The Lighthouse (2019)

"Should pale breath of treble dread,
make the ocean caves our bed.
God who heard'st the surges roll,
deign to save the suppliant soul." 

I was genuinely shocked with how much I actually hated the first half of this film. I had seen the reviews, knew the actors, it was also A24 — what more could one possibly ask for? I was really excited to sit down and watch, I ended up putting it off until a night that I could really focus and immerse myself in the film to fully grasp it; yet, I found myself disappointed and bothered at how much I felt that the reviews had led me on about how much of an amazing watch it was. Don't get me wrong, I understand the cinematic masterpiece that is "The Lighthouse" and how much of a different feel it provides audiences; I just felt bored and underwhelmed, especially after having seen Robert Eggers' "The VVitch" prior to this one. 

My mind changed a little over halfway through the film. As the tension and stakes increased for Winslow, I found myself more and more intrigued and anxious. After finishing the film fully and having a bit of time to digest everything that this film encapsulated, I must say, I am impressed, while still feeling only slightly underwhelmed. The Greek mythology references to Prometheus and Proteus, the heavy foreshadowing and references, even the idea shooting an entirely black-and-white film for release in such a late year is astonishing. I cannot argue that it is exceptionally well done, but still can't help but feel that the film has been overrated and overhyped leading up to the actual viewing. 

I loved the cinematic shots and actually enjoyed the film being black-and-white for its entirety, I think that it fit the theme and tone of the movie well. I really enjoyed Robert Pattinson's portrayal of Thomas Howard, and Willem Dafoe's potrayal of Thomas Wake, although his character rarely ever shuts the fuck up long enough for you to fully grasp the events that are taking place. The symbolism that references Greek mythology all the way up until the end is mind blowing, the attention to subtle details incredible. There is most definitely references and parts that I must have missed, resulting in me most likely having to rewatch, and not minding to. 

Nevertheless, I still felt that it wasn't as good as people made it out to be. Is it revolutionary for what it is? Yes, I'd say so. Was it worth sitting down for the one hour and 50 minute runtime? Yes, I'm glad I watched. Was it overhyped, in my opinion, and not as "artistically brilliant" and an "attention-maintaining thriller" as people advertised? No, and that's okay, but it wasn't. Perhaps my attention span was lacking the night I chose to watch, but I felt as if the plot was the same over-and-over again until the final act right at the end where things quickly escalated. 

I was debating back-and-forth on whether or not to rate it 3.5 or 4 stars, but I figure as it's not the worst A24 movie I've seen, but I definitely wasn't as into it as others; this may be subject to change with further releases, but for now, I'll stick with 3.5. In retrospect, I think a more accurate rating would be 3 stars for the beginning of the film and a solid 4 for the remaining half; therefore, why not just compromise. Once the plot developed farther than just "two men being angry at each other and trying to take care of this old lighthouse god knows if anybody uses" and into "shit, they're both losing it, what's going to happen?" I think that I was more entertained and interested in what was going on. Up untl that point, it just seemed like a bad roommate situation. 

I am glad that I sat down to watch and can say that I have. I don't regret watching and would not be opposed to rewatching in the future, but me choosing this as my first choice of rewatch, that I highly doubt. I think it will be interesting on the next watch, if there is one, to see what I'd potentially missed and seeing the scenes knowing what happens in the end. I truly think this is a brilliant film and can understand why it got so much attention and high praise, and Robert Pattison's acting actually made me want to watch his other A24 films, but it just didn't do it for me as much as I had hoped. Maybe on a rewatch my opinion will change.