A hypnotic and hallucinatory tale about two lighthouse keepers on a remote and mysterious island in New England during the 1890s. A film by Robert Eggers, starring Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, and Valeriia Karaman.

In the late 18th century, Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) arrives on an isolated island to begin a four-week shift as a lighthouse keeper alongside former sailor Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe).

Upon arrival, Ephraim discovers a scrimshaw of a mermaid hidden in his mattress. Fascinated by the carving, he keeps it in his pocket.

Scrimshaw refers to the art of carving or engraving designs on materials such as bone, ivory, or whale teeth, primarily created by sailors during whaling voyages. This practice emerged in the late 18th century and involves intricate scrollwork and illustrations, often highlighted with pigments. Common subjects include whaling scenes and nautical themes. Originally a pastime for whalers, scrimshaw has evolved into a recognized folk art form, though it is now subject to restrictions due to conservation laws regarding endangered species.

Thomas quickly establishes himself as a domineering supervisor, forcing Ephraim to handle all the grueling tasks: emptying chamber pots, maintaining machinery, and hauling heavy kerosene tanks up the lighthouse stairs.

Though Ephraim protests that lighthouse keeping should be shared equally between them, Thomas forbids him from entering the lantern room.

Soon, Ephraim begins having nightmares of a lifeless body floating among logs in a dark, endless sea. Ephraim learns From Thomas that his predecessor went insane and died after being haunted by hallucinations of sea monsters and mermaids.

The day before their scheduled relief, Ephraim loses his temper and brutally bludgeons a seagull to death, despite Thomas’s warning that killing one brings bad luck, as seagulls are believed to carry the souls of dead sailors. Ephraim dismisses this as mere superstition.

Seagulls are surrounded by various legends and superstitions across different cultures. Many maritime cultures believe that seagulls carry the souls of drowned sailors. This belief suggests that when sailors see a seagull, they might be witnessing the spirit of a lost shipmate, leading to the superstition that harming a seagull brings bad luck. Seagulls are often seen as indicators of weather changes. For instance, seeing a gull flying overhead may signal an incoming storm, while gulls flying inland can indicate a bad storm at sea. In Celtic mythology, seagulls are believed to ferry souls to the afterlife, acting as guides between the living and the dead. This symbolism stems from their association with water, which is often viewed as a boundary between realms.

The next day, a fierce storm hits the island, preventing the lighthouse tender from collecting them. Stranded for another night, they hope to be rescued the following day. But the storm rages on. As days turn into weeks, Ephraim’s hope fades along with his sanity.

Directed by American filmmaker Robert Eggers from a screenplay co-written with his brother Max Eggers, The LIGHTHOUSE is a psychological thriller infused with mythical elements.

While Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe deliver amazing performances, the film may test some viewers’ patience with its old English dialogue and excruciatingly slow pace, despite its relatively short 106-minute runtime.

The ambiguous narrative can be interpreted in various ways, which may or may not align with the filmmaker’s intended story. I particularly enjoyed the film’s dark comedic elements, which provide entertaining moments throughout.

In my personal interpretation, the entire film is a figment of the protagonist’s imagination, as suggested by the final scene. Throughout the film, we never see any ships or boats near the lighthouse (except in the first scene), which leads me to believe that the island, the lighthouse, and even Thomas Wake may not be real.

The LIGHTHOUSE premiered at the Festival de Cannes on 19 May 2019, where it won the FIPRESCI Critics Award.

The FIPRESCI Critics Award, presented by the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), recognizes outstanding films at international film festivals. Founded in 1925, FIPRESCI aims to promote film culture and safeguard the interests of film critics. The award is given to films deemed exceptional by a jury of critics, highlighting artistic merit and innovation. It is awarded at various festivals worldwide, including Cannes and Toronto, and serves to elevate the visibility of noteworthy films that may otherwise go unrecognized.

It received a limited theatrical release of eight screens in the United States on October 18 before expanding to over 500 screens by the end of October, distributed by A24. The film grossed over $18 million against a production budget of $11 million.

Robert Eggers Explains Why ‘The Lighthouse’ in IMAX Is a “Very Different” Experience
We had one theater on IMAX before, and that was at the Toronto Film Festival, like one of the screens was on an IMAX screen. I think it must have been a mistake, but it was really very, very interesting. And I never sit through when my movies are released, or still don’t ever sit through because I get sick of them by the time they’re done. But I went to this because I was curious. And what’s really cool is that it plays very differently because we obviously knew we were making the film in 1.19:1 aspect ratio that you would be watching this claustrophobic little box in the middle of a screen that you know is made to accommodate CinemaScope, but here, because of the IMAX format, instead of, looking into the movie, you are within the movie. When Pattinson first enters the lighthouse keepers quarters. It’s like, you’re in there! Like you’re still walking around in there with him.

How One of The Lighthouse’s Most Pivotal Scenes Started With Robert Eggers Scrolling Through Tumblr
I think I came across Hypnosis on Tumblr. I’m not sure. But certainly some sort of banal online discovery. Obviously, it’s a very striking nightmare image. The atmosphere is truly dreamlike and the artist is of course depicting an impossible moment. Like the victim in the image you are immediately drawn to the light, and then next the grip of the god-like villain, and then to the victim’s genitals, which makes him seem all the more vulnerable.

Robert Pattinson on his role in ‘The Lighthouse’: “I just want to do something weird”
I saw The WITCH and really enjoyed it. You could see that he was a master, technically. I liked that it seemed as if they built a world — where if the camera were to move in any direction, it would seem just as full. But I didn’t think I wanted to do a horror film. We talked about a couple of things which were more conventional, but also big and kind of gothic. I’m always a little wary of playing in an English period production, so I said to him, ‘I just want to do something weird.’ And then he sent me this.

The Director of The Lighthouse Spills a Few Beans About His Movie’s Puzzling Ending
My brother found Act One and Act Two fairly easily, but Act Three was a continuing challenge. And once we had finally found it, we understood, because of aspects that were influenced by Melville, that there were going to be allusions to classical mythology. We thought rather than saying “What folk tale or fairy tale narrative did we accidentally stumble upon?” we’d say, “What classical mythology story or stories did we stumble upon?” Once we figured what we were doing, where those parallels existed, that’s when the final shot came into existence.

Behind the Scenes of The Lighthouse, the Strangest, Spookiest Movie of the Year
There are always compromises. You’re never going to get exactly what you want, but I’m always going to choose something smaller with more control than something big that I don’t have control over. I wanted to build the lighthouse station because I wanted to have the most control possible on where I put my camera and how everything looked. We were looking all over the place. We started scouting in Nova Scotia, but things were really moving quickly, and we didn’t really find anything. Up there people have mailboxes shaped like lighthouses and buoys and lobster traps in their front yard, and I was like, We gotta find it here. I finally found a spot where we could build our tower. The shot where they’re waiting for the relief boat and just standing in the wind—that was real weather. So that’s not comfortable, right? The set wasn’t very jovial. The scenes were really, really difficult and demanding, and the conditions were punishing, but we all signed up for it.