I thought this was going to be like a drama like The Bridges of Madison County, but with a lighthouse. I was wrong. So wrong. Like this film. It is very wrong. On a lot of levels. Do not watch this movie if you’ve liked anything Meryl Streep ever starred in. This is a descent into.. I don’t even fuckin know. Looks like drama, but it is full horror and delirium.
Lighthouse keepers, on the boat up to their destination. Relief. As they head up to the lighthouse, their compatriots leave. No words are exchanged. Old Beard and New Punk. Well, like 1910s kinda punk, I guess. No year is given, none needed. Alls you know is this is the outskirts on the peninsula of Boonies Fuckallsville, and you have a month to tend. Two men. Roles clearly defined. The elements and seabirds are relentless. And the water is awful. The whiskey? Well, let’s just say the whiskey is good. But as usual, whiskey and time does not salve all wounds...
As you may be able to surmise, this is a square aspect ratio black and white movie. Fitting for the subject matter, though, which is dark. Ironic, considering the setting. Varying greyscale shades of isolation, mythologies and shittiest of jobs. Plus a deeper one. Sinister, one could say. Two humans coexisting in this space, with unknown pasts. Willem Dafoe is the old-beard veteran, and Robert Pattinson as the rookie. Relatively speaking of course, he has some years on him too, just not as a lighthouse keeper. The dynamics between the two as they work through their shift, their duty to maintain is grueling, mostly for the rookie. But as time goes by, there’s erosion. The rest is a descent into a weird mythological madness that seems like both Poseidon and Cthulhu are just taking turns pissin on the rookie, just for fun. Good times. For the gods. Bad times for the lighthouse keepers. By the same director that did The Witch, which is also a very creepy, atmospheric film. The 2024 version of Nosferatu as well, which I will have to check out at some point. Both DaFoe and Pattinson play their roles excellently if not disturbingly, and the look to the film is perfect to tell the tale. Did I mention it was dark? So grim. This is not a normal movie.
