The Lighthouse

I liked it, but it tames my Eggers FOMO, since I wasn't hot on The Northman either, and Erik said he didn't love Nosferatu. Both that I saw had amazing atmosphere for someone like me, so it's a real failure of screenwriting that I merely liked them.

Dafoe succeeds in the most obvious way at his charge of legendary old sailor man -- the beard, the voice, the eyes, it's all textbook -- although it felt too actor-y to me. Especially his monologue after Pattison doesn't like his cooking: it's a spurt of attempted Shakespeare in a movie that shouldn't feel like stage. The writing arbitrarily slides into stage or poetry at times, and when it does, despite Dafoe and the whole visual flair, it feels really inauthentic. It isn't woven in, it's inserted. As such, I can't say Eggers really handles his material. He makes a valiant effort, but he strives beyond his reach.

So I actually wasn't thrilled with Dafoe. He's obviously distinguished, but he's almost too archetypal, and the screenplay breaks his archetype at inconsistent times. I also definitely wasn't thrilled with Pattinson. First of all, I don't think his accent was consistent, which destroys the viewer's immersion in the performance. Second, I think he's just trying too hard to show up as a serious actor with abandon, past his teen idol phase. It's a vulnerable role, but he leans too much on those elements that could be deemed anti-Edward-Cullen. Maybe he's beyond being beyond Twilight, but either way, he's reaching in this movie. I don't think he's really succeeded for me in any of his post-Twilight roles: Water for Elephants, Batman, The Lighthouse, The King... all a little stale and forced.

This movie was like The Shining, but instead of snow it was the sea. A storm keeps them in isolation; they grow madder; there's an ominous scene zooming in on the protagonist staring into space; there's a matter of chasing with an axe; flashes of prior murder that had happened there...

It's a killer atmosphere, and the madness is fun... the symbolism is fun... the surrealism is fun. But the performances don't quite sell it. And even worse, the screenplay just isn't that good. It too randomly waxes poetic, and at other times is generally basic.

The movie also reminded me of There Will Be Blood, but this one relied too much on the grotesque as a means of engaging viewers. Smarter movies don't need that crutch. There Will Be Blood has its grotesque moments, but if I remember right, they're offered in moderation, with cunning buildup in between. The Lighthouse is kind of a slaughterfest, if slaughter is offending the viewer's civil sensibilities.