'The Lighthouse' is directed and co-wrote by Robert Eggers, the same guy who directed (and I think wrote, or maybe co-wrote?) 'The Witch', a low-key horror movie set in the 1700's (I think), which seem to really nail the period setting really well in terms of bleakness and spoken dialogue.
Anyway, this one is set a bit later, in early 1900's, about two men tasked by being caretakers to a lighthouse. The acting by both Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson is superb, but especially by Dafoe. This is some of the best character acting I've seen in some time. He really deserves an award for this performance. Similarly to 'The Witch', the look of the film feels authentic for the period, as does the spoken dialogue. Not that I'm an expert. So the acting, cinematography, and spoken dialogue is very effective. Unfortunately, I found myself being quite bored at times. There are isolated moments and flourishes of intrigue and greatness, but I found they quickly petered out. The flow of events were disjointed and fragmented, and didn't really serve the whole. In a way, you could say that the movie was less than the sum of some of its considerable strengths, but was let down by general bizarreness for the sale of it, and the likelihood is you'll be left with the sense of, 'What the hell did I just watch'? Whilst some films explain far too much, this one felt the need to explain nothing, and seemingly aimed to deliberately confound its audience. I reckon o could watch it again, because there is so much to like about this film. I just felt it fell short of greatness and lulled too often for it to be recommended without reservation.
Anyway, this one is set a bit later, in early 1900's, about two men tasked by being caretakers to a lighthouse. The acting by both Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson is superb, but especially by Dafoe. This is some of the best character acting I've seen in some time. He really deserves an award for this performance. Similarly to 'The Witch', the look of the film feels authentic for the period, as does the spoken dialogue. Not that I'm an expert. So the acting, cinematography, and spoken dialogue is very effective. Unfortunately, I found myself being quite bored at times. There are isolated moments and flourishes of intrigue and greatness, but I found they quickly petered out. The flow of events were disjointed and fragmented, and didn't really serve the whole. In a way, you could say that the movie was less than the sum of some of its considerable strengths, but was let down by general bizarreness for the sale of it, and the likelihood is you'll be left with the sense of, 'What the hell did I just watch'? Whilst some films explain far too much, this one felt the need to explain nothing, and seemingly aimed to deliberately confound its audience. I reckon o could watch it again, because there is so much to like about this film. I just felt it fell short of greatness and lulled too often for it to be recommended without reservation.