The Lighthouse (2019): A Mad Tale of Two Mad Men in Isolation

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*Proceed only if you've watched the movie or you don't care about spoilers.

Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse is a madness, metaphorically and literally. When two lighthouse keepers are being left on their own in an isolated island for God-knows-how-long, they begin to overthink everything. Beers are the only thing keeping them sane and mermaids are the object of their repressed sexual fantasy, only until pride and curiosity decide to take control. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson successfully express all of this madness by exchanging equally mad sarcastic monologues.

Mad Background Story

When two strangers are stuck in an island, what can go wrong? Well, apparently everything. In an interview with The Verge, the director himself states that, “Nothing good happens when two men are alone in a giant phallus.” I’m not going to discuss about “men” in particular because I’m not a man, so I’m going to discuss how exhausting it must be when you’re isolated with a person you’re not in good terms with in general.

Now, imagine you’re stuck in an island with your boss, wouldn’t it be one hell of a place? I can really sympathize with Pattinson’s character not because I’ve been in an isolation with my boss, but being with people who act like they’re above everything must be exceptionally tiring.

There are some things that everyone feels like hiding, but when you don’t have anything to do in an isolation, anything in the shadows is becoming too interesting to miss out. Especially when the person directly asks you not to do anything with it. The thing is, human doesn’t like to be told what they can and can’t do. Just like Adam and Eve, it’s in our blood.

I completely understand why Pattinson tries hard to get to the light room. Pattinson has to do everything except going to the light room of the lighthouse and Dafoe acts like the light room is only accessible to him. When life is boring, sexual pleasure is being repressed, maintaining the whole building is tiring, and now you can’t even explore the building you’re in just because a grumpy old man says no? Pride and anger take charge.

Maybe that’s why Eggers states “men” in particular. Is it because of the pride that they have? There is a stereotypical assumption that men hold their pride higher than women and if this is what Eggers mean, then the two characters are like two matches ready to burn at all times.

But regardless of their gender, I think I’d also wreak havoc if someone says I can’t go to a room just for no reason, on top of the fact that the person treats me like their servant and behaves almighty. I’m not justifying Pattinson’s anger issue, but sometimes we just want to let it all out. Then again, maybe Pattinson doesn’t have anger issue, maybe it’s the isolation that does things to him.

As a person who’s currently living in an isolation (because lockdown and social distancing) like this is really the perfect time to watch another two people in isolation. Not to mention how hard the rain was when I was watching this two-hours movie, everything is just becoming too real. Hopefully, I won’t get mad just like they do.
If you or anyone you know is having a hard time with self-isolation, please seek for help. Remember to reach out to your friend and family, or professionals who offers psychological conversation. Stay strong, this too shall pass.
Mad Monologues and Performance

The surreal psychological horror gives you the creeps in a subtle manner. You won’t find any scary sightings or even bloody actions, regardless of some axe and fist fighting scene. The horrors are mostly carried out through revengeful monologues and facial expressions instead. When Dafoe curses Pattinson with folklore-like words, it feels as if he's Poseidon.
Another great monologue is from Pattinson’s character where he provokes his subordinate with vulgar and honest opinion.
In The Lighthouse, the character’s sentiments towards each other is enough to keep me stick to my chair.

Mad Aesthetic and Cinematography

Black and white movie shots with a classic ratio 1.19:1 really sets the mood. The square-ish ratio successfully makes me feel trapped just like the characters. The lack of colors also stresses how boring it must be to live in an island when no technologies for entertainment purposes weren’t invented yet. All they can do is working, chatting, and questioning everything.

When the two character aren’t busy exchanging dialogues, the camera focuses either on the island or facial expressions. This is the kind of film where you have to wait patiently and figure out whether the object in the frame is some kind of foreshadowing or not, it makes me think. The fact that the movie was actually nominated in 2020’s Oscar for the best cinematography doesn’t surprise me at all, it’s totally Oscar-worthy.

 Final Thought

The Lighthouse is madness and I love madness, that’s it. The plot, the characters, and the cinematography are great, but for some reasons it doesn’t leave any lingering emotions in me. Also, because I feel like they can do more about the surreal scenes, rather than just only using mystical creature (mermaid) for the sake of sexual pleasure and symbolism for the character's self-control. Nevertheless, still a great movie.
8.6/10

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