DOMKINO
Psychological horror film
"The Lighthouse"
"The Lighthouse"
"The Lighthouse" (2019)
Directed by Robert Eggers
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson
Average rating: 8
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson
Average rating: 8
From the first acquaintance with the film "The Lighthouse" thanks to the trailer and shots from the film, a black-and-white image and an eye-catching picture in 35 mm format with almost a perfect square aspect ratio of 1.19: 1 are striking. Moreover, films produced by the company "A24" are very successful and, therefore, expectations from watching the next motion picture increase. In this case, the expectations were more than justified.
The plot and "the secret" of the film
The film "The Lighthouse" tells the story of two hard workers: the experienced lighthouse keeper Thomas Wake and his new assistant, young man Ephraim Winslow. Surrounded by a bottomless sea and screaming seagulls, an island alienated from the world with a lighthouse has its secrets and does not intend to reveal them to anyone who visits it. The two main characters have their secrets and are in the whirlpool of events taking place on the island: they live according to the rules of the island while performing their work duties.
The key aspect of the film is the secret: the secret of characters, a lighthouse, an island, the carved figurine of a mermaid that Ephraim finds, and even seagulls that have their own story. Thomas hides from Ephraim the secret of his adventures at the lighthouse where he spends time, after which he locks it and goes to bed awaiting the next visit.
The key aspect of the film is the secret: the secret of characters, a lighthouse, an island, the carved figurine of a mermaid that Ephraim finds, and even seagulls that have their own story. Thomas hides from Ephraim the secret of his adventures at the lighthouse where he spends time, after which he locks it and goes to bed awaiting the next visit.
He, Thomas, is the only lighthouse keeper who does not even give anyone the opportunity to approach it. This, in turn, tormenting Ephraim and making his life on the island even more unbearable. The lighthouse becomes an apple of discord, which only the most devoted and attached keeper of his secret can "taste". Besides the mysteries of the island, both heroes carry the burden of their own secrets: Ephraim suffers from memories of the past and events that happened at the last job, while Thomas is lost in his stories about how he lost his leg.
Delirium, drunkenness, and madness throws the heroes into the maelstrom of time in which they were soon lost. After 4 weeks on the island, the long-awaited ship does not come to pick up the keepers and they try to rethink everything that happened to them and try to understand: only 10 days have passed or already 2 months?
SUBTEXT
The spectator almost immediately reveals the aspect of "madness" which swallows up two lighthouse keepers who are alone and in the darkness of the wilderness. Throughout the film happens the formation and development of the character of Robert Pattinson, who refuses to drink alcohol at the beginning of the film, scolds from the metaphoric speeches of his partner and remains silent without betraying his dissatisfaction with the large amount of work that he performs.
The turning point for the hero is the moment when, for the next cup of alcohol, Efraim, unlike Thomas, takes responsibility and makes a toast. This is the moment the hero of Pattinson merges with his life on the island.
The turning point for the hero is the moment when, for the next cup of alcohol, Efraim, unlike Thomas, takes responsibility and makes a toast. This is the moment the hero of Pattinson merges with his life on the island.
During binges, the heroes become equal to each other: there is no chief and subordinate, and it is not their common cause that unites them, but existence to which they succumb, in whose environment they live. In some scenes, the characters seem crazy, driven to the extreme due to loneliness, and, at such moments, once again, thanks to alcohol, they go into oblivion, and madness already seems to be a normal thing, a normal state.
The entire film is filled with a metaphoric frame: awkward constructions of sentences in dialogs, songs, as well as unusual things that Efraim encountering on the island. For instance, it is a corpse found in the thorns of algae, a fight with a seagull, a mermaid on the shore and seizures of insanity where it is difficult to recognize "reality" and "fantasy". The viewer is given the opportunity to draw a parallel between fiction and madness, and to understand for himself what is the real truth. This plot frame once again leads to the fact that life and work on the island, surrounded by a lighthouse and secrets, are complete nonsense and insanity. While Efraim is endowed with all the signs of an unhealthy psyche, the hero of Willem Dafoe seems to be attached to the island with roots and is a part of it, so that his actions are accepted as such and absolutely not abnormal.
The entire film is filled with a metaphoric frame: awkward constructions of sentences in dialogs, songs, as well as unusual things that Efraim encountering on the island. For instance, it is a corpse found in the thorns of algae, a fight with a seagull, a mermaid on the shore and seizures of insanity where it is difficult to recognize "reality" and "fantasy". The viewer is given the opportunity to draw a parallel between fiction and madness, and to understand for himself what is the real truth. This plot frame once again leads to the fact that life and work on the island, surrounded by a lighthouse and secrets, are complete nonsense and insanity. While Efraim is endowed with all the signs of an unhealthy psyche, the hero of Willem Dafoe seems to be attached to the island with roots and is a part of it, so that his actions are accepted as such and absolutely not abnormal.
PRESENTATION
The film "The Lighthouse" (2019) can be called one of the most outstanding films of the 21st century thanks to its idea and its presentation of the story, style, and specifics of shooting. A black and white picture adds color to the tragedy of the film, and each frame represents a separate landscape, as well as appears a desire to capture the picture in mind and keep it there for as long as possible.
Dialogues of the heroes are absurd and sharp, but they do not take much time in the film, which allows the viewer himself to come up with an internal dialogue for the hero and speak instead of him, just watching his actions.
The film was shot using a 35-mm camera which allowed to create a "retro" effect. Due to the aspect ratio of 1.19:1, the viewer seems to be watching the painted and animated picture that the artist created, the director Robert Eggers himself.
The film was shot using a 35-mm camera which allowed to create a "retro" effect. Due to the aspect ratio of 1.19:1, the viewer seems to be watching the painted and animated picture that the artist created, the director Robert Eggers himself.
The film allows looking into the depths of human thoughts and fantasies, drawing out from there one by one the lines of madness, vice, awareness and manic obsession.
