Bleak and brooding, "The Lighthouse" is a study of the descent into madness of two lighthouse keepers, stranded beyond their original four week assignment, and despairing in the fate of their existence together. Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) and Tom Howard (Robert Pattinson) are alternately at each others' throats or gleefully imbibing their way into a state of stupor, at one point suggesting a homoerotic encounter, but quickly devolving into yet another fit of pique. Of the two, it's Pattinson's character who eventually experiences visions and nightmares as he goes about his daily chores, subservient to the demands of his nominal supervisor Wake. Cinematically, the picture reminded me of all those great black and white films of the Thirties and Forties emanating from the silent era. It even has a 'B' quality look, though the subject matter goes beyond the simplistic efforts of early film, and challenges the viewer with a myriad of interpretations one could assign to the story. That the fate of the two men ends so tragically is no wonder given the exposition, and you'll come away convinced that it's bad luck to kill a seabird.
Review of The Lighthouse
