{"id":19352,"date":"2019-10-24T13:51:11","date_gmt":"2019-10-24T20:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=19352"},"modified":"2019-10-24T13:51:11","modified_gmt":"2019-10-24T20:51:11","slug":"the-lighthouse-has-bright-patches-but-doesnt-illuminate-as-vibrantly-as-anticipated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=19352","title":{"rendered":"THE LIGHTHOUSE Has Bright Patches, But Doesn\u2019t Illuminate as Vibrantly as Anticipated"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/24_0007_B-merged.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15337\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are some lonely professions out there. One imagines\nthat being stationed in a remote part of the world might make for a bleak experience,\nor perhaps being the caretaker of an empty hotel in the middle of the winter\u2026\nif memory serves, that didn\u2019t work out well for Jack Torrance in <em>The Shining<\/em>\nduring his stay in the Rocky Mountains. It seems that the positions depicted in\n<em>The Lighthouse<\/em> would certainly fit the bill, both as a job and\nenvironment physically and mentally taxing at the best of times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/lighthouse-leads-outside-lighthouse-1024x752.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19353\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is a story of two eccentric individuals serving as \u201cwickies\u201d\non a small island off the coast of New England. Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) is\nan experienced figure with a taste for booze as well as a seemingly endless\npropensity to expel gas. Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) is a reserved,\ntea-totaling ex-lumberman looking for a new start in life. After arriving, the\ntwo are forced into close contact, with the authoritative Wake pushing orders\nonto and irritating the new employee. Winslow appears to be hiding a dark\nsecret and begins having strange visions in his sleep. He also witnesses\nbizarre behavior on the part of Wake during the elderly man\u2019s evening shift.\nWhen the two men become trapped on the rock as a storm rages for weeks on end, events\nbecome increasingly more unhinged.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/lighthouse-leads-rainstorm-1024x720.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19354\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first thing worth mentioning is that this is an\nexceptionally well-acted and photographed motion picture. Gorgeously shot in\nblack and white in the 1.19:1 square aspect ratio, the movie exudes a closed-off,\ngloomy and menacing atmosphere. The shots of the old lighthouse interiors as\nwell as the rocky shores and raging waters are consistently striking. The look\nof the film helps significantly in establishing a mood and feeling of unease,\nwhich writer\/director Robert Eggers (<em>The Witch<\/em>) already has plenty of\nexperience with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, the two leads are equally up to the task. One\nor both of the men are onscreen for just about the entirety of the running time\nand their interactions are crucial to maintaining interest. There is good\ncamaraderie between the actors, resulting in amusing bickering between the two\nas they attempt to find common ground. As alcohol enters the picture it leads\nto more dramatic and unsettling moments, including some unusual admissions\nabout their inner states. Thankfully, there are also a few chuckles that break\nup the intensity involving some increasingly annoying and unrelenting seagulls\nwho just won\u2019t leave Winslow alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/lighthouse-leads-yelling-1024x783.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19355\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet, the storytelling approach always keeps viewers at an\narm\u2019s length. Clearly, to some degree this is a movie about mental illness. Or\nat least the effect that guilt can have when a person is stationed alone\nwithout company and finding themselves increasingly lost in their own thoughts.\nAs Winslow experiences more and more visions, one begins to wonder how deeply\nor creatively his deteriorating mental state will be examined or if there might\neven be some shocking reveals. Despite the potential to venture even further\ninto the void, this ends up being a largely minimalist experience. It does seem\nthat harsh and unforgiving environments can push men over the edge and, well\u2026\nthat\u2019s about it. As such, the final reveal makes little impact and may not\nelicit much more than a shrug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cast are great and the visuals kept this reviewer\nengaged, which make it a curious experience and certainly save the film from\nthe scrapheap. For if neither of these elements were as potent, the end result\nwouldn\u2019t be watchable at all. It\u2019s enjoyable enough to see these performers\ngoing for broke, but the themes and concept don\u2019t seem as well developed, leaving\nthis reviewer a little cold. <em>The Lighthouse<\/em> offers a few bright patches,\nbut doesn\u2019t end up illuminating the screen as vibrantly as anticipated. &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are some lonely professions out there. One imagines that being stationed in a remote part of the world might make for a bleak experience, or perhaps being the caretaker of an empty hotel in the middle of the winter\u2026 if memory serves, that didn\u2019t work out well for Jack Torrance in The Shining during [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":19356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[197,6251,12371,17183,19420,21371,21372,21373,21374,24299],"class_list":["post-19352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-197","tag-drama","tag-lighthouse","tag-robert-pattison","tag-suspense","tag-the-lighthouse","tag-the-lighthouse-film-review","tag-the-lighthouse-movie-review","tag-the-lighthouse-review","tag-willem-dafoe"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19352\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}