The Lighthouse reviews

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Sabin
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Re: The Lighthouse reviews

Post by Sabin »

This film is an art prank. You won’t see a movie more consumed with evoking reference than The Lighthouse in some time.

For almost two hours, we’re treated to knowingly pretentious metaphor imagery, absurdly over-written dialogue, and a goofily committed Willem DaFoe as the Gorton’s Fisherman. It maybe conceived as a descent into madness but it never ballasts us in anything resembling sanity. Even its most earthbound moments are winking. This film goes nowhere and cannot be taken seriously, but at least it’s up-front about it’s intentions. From the first moment DaFoe explodes at Pattinson about how it’s “bad luck to harass a gull” (or something) it’s clear that Eggers views this film as an exercise in absurd behavior. At a certain point, I could have left the theater at any point but I was always at least somewhat entertained.
"How's the despair?"
Okri
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Re: The Lighthouse reviews

Post by Okri »

Pretty much, but specifically aimed at supporting performers in films that aren't going to be HUGE oscar successes that will likely lose their nomination to people in best picture races (Quaid losing to Reilly, Brooks to Jonah Hill)
mlrg
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Re: The Lighthouse reviews

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FilmFan720 wrote:Ok, what is Brooks-Quaided?
Hitting all the precursors and missing the oscars
FilmFan720
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Re: The Lighthouse reviews

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Ok, what is Brooks-Quaided?
"Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good."
- Minor Myers, Jr.
Okri
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Re: The Lighthouse reviews

Post by Okri »

So I just came back from this. I fell hard with the opening shots and sound/score design, not gonna lie. And the moments of Pattinson just working are worthwhile in their own way - I could've watched an entire black-and-white film about Pattinson taking care of a 19th Century lighthouse, not gonna lie. But the closer it got to the standard "isolated people go mad" tropes, the less I grocked with it. The more surreal/fantasy elements play very well and whenever the movie triangulates itself closer to the mythical, my enjoyment raised and that it embraces a comic tone throughout means that it's never really boring. It's very well designed and if I'd recommend it to many, not all, people.

Dafoe going supporting is hilariously off (on a level with Naomi Watts in supporting for Mulholland Drive), but he's a candidate to get Brooks-Quaided if there ever was one.
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The Lighthouse reviews

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