The Lighthouse

Whoa.

This is exactly what I was expecting with Midsommar, but I was digging in the wrong place. I knew this was going to be a trip, the studio A24 makes some wild movies, and I swear this film was practically created for individuals who love to analyze and dissect films to get to the core of the matter. It's not that I don't want to spoil anything, it's more I couldn't explain it in the simplest terms if I tried. So basic plot will have to do, two men played by Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe travel to a remote lighthouse as caretakers, and as time goes on they desperately try to hold onto their sanity as massive storms hit, liquor bottles are emptied, and a mysterious fascination with the dazzling light in the lighthouse emerges. That's it, but man does this film work so well. Now I will say if you're not a person who enjoys very slow, very methodical, atmospheric and moody, slow burn types of cinema this just isn't the film for you. Though it clocks in at less than 2 hours, it takes considerable time throughout building mood and tension, with not all that much talking but each talking scene is very important. I could almost see it as a silent film, for several reasons. Firstly it's shot in pristine black and white, but it goes deeper than that with it being shot on 35mm film and to be perfectly frank, it's shot like a 1920s film with a few modern touches thrown in of course. The camera movements are very basic, the blocking and lighting is minimal, and if you've seen enough cinema from the silent era into the 1930s you'll quickly pick up on the look and feel this movie has. Fritz Lang could have been attached to this production and I wouldn't be surprised. It has the tension, psychedelics, and mental horror I was expecting in Midsommar that really keeps you on your toes and invested. It sort of delves into a bit of cosmic Lovecraftian horror, you see some pretty shocking and unsettling things but you really have no idea what's causing it or why. This is something I greatly appreciate because well, you could really look at this film any way you want and it would still work. Are both these guys batshit insane? Maybe. Is one a mental criminal? Perhaps. Is there truly something otherwordly and disturbing fueling the events of the movie? Who knows. It works in any situation you think of in your mind, and not too many movies have accomplished such a feat. Do I even need to say I recommend the movie? If only just to see what you make of it, and come to your own conclusion I do suggest you see it. I personally give it 4 stars, solid 8/10, this movie is gonna keep me guessing for awhile.

And not a bad ending to this week I'd say. Well another month gone, but where to now? I hear there's some stuff going on in Gotham City next week, so meet you there.