The terror of isolation. Robert Eggers’ second feature, ‘The Lighthouse’ is a gripping take on the psychological horror of mental and physical seclusion portrayed brilliantly by Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe who play the two protagonists on screen. Set in the late 1800’s , the film revolves around two men Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) and Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) who are given the responsibility of a lighthouse located on an inhospitable rock amidst roaring waves and the unforgiving nature. They eventually get stranded on the island with only each other for company along with some devious seagulls and a seemingly endless stockpile of liquor and the nightmare ensues.
The film aims for claustrophobia from the first scene itself, with a square aspect ratio of 1.19:1 as Ephriam Winslow arrives at the island to fill in for the partner of the salty seaman Thomas Wake who according to Thomas, had killed himself after he ‘went mad’. The dread of loneliness is not only triggered by the crunched aspect ratio, but also by nature itself, with the entirety of the film taking place on a small, rough island surrounded by the tremendous waves, the bellowing of the fog-horn and the aggressive seagulls who according to Thomas contained ‘the souls of dead seamen’. He also forbade Winslow to not harm any of those little devils by saying, “Bad luck to kill a seabird.” This was an obvious foreshadowing for later scenes when Winslow eventually snaps and bashes one of the poor birds to death, changing the course of the wind (and the movie) quite literally.
The characters in this film were meticulously crafted by the Eggers brothers. Ephraim Winslow is a young hardworking drifter returning fresh from a lumberjack job in Canada. He withstands the stern commands from Thomas and toils around the small island and is portrayed brilliantly by Robert Pattinson. Thomas Wake, played brilliantly by Willem Dafoe is the stern lighthouse keeper, determined to reserve the ‘light’ for himself and a strong believer of superstitions.
This film is an art in the form of a motion picture. One can derive various interpretations from the movie as art in its purest sense, is subjective.
Written by: Shivangsh Mukherjee
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