eggers on the excellent \u201cThe Witch,\u201d immerses the viewer into another world. On top of the throwback gear, Eggers and Blaschke adopt a unique 1.19:1 aspect ratio that Blaschke has called something akin to a \u201cwindow or a peephole.\u201d It\u2019s a risky choice, but the look proves to be enchanting. Otherwise, it\u2019s a hard movie to recommend.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Reluctant roommates, Pattinson and Dafoe are excellent in dour narrative.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pattinson and Dafoe are certainly all in, as they engage with one another on a number of serious and slapstick levels. But while there is humor, it comes at a great human cost. It\u2019s impossible to loosen up while watching this edgy narrative. It\u2019s dark and dank and you can almost smell the decay and filth. At times, the closeups and intimate camera work puts you well inside each character\u2019s personal space; you might even want to wash up after taking in this grimy picture.

\u201cThe Lighthouse\u201d is a punishing film with a miserable conclusion; it\u2019s only recommended to those willing to wallow in its sad view of men running from guilt and finding no quarter.

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Visually ambitious, but narratively dour, Robert Eggers new film is a tough watch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[1792,1793,1791,64,1794,1790],"class_list":["post-7953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-jarin-blaschke","tag-lighthouse","tag-robert-eggers","tag-robert-pattinson","tag-wickie","tag-willem-dafoe","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7953"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7959,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7953\/revisions\/7959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}