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The Lighthouse

Tyler Harlow

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson

Director: Robert Eggers

Thomas (Willem Dafoe) and Ephraim (Robert Pattinson) are the two man crew who will be manning The Lighthouse for four weeks. Thomas, taking charge as the more experienced crew, oversees the light while Ephraim sees to the menial tasks like cleaning the cistern and the floors. The loneliness soon proves to be strange bedfellows for the two men, who begin to bond over drink and stories. Soon, Ephraim begins to see weird visions of a mermaid and begins to be terrorized by a seagull. Eventually, the line between what’s real or not continues to blur. One thing is for sure, both men are slowly slipping into madness. Hypnotic. That’s how I would describe the confident sophomore feature of Robert Eggers, who burst onto the scene in 2015 with The Witch. Helping this confidence is the best cinematography of the year coupled with two fantastic and dynamic lead performances. This is not an easy film to digest and won’t be for everyone. As it stands for me, this is one of the more cinematic films that I have seen in quite some time. To say more about the plot would be an unfair move on my part. Everyone is going to take away something different and the events that unfold are best left to the viewing experience. What I can tell you is that Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe turn in career best performances. Pattinson in particular goes to depths anyone who saw Twilight will be stunned to see. The chemistry between the both is incredible and they carry the film. I hope both end up in awards consideration. The cinematography by Jarin Blaschke, as mentioned, is stunning. Coupled with an incredible score by Mark Korven and unnerving sound design, Eggers delivers an incredibly immersive and engrossing experience. There is a lot to digest and as a sign of a good film, I need to and want to see this again. I don’t actually have a clear grasp on what the film is about and that is a wonderful thing. Now that I know the trajectory I want to see how much I can glean. I will be thinking about this for a while. A

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