The Lighthouse Review: Are We Not Mad?

When The Lighthouse finished, I was left bewildered. What had I just witnessed? Certainly, something momentous had occurred, but for the life of me, I couldn’t put my finger on it. The film is replete with innuendo. Its suggestions so cryptic, its barrelchested exterior so bald-faced. On its surface, Robert Eggers’ newest opus can be likened to his debut film The Witch. Both peddle in isolation, superstition, and paranoia. But where the supernatural elements plod its way towards the conclusion of The Witch, The Lighthouse sees Eggers pull back at these ingredients just enough to keep us guessing at the true nature of this macabre story.

Shot in a 1.19:1 aspect ratio, the framing immediately evokes a sense of claustrophobia and isolation, central themes in the story. Black and white 35mm film is used to create a facade of shadows that lends to an uneasiness throughout the movie. Much like The Witch, before it, there is a voyeuristic quality to watching an Eggers film that’s not so different from peeping through a keyhole.

At the center of the movie are two lighthouse keepers, Ephraim Winslow, a closemouthed nomad, looking to create a new life for himself, and Thomas Wake, an artless oaf, who is quite possessive of the lighthouse he mans. The property must be tended to 24 hours a day. The men split the work. Wake is to handle the daytime duties, while…