This film is a 15, was released on January 31st 2020, and this review will contain NO SPOILERS
Introduction
The Oscars have just passed, and congratulations to Parasite and it's well-deserved wins. However, with every awards season, there's always that one film that everyone sings the praises of but is ignored by the Academy for the most part, with maybe only one nomination. This year, that film was of course... Knives Out! Well, to me it was, but there's also this other film that has landed the No. 1 spot on many people's lists of last year, The Lighthouse.
Thoughts Going In
I didn't go to see this because of the trailers or because I like Robert Eggers, as I haven't seen his debut film The Witch. I went to see this because of curiosity. As I said, many critics praised this film enormously, and that was what convinced me to see this. So, instead of Dolittle or Sonic the Hedgehog this half-term, I chose The Lighthouse.
The Story
In the 1890s, two lighthouse keepers arrive on an island to run the lighthouse, until they begin to lose their sanity the longer they stay there.
What I Liked
The best aspect of this film is the performances, of which there are few. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson give career-best turns as deranged, creepy and generally unsettling people. After some time you begin to forget that they are actors and just accept them to be the people that they portray. I was completely wrapped up in these characters and they carried the film in masterful fashion.
The presentation of the film adds to the eerie atmosphere it demands. The choice to colour the film in black and white helps the audience to understand the characters as they lose track of time and place, as you struggle to follow what night and day look like and how each location is visually distinguishable from each other. Also, black and white, in general, can make something a bit creepier. The limited aspect ratio made the viewing experience feel more claustrophobic and as if you are stuck within the confines of this island. This was just fascinating to watch. Very few films are presented in this way anymore, so to see a film incorporate them is striking and effective.
Other technical elements were excellently executed as well. The sound design was impeccable, the recurring motif of the generator (or horn? I'm not entirely sure) emphasised the irritants of having to live in this place and added to the unsettling nature of this location. The score, or lack thereof, was also very unnerving, the cinematography was wonderfully energetic and fluid (too bad it was competing with 1917), and the editing in certain places between various horrific images just heightened the tension and made this an alarming watch. In places, I couldn't believe what I was watching. It looked and sounded completely and utterly disturbing.
However, one of the things that I feel I took away from the film most was the ambiguity. I love a nice concrete story where everything comes together and makes sense at the end, but more often than not, I prefer an ending where the opposite is so. I like it when a film doesn't entirely answer every question one may have or doesn't occupy itself with making sense of everything that has happened. I left the cinema completely puzzled as to what exactly I had just watched. Is the film trying to be symbolic of something? If so, what? Why? What is the significance of these certain aspects? How does it all tie together? What on earth does that ending mean? Hang on, what was that? Leaving a film off on a note that is up to interpretation is what makes film discussion fun and worthwhile. I doubt I'll be forgetting about this film anytime soon, and I am even more doubtful that discussion about such will ever stop.
What I Didn't Like
Despite having tons to take away, I don't know if I'll be leaping at the chance to revisit this too soon. I'd love to watch it again just to unpack all that is on offer, but as a piece of entertainment, it doesn't entirely suffice. It's not really a horror film, but it is definitely disturbing enough to put my fingers in front of my eyes. Looking at the other praised films of 2019, many that I've seen are a bit more catered to me in terms of how enjoyable they are. Parasite, which had big wins at the Oscars, is a film that I enjoyed hugely, and would love to go back and rewatch not just to unpack everything, but also because I know I'll enjoy it too. With this, I admire it enormously as a work of art but didn't completely enjoy myself while watching. This doesn't lower the value of the film in terms of being what it is, as this is coming from someone who doesn't get enjoyment from films of this calibre, but for me, it just lacked the entertainment that I particularly seek from films I see.
Conclusion
The Lighthouse is a disturbing, eerie, creepy, and largely effective piece of filmmaking. The central performances, the sounds, the presentation, and the lack of much clarity make it innovative and unique. Despite not entirely appealing to what I want to see, this is still completely successful in terms of fulfilling what it sets out to do, and I will not be forgetting it any time in the foreseeable future. Go and see it while you still can, and don't worry if you don't understand it, because maybe you're not really supposed to.
I'm going to give The Lighthouse an 8.5/10
The Oscars have just passed, and congratulations to Parasite and it's well-deserved wins. However, with every awards season, there's always that one film that everyone sings the praises of but is ignored by the Academy for the most part, with maybe only one nomination. This year, that film was of course... Knives Out! Well, to me it was, but there's also this other film that has landed the No. 1 spot on many people's lists of last year, The Lighthouse.
Thoughts Going In
I didn't go to see this because of the trailers or because I like Robert Eggers, as I haven't seen his debut film The Witch. I went to see this because of curiosity. As I said, many critics praised this film enormously, and that was what convinced me to see this. So, instead of Dolittle or Sonic the Hedgehog this half-term, I chose The Lighthouse.
The Story
In the 1890s, two lighthouse keepers arrive on an island to run the lighthouse, until they begin to lose their sanity the longer they stay there.
What I Liked
The best aspect of this film is the performances, of which there are few. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson give career-best turns as deranged, creepy and generally unsettling people. After some time you begin to forget that they are actors and just accept them to be the people that they portray. I was completely wrapped up in these characters and they carried the film in masterful fashion.
The presentation of the film adds to the eerie atmosphere it demands. The choice to colour the film in black and white helps the audience to understand the characters as they lose track of time and place, as you struggle to follow what night and day look like and how each location is visually distinguishable from each other. Also, black and white, in general, can make something a bit creepier. The limited aspect ratio made the viewing experience feel more claustrophobic and as if you are stuck within the confines of this island. This was just fascinating to watch. Very few films are presented in this way anymore, so to see a film incorporate them is striking and effective.
Other technical elements were excellently executed as well. The sound design was impeccable, the recurring motif of the generator (or horn? I'm not entirely sure) emphasised the irritants of having to live in this place and added to the unsettling nature of this location. The score, or lack thereof, was also very unnerving, the cinematography was wonderfully energetic and fluid (too bad it was competing with 1917), and the editing in certain places between various horrific images just heightened the tension and made this an alarming watch. In places, I couldn't believe what I was watching. It looked and sounded completely and utterly disturbing.
However, one of the things that I feel I took away from the film most was the ambiguity. I love a nice concrete story where everything comes together and makes sense at the end, but more often than not, I prefer an ending where the opposite is so. I like it when a film doesn't entirely answer every question one may have or doesn't occupy itself with making sense of everything that has happened. I left the cinema completely puzzled as to what exactly I had just watched. Is the film trying to be symbolic of something? If so, what? Why? What is the significance of these certain aspects? How does it all tie together? What on earth does that ending mean? Hang on, what was that? Leaving a film off on a note that is up to interpretation is what makes film discussion fun and worthwhile. I doubt I'll be forgetting about this film anytime soon, and I am even more doubtful that discussion about such will ever stop.
What I Didn't Like
Despite having tons to take away, I don't know if I'll be leaping at the chance to revisit this too soon. I'd love to watch it again just to unpack all that is on offer, but as a piece of entertainment, it doesn't entirely suffice. It's not really a horror film, but it is definitely disturbing enough to put my fingers in front of my eyes. Looking at the other praised films of 2019, many that I've seen are a bit more catered to me in terms of how enjoyable they are. Parasite, which had big wins at the Oscars, is a film that I enjoyed hugely, and would love to go back and rewatch not just to unpack everything, but also because I know I'll enjoy it too. With this, I admire it enormously as a work of art but didn't completely enjoy myself while watching. This doesn't lower the value of the film in terms of being what it is, as this is coming from someone who doesn't get enjoyment from films of this calibre, but for me, it just lacked the entertainment that I particularly seek from films I see.
Conclusion
The Lighthouse is a disturbing, eerie, creepy, and largely effective piece of filmmaking. The central performances, the sounds, the presentation, and the lack of much clarity make it innovative and unique. Despite not entirely appealing to what I want to see, this is still completely successful in terms of fulfilling what it sets out to do, and I will not be forgetting it any time in the foreseeable future. Go and see it while you still can, and don't worry if you don't understand it, because maybe you're not really supposed to.
I'm going to give The Lighthouse an 8.5/10
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