'The Lighthouse' - Spoiler Thread

ManNR · Oct 31, 2019

I was very impressed with the high visibility of the scenes. I was worried the b&w would make things hard to parse but I found the opposite to be the case. Nothing was hidden from view. And I was most impressed with the lighting on Pattison's face as he gazed at the lamp, almost as if he were being burned away. So happy I saw this in theaters.

Charcoal · Oct 31, 2019

I was not prepared for that final shot.

More_Badass · Oct 31, 2019

ManNR said:
I was very impressed with the high visibility of the scenes. I was worried the b&w would make things hard to parse but I found the opposite to be the case. Nothing was hidden from view. And I was most impressed with the lighting on Pattison's face as he gazed at the lamp, almost as if he were being burned away. So happy I saw this in theaters.

IMO it's the best visualization of "incomprehensible cosmic horror driving someone insane" that I've ever seen among Lovecraftian/horror movies, and the movie is only tangentially Lovecraftian/not even cosmic horror.

Figgles · Oct 31, 2019

That was so fucking good. The movie is absolutely gorgeous. Dafoe's performance was spectacular, and it might be my favorite Pattinson performance. This is absolutely a movie to watch in theaters. I'm going again, because it might be my favorite movie since Blade Runner 2049.

cb1115 · Oct 31, 2019

ManNR said:
I was very impressed with the high visibility of the scenes. I was worried the b&w would make things hard to parse but I found the opposite to be the case. Nothing was hidden from view. And I was most impressed with the lighting on Pattison's face as he gazed at the lamp, almost as if he were being burned away. So happy I saw this in theaters.

the contrast of the indoor scenes feeling extremely claustrophobic and the outdoor scenes making the lighthouse look like a skyscraper >>>

Star-Lord · Oct 31, 2019

It was okay,
I liked the performances and the ideas and some of the shot but it dragged a lot. Also it's a movie for a certain audience hence A24 picked it up. It's not made for general public and found it rather odd and just got repetitive. But I also don't really care for greek mythology which I guess this movie is based around so that didnt click while watching. It's just a weird movie that some will love and some will not. I fall in the category of not loving it and will probably never watch it again.
6/10

Kinggroin · Oct 31, 2019

Comedy and horror go together like anime and tentacles.

https://letterboxd.com/kinggroin/film/the-lighthouse-2019/

Quad Lasers · Oct 31, 2019

Just got back from seeing this and it pretty much delivered exactly what I wanted. The only thing that caught me off guard was that the "why'd you spill your beans" scene was a lot more contextually dour and less humorous than the trailer implied, in an otherwise pretty damn funny movie.

I'm itching for a rewatch though, and not just for the subtitles. I loved both this and the Witch, but the Witch definitely didn't ever tempt me with a rewatch the way this did since that was a way more straight-forward story.

Loved the fact that this was in B/W too. Really made the lighting stand out in a way that I don't think color could've managed.

Kinggroin · Nov 1, 2019

Arkeband said:
If they're the same person, technically he chased 'himself' with an axe.

As far as whether it's cosmic horror, like Stinkles brought up, the crux of that genre is whether the threat is both fully knowable and conquerable. Cosmic horror requires one of these to be "no".

This wouldn't qualify because they are in a Grecian purgatory, meaning their situation could be explained to them. And if this situation is knowable, they can conquer it if Young Tommy would stop making the same mistakes like killing the gull. Purgatory is ultimately a test to determine where you end up. (Technically, they could conquer it without knowledge, but it'd be easier if they knew they were being judged.)

The only argument in favor of it being cosmic horror is that the lighthouse beacon's forbidden knowledge fries your brain. It has Lovecraftian elements but it's not cosmic horror.

Contrast this with The Witch, which has no Lovecraftian elements but is cosmic horror, because the threat is knowable but is NOT conquerable. That family is 150% fucked.

I disagree with a piece of your last point there.

With The Witch, the main threat to the family is themselves. Each one of them carries some kind of weakness to be exploitated by Satan. To win, all they ever had to do was go back where they came from -- but daddy's pride and piousness (his weaknesses) prevented that. It's tragic and could have been avoided (which is kinda the thing with Christianity anyway; no accountability and blaming the devil for everything).

Contrast to Aster's Hereditary, where being totally screwed over by demonic forces was practically written in the stars for that family. THAT'S your 150% fucked.

bill crystals · Nov 1, 2019

Honestly can't wait to see this again. Absolutely enthralling.

Figgles · Nov 1, 2019

bill crystals said:
Honestly can't wait to see this again. Absolutely enthralling.

Couldn't agree more. I saw it yesterday, and I'm itching to see it again soon. I think I'll be seeing it again before the weekend is out.

Rudr · Nov 2, 2019

Felt like a Lynch film. I'm still processing what i watched but it was a wild ride.

The scene where old tom popped out with the axe scared the shit out of me.

Haze · Nov 2, 2019

This movie was arresting and that final Prometheus scene is burned into my retinas.

Pudie · Nov 2, 2019

Can someone answer me a question without spoiling the movie?

My biggest concern with this is that it's going to be too David Lynchian, and I'm just not a fan of his work. I know this movie goes a bit off the rails at the end with their decent into madness, but would you say the overall movie is Lynch like in that it's overall mostly incompressible and "weird for the sake of being weird"(I know it's not the best argument against his stuff, but still)?

HStallion · Nov 2, 2019

Pudie said:
Can someone answer me a question without spoiling the movie?

My biggest concern with this is that it's going to be too David Lynchian, and I'm just not a fan of his work. I know this movie goes a bit off the rails at the end with their decent into madness, but would you say the overall movie is Lynch like in that it's overall mostly incompressible and "weird for the sake of being weird"(I know it's not the best argument against his stuff, but still)?

I would avoid this film if I were you

CelestialAtom · Nov 2, 2019

Watched it for a second time last night and goddamn what a great film.

Pudie · Nov 2, 2019

HStallion said:
I would avoid this film if I were you

Even if the trailers intrigue me? I think I'd enjoy the style of the film re: cinematography and acting/accents.

Arzak · Nov 2, 2019

Pudie said:
Can someone answer me a question without spoiling the movie?

My biggest concern with this is that it's going to be too David Lynchian, and I'm just not a fan of his work. I know this movie goes a bit off the rails at the end with their decent into madness, but would you say the overall movie is Lynch like in that it's overall mostly incompressible and "weird for the sake of being weird"(I know it's not the best argument against his stuff, but still)?

Mmm, I don't think its Lynchian in the way you don't enjoy. Even though yes, many elements are left up to interpretation or have some double meaning, theres still a straightforward plot to follow.

It's not abstract or surreal in the same way that most Lynch movies are. (Saying this as a huge fan of Lynch)

I found the pacing and the humor/type of humor it uses makes it alot more approachable as well.

Kalmakov · Nov 2, 2019

Kinggroin said:
I disagree with a piece of your last point there.

With The Witch, the main threat to the family is themselves. Each one of them carries some kind of weakness to be exploitated by Satan. To win, all they ever had to do was go back where they came from -- but daddy's pride and piousness (his weaknesses) prevented that. It's tragic and could have been avoided (which is kinda the thing with Christianity anyway; no accountability and blaming the devil for everything).

Contrast to Aster's Hereditary, where being totally screwed over by demonic forces was practically written in the stars for that family. THAT'S your 150% fucked.

Yeah Hereditary has more leanings towards cosmic horror. Same with Midsommar, there's something going on beyond just the surface level with the drugging but we never find out. Your colony just doesn't develop some kind of hive mind by just doing some acid

Not Spaceghost · Nov 2, 2019

That was such a great experience. It's been a long time since I've seen a movie that just made me go "hold on I need to process everything".
I'm still thinking about everything.

To be honest I think the second half of the movie is a mix of being in Tommy's head and things that actually happened. You can tell he's cracked and he's consumed by guilt and the lack of human interaction, his perception of time is distorted.

One thing I noticed is that the sound of the lighthouse horn that's pretty much always blaring in the background pretty much stops towards the end of the movie, despite the fact they keep maintaining everything as normal the horn sound pretty much doesn't come back after they are left stranded. It makes me wonder if that implies the events are transpiring within tommy's mind or if time is totally distorted.

More_Badass · Nov 2, 2019

Kalmakov said:
Yeah Hereditary has more leanings towards cosmic horror. Same with Midsommar, there's something going on beyond just the surface level with the drugging but we never find out. Your colony just doesn't develop some kind of hive mind by just doing some acid

Hive mind? Nothing of the sort is implied in Midsommar. They're just empathetic to a disturbing degree

TheWorthyEdge · Nov 2, 2019

It's made its way into my top 5 movies of all-time. Easily. I watched the Witch last night and it's also very good though I didn't enjoy it as much. Something about the way Eggers tells a story etches certain parts into my mind long after the movie is finished.

aCid · Nov 2, 2019

Figgles said:
Couldn't agree more. I saw it yesterday, and I'm itching to see it again soon. I think I'll be seeing it again before the weekend is out.

I did this and it's totally worth it. So if you feel this way, do it for sure. I know a lot of people are waiting for a Blu-ray rewatch (which will undoubtedly be wonderful) but, imo, the theatre is the place to see this masterpiece. Again, and again, and...

Kalmakov · Nov 2, 2019

More_Badass said:
Hive mind? Nothing of the sort is implied in Midsommar. They're just empathetic to a disturbing degree

You sure? The end kinda solidified to me that something more was going on. The main girl, while she had her boyfriend burned alive after he had been raped (god damn this movie is fucked up), she kept coughing like she was choking on the smoke even though she was nowhere near the sacrificial barn. I doubt she was being empathetic because she fucking hated him and was having him killed.

thediamondage · Nov 2, 2019

Pudie said:
Can someone answer me a question without spoiling the movie?

My biggest concern with this is that it's going to be too David Lynchian, and I'm just not a fan of his work. I know this movie goes a bit off the rails at the end with their decent into madness, but would you say the overall movie is Lynch like in that it's overall mostly incompressible and "weird for the sake of being weird"(I know it's not the best argument against his stuff, but still)?

I didn't like this movie. I don't like about half of Lynch movies, but love others - I loved Dune for example, which I know makes me an outlier. I liked original Twin Peaks up to a point but didn't bother watching the new one, liked Mulholland Drive a bit, and didn't like anything most of his other work.

This movie didn't feel very Lynchian to me, the setup and story is pretty straightforward and while it lets you interpret whats going on, its pretty cut and dry up until the end - X happens then Y then Z and they all follow logically with only a few hints of weirdness.

To me imo the better comparisons are Mother! or It Comes at Night. If you like those two movies you probably will like this. I didn't like either one, and found The Lighthouse super boring.

Figgles · Nov 2, 2019

Pudie said:
Can someone answer me a question without spoiling the movie?

My biggest concern with this is that it's going to be too David Lynchian, and I'm just not a fan of his work. I know this movie goes a bit off the rails at the end with their decent into madness, but would you say the overall movie is Lynch like in that it's overall mostly incompressible and "weird for the sake of being weird"(I know it's not the best argument against his stuff, but still)?

I don't really like Lynch, but I loved this.

Figgles · Nov 2, 2019

aCid said:
I did this and it's totally worth it. So if you feel this way, do it for sure. I know a lot of people are waiting for a Blu-ray rewatch (which will undoubtedly be wonderful) but, imo, the theatre is the place to see this masterpiece. Again, and again, and...

I'll be watching it a ton once it hits blu-ray, but I know I'll regret it if I don't see it again in the theater. It's too gorgeous, and the sound work is too good to only see it on the big screen once.

Deleted member 32679 · Nov 2, 2019

Just saw it. What an experience man. The sound design was fucking impeccable. Dafoe getting buried made me scared for him irl that he could have suffocated.

bill crystals · Nov 2, 2019

Kept thinking about Willem Dafoe's day at work that day: deliver a difficult monologue in an intensely historical affect while getting pounds of dirt thrown into his fucking mouth lol.

Kinggroin · Nov 2, 2019

Astartes said:
Just saw it. What an experience man. The sound design was fucking impeccable. Dafoe getting buried made me scared for him irl that he could have suffocated.

I chuckled to myself really hard when the first bit of shoveled dirt hit his face, failing to interrupt his ramblings.

Deleted member 11637 · Nov 2, 2019

More_Badass said:
IMO it's the best visualization of "incomprehensible cosmic horror driving someone insane" that I've ever seen among Lovecraftian/horror movies, and the movie is only tangentially Lovecraftian/not even cosmic horror.

Yes, it's a perfect Lovecraft movie.

Vincent Alexander · Nov 2, 2019

Was Tom stuck there in limbo/purgatory/whatever because he killed the man whom's name he stole?

I also assume every single seagull is in fact Tom and his soul, hence why the one he killed was missing an eye? Showing everytime he's failed in his hell.

CesareNorrez · Nov 2, 2019

bill crystals said:
Kept thinking about Willem Dafoe's day at work that day: deliver a difficult monologue in an intensely historical affect while getting pounds of dirt thrown into his fucking mouth lol.

It was Dafoe's second day on set, too. You also can't really tell, but there is a lot of water in the grave. Cold, cold water. Thankfully they did it in about 2 takes.

Vincent Alexander · Nov 2, 2019

ShadowKingpin said:
Watched it for a second time last night and goddamn what a great film.

Pick up anything interesting on the 2nd viewing that stood out to you on another go around?

CesareNorrez · Nov 2, 2019

Vincent Alexander said:
Was Tom stuck there in limbo/purgatory/whatever because he killed the man whom's name he stole?

I also assume every single seagull is in fact Tom and his soul, hence why the one he killed was missing an eye? Showing everytime he's failed in his hell.

Wake's previous wickie also had one eye. Which could mean a few things.

CelestialAtom · Nov 2, 2019

Vincent Alexander said:
Pick up anything interesting on the 2nd viewing that stood out to you on another go around?

Yep! I noticed the seagull messing with him only had one eye just like Tom's old partner who also had one eye. Also, I'm wondering if Tommy having his eyes burned and falling down the stairs was not only a Prometheus ending, but also relatable to the falling of Icarus?

Vincent Alexander · Nov 2, 2019

ShadowKingpin said:
Yep! I noticed the seagull messing with him only had one eye just like Tom's old partner who also had one eye. Also, I'm wondering if Tommy having his eyes burned and falling down the stairs was not only a Prometheus ending, but also relatable to the falling of Icarus?

I was wondering about Icarus also. At first I thought Tom was kind of a Prometheus figure, stealing fire and all, but Icarus feels more fitting for him in this movie.

Alastor3 · Nov 2, 2019

I was expected to really love that movie but ended up not really liking this.

First of all, im not a fan of seeing people drunk so half the movie was that.

And while the long rant from both character was great, i just feel like it as too forced. Too artsy, not the fault of the actors but i feel like it was there just to be there.

CesareNorrez · Nov 2, 2019

Vincent Alexander said:
I was wondering about Icarus also. At first I thought Tom was kind of a Prometheus figure, stealing fire and all, but Icarus feels more fitting for him in this movie.

Both are relevant, and don't forget Sisyphus who had to roll a Boulder up a hill, only to have roll down, and do it all over again for eternity. Much like Tom bringing the oil can up the stairs.

Interestingly, Sisyphus was known as a violator of the Greek code of hospitality because he killed travelers and guests (Killing of the gull/Winslow).

Sisyphus was also something of a trickster and chained Hades(or Thanatos depending on version) up, cheating death.

Vincent Alexander · Nov 2, 2019

Alastor3 said:
I was expected to really love that movie but ended up not really liking this.

First of all, im not a fan of seeing people drunk so half the movie was that.

And while the long rant from both character was great, i just feel like it as too forced. Too artsy, not the fault of the actors but i feel like it was there just to be there.

I really went into it thinking it was going to be too artsy in a forced way, but was surprised that it left me feeling less artsy than after Midsommar. And I did not like Midsommar.

btkadams · Nov 3, 2019

I thought the movie was just "good" when I first saw it (although beautiful visually and in terms of audio), but I haven't stopped thinking about it. I'm now really wanting to see it again. The more I've thought about different parts of it, the more I appreciate it.

I thought Willem Defoe was good but I'm surprised at how much he's getting praise versus Pattinson. I found Pattinson to be the most impressive. Defoe's character was a little less dynamic to me.

Indy in the Fridge · Nov 3, 2019

bill crystals said:
Kept thinking about Willem Dafoe's day at work that day: deliver a difficult monologue in an intensely historical affect while getting pounds of dirt thrown into his fucking mouth lol.

While chewing on said dirt mid-monologue. I absolutely loved his performance.

Vincent Alexander · Nov 3, 2019

When looking up stuff on Triton, I found this:

From Wikipedia:

Triton in later times became associated with possessing a conch shell, which he blew like a trumpet to calm or raise the waves

Reminds me of the look of the horn blaring throughout the first half of the film

-JD- · Nov 3, 2019

I'll probably need to see this a second time. I enjoyed it but thought it was a slightly more dynamic stage play. Performances were great, though.

Lionel Mandrake · Nov 3, 2019

The cinematography, acting, design, and technical aspects are worth the price of admission. I've never seen any piece of art that felt more "nautical." But I have to admit I left the theater feeling lost and a bit unsatisfied by the ending. I'm typically not a fan of movies that don't give you an opportunity to discern what's literal and what's allegory. I'd be willing to give it another watch though.

Feels like a movie that's going to have The Shining-esque dissections for years to come, for better or worse.

Defoe's monologue/curse is legendary, and I imagine will be the new go-to monologue for drama students.

HommePomme · Nov 3, 2019

Just saw it a third time in the theatre with various different friends. Sounds crazy but I just love looking at it

Equippedwithtowel · Nov 3, 2019

I think I might have enjoyed this more then parasite. It's so rich with atmosphere, theme and character.

Ether_Snake · Nov 4, 2019

Dafoe's character is Old Nan in GoT.

Didn't particularly like the movie. Dafoe is great, but the other Tom's act felt like attention-grabbing/award-baiting. Didn't really believe how he went insane, and even Dafoe's character is all over the place even if his performance was good. Overall too much forced melodrama, and the seagulls eating at Tom's innards topped that off even more.

Joelington · Nov 4, 2019

Saw this the other day. Perhaps one of the most bizarre, uncomfortable, and disturbing films that I've ever watched.
I absolutely loved it, and it's been dominating my thoughts since I left the theatre. Probably the best film I've seen this year.

Ed. · Nov 4, 2019

bill crystals said:
Kept thinking about Willem Dafoe's day at work that day: deliver a difficult monologue in an intensely historical affect while getting pounds of dirt thrown into his fucking mouth lol.

That's literally all I was thinking about while watching that scene. I actually missed a good chunk of that speech. Lol

'The Lighthouse' - Spoiler Thread

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