Robert Egger’s The Lighthouse is his latest film about two lonely men manning a lighthouse on an island. The film is shot masterfully in black and white and shot in an aspect that evokes the period the film is taking place. A combination of the cinematography and sound editing adds to the mystery and creepiness that the island provokes.
This movie is a less is more, so I won’t go into too much detail about the plot. What you do need to know is that Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson’s performances are stellar as they take on their character’s head on and give their all in their performances.
It would be hard to give a genre to this film. There are definitely horror moments and some standard horror tropes are explored, isolation and loneliness. Above all, this is a period piece about a different time, and Egger’s shows that using black and white, as well as some unconventional cinematography. Watching this film, will evoke strong feelings of watching a movie from a different time.
The lighthouse is a gritty film, probably not for everyone’s taste, but I would recommend it if you are a fan of horror or if you want to see one of the most novel and unique films of this year. Surely, The Lighthouse will be up for some Oscar nominations come next year, so if you want to watch it and make your own decisions of the movie, I would definitely urge you to do so.
