The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse
Suoratoistopalvelut (3)
Juonikuvaukset(1)
Two “wickies” - one inexperienced (Robert Pattinson), the other a grizzled veteran (Willem Dafoe) - arrive on a remote New England island in the 1890s for a four-week stint maintaining the local lighthouse. But as isolation and personal differences take their toll, both men slowly succumb to their inner demons and to the strange, otherworldly allure of the lighthouse itself. Featuring virtuoso performances by its two leads, striking and period-authentic monochrome photography, and shot through with wickedly dark humour, The Lighthouse is an intense, claustrophobic experience like no other that cements Eggers’ status as one of the most exciting filmmakers of our time. (Arrow Films)
(lisää)Arvostelut (14)
The Lighthouse is about nerdy form, great actors and the director’s fearlessness in experimentation and ambition to do something that had never been seen before. The sound track is astonishingly engaging and almost even scary with the deep droning of the lighthouse. The cool black-and-white 4:3 composition is reminiscent of horror movies from the early 20th century. The depressing confining atmosphere of the remote, foggy and windy exterior and the damp and stinking interior. And the conflict between two men that doesn’t take all of these circumstances into account. Their drunken talk isn’t very stimulating, but it serves well to characterise the men and the place at the time.
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In its reconstruction of 19th-century life and visual style of old films, The Lighthouse is an unprecedented curiosity made with great care and, in one view, makes perhaps as much sense (and is thus as carelessly blind) as a drunken sailor who has read Moby Dick and a few paragraphs of Greek mythology (particularly the story of Prometheus) and psychoanalysis (you reach the id only after pacification of the controlling superego). The plot stands on water, the relationship between the two men on alcohol. Instead of drama or any character development, there is only the building of an atmosphere which, in the end, leads to nowhere and serves no purpose; it is not legitimised by any unifying theme to which the film would adhere. It simply just is. The vagueness, eccentricity and signs of cognisance of the film’s pulpiness give the impression of being an intentional act on the part of the screenwriter, an attempt to sell a simple, self-regarding horror story to dramaturgs of A-list festivals. When everyone finds something in a film, that does not necessarily mean that there is actually something to be found in it. Due to the degree to which it depends on its two actors and sound effects, I would rather see The Lighthouse in the form of an absurdist stage play in which the riveting acting performances could overcome the terrible repetitiveness, predictableness and utter lack of flow. 55%
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Just like in his The Witch, the director relishes creating the right atmosphere, but his film is very inapproachable; he makes every effort to spoil your viewing experience. The actors in the leading roles (Dafoe and Pattison) deliver superb performances, moreover in black and white, in a spooky, morbid environment with a hidden evil like from Lovecraft. I like all of this, but the inapproachability of the film makes it hard to give it better than average rating. It is, however, definitely a unique experience.
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After The Witch, Robert Eggers directs another period and psychologically challenging piece, this time in black and white and square format, making it feel like it was made in 1910. that initially repulsed me, but eventually I found myself immersed in the plot and enjoying the nightmare driven to madness. Both Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson give great performances, the dialogue is impressive, the atmosphere thickens and there are a few disturbing scenes (a seagull being bludgeoned to death, a live burial, masturbation over a mermaid and the final scene is very raw). Here I can understand 10 stars and 0, so it depends on you, but I was not bored. 7/10.
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The Lighthouse is a film where atmosphere is everything and the story is nothing. After the interesting and successful The Witch, Eggers had a free hand and he took advantage of it in his own way. He mocks the popcorn audience with their ideas of horror full of jumpscares and ghosts. Eggers is perhaps the only director who not only heard of Lovecraft and read something from him, but also thought about his work and was inspired by his theoretical foundations. Sartre already knew that hell is not devils, but other people. Put two ultimate sociopaths on a deserted island, give one an illusion of power, and expose the other to humiliation and the result will arrive soon enough. There is nothing, only loneliness, and boredom spiced up by memories of the sound of crushing human bones and failed relationships. Sexual frustration, bitterness, and rising levels of hatred supported by the distillate in the blood. The raging water element invigorates the imagination, just like a superstitious sailor's tales. Eggers impressively works with mythological references, with image and sound, and cleverly avoids literalness. Both actors reward him with excellent acting, the kind you don't see often. All in all, The Lighthouse is one of the most impressive horror films I have had the opportunity to see. Overall impression: 95%.
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A sea the color of crude oil and the light of the lighthouse like the Divine Light. A crushing atmosphere of bullying, lies and madness. A great screenplay with psychologically unstable characters in the main roles, who move the action along with drunken spouting and gradual confiding in each other as they come face to face with starving to death. Teh farting Dafoe delivers an acting masterclass and the masturbating Pattinson is his star pupil who isn’t afraid of taking things to extremes. The mermaid hallucinations and being buried alive are moments of the year. Aye, lad!
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The Lighthouse is undoubtedly a remarkable experience. A film composed of black and white shots in the classic aspect ratio, full of magical realism turning into naturalism. Even its language is different, and the script is inspired by the language of real 19th-century sailors and the unfinished short story by E. A. Poe. The result is certainly worthy of attention, but it is open to debate whether pure naturalism would be a more appropriate form.
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As bizarre a as The Lighthouse is (and it’s very, very, very bizarre), there can be no doubt that it is also a superbly filmed master performance by two great actors that impresses the viewer exactly as the filmmakers intended. Basically, you feel you’re going crazy, too, while having fun.
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A very empty exhibition of a talented machine to build a thick atmosphere; you can’t deny its depiction of period realism and the intentionally obsolete formal approaches (static shots, details, expressive acting, precise geometric composition), but it has absolutely nothing to offer the viewer seeking a meaningfully organised narration or some sort of distinctive process. The Witch headed somewhere and tied a loop around the viewer, who had set certain expectations, but The Lighthouse is self absorbed from the first to the last scene and never changes its nature and the pressure on the audience – and though in itself this isn’t annoying, it’s certainly not remarkable or in any way as subversive as Eggers wants it to be. 60%
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This is a beautifully filmed black and white movie in a 1.19:1 square format which is evocative of a different time, as if the hypnotic movie The Lighthouse was created outside of all time and space. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson give magnificent performances, and they compete to outperform each other in who portrays the most manic version of a madman. Figuring out the symbolism of the scenes, and the point of certain moments in the plot, offers up all sorts of parallels extending back to ancient times, however, I do not want to give out any spoilers, The Lighthouse is definitely a movie that everyone has to interpret in their own way. It is a very well-made art-house horror movie, which makes you completely believe the loneliness and hopelessness is real, so I was still waiting for some element from Robert Eggers, which would completely knock me off my feet while watching his movie, which did not happen. Anyhow, I still acknowledge his great directing skills and unique vision, and I will be very interested in his future directorial work. I heartily recommend seeing The Lighthouse on the big screen and, if possible, with very well-translated subtitles. [Sitges 2019]
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This is a visually and masterfully enchanting and outrageously impressive psychological drama, with great acting and with horror elements, inspired by naval stories, the works of Herman Melville and ancient mythology. It is impossible not to admire the film’s depressing claustrophobic atmosphere, elaborate mise-en-scène, unreal camera, work with sound and meaningful lighting, and the acting of both protagonists, to whom the script gives a fair share of space (apart from a number of significant scenes together, they both shine in their own long monologues). This is a realistically raw and uncompromisingly unique work, in which, surprisingly, there is also humour. The film excels in pictorial intoxication and maximum directorial precision, and fortunately, unlike the Witch, it is not at all cumbersome, overstretched or unintentionally ridiculous.
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A story told in half-whispers at night by sailors somewhere in the hold of the Obra Dinn. With each retelling, new elements are added and some fade away again. The resulting tale is all the more frightening for the fact that it is impossible to decipher which parts of it are based in reality, and therefore all aspects of it, however unbelievable, feel real in the end. The irrationality of existence. Audience pro tip: watch it somewhere in a half-empty summer cinema stoned out of your mind.
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Elokuva, joka perustana on kiinnostava retrokuvasto, meren keskellä sijaitsevan pikkuluodon ahdistavuus sekä kahden pääosanesittäjän näyttelijäntaidot – erityisesti mainittakoon aivan kuin Shakepearen näytelmästä tipahtanut Willem Dafoe. Yksi vahvimmista kohtauksista on tämän "kirous". Ei ole Eggers turhan päiten kirjoittanut henkilöhahmoaan Melvillen hengessä. Majakanvartijoista vanhempaa on vuosien yksinäisyys jo henkisesti romuttanut, ja hän pitää nuorempaa lähestulkoon orjanaan. Tämä taas koettaa ansaita rahaa maatilaa varten, ja mitä kauempana majakka mantereelta on, sitä paremmin siellä tienaa. Pakotietä ei ole. Suunnitellut neljä viikkoa venyvät ja katsojassa hiljalleen huolellisesti rakennettu ahdistuksen tunne, jota höyrylaivojen sireenien jatkuva ulvonta sekä härnäävien lokkien kirkuna lietsovat, kulminoituu lopuksi molempien hahmojen alkoholiromahduksessa. Tämä elokuva taitaa olla pakko nähdä uudestaan. [Rakkautta&Anarkiaa 2019]
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A brilliantly sound edited but slightly self-indulgent arthouse wank that's even less accessible than The Witch. Still, there's something captivating and hard to define about it that makes it worth seeing (ideally in the cinema for that sumptuous sound). A farting Willem Dafoe, annoying seagulls, lots of bodily fluids, and mermaids as sex symbols. It wasn't bad, but I was expecting a bit more. Of the new wave of "modern horror" I much prefer Ari Aster, whose Midsommar was a boatload better.
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