I work in a movie theater and this is what I think of THE LIGHTHOUSE

Rating: 🦑🦑🦑🦑🦑🦑🦑🦑
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Few trailers tip you off to the inevitable viewership experience than that of The Lighthouse. That is to say, after watching the trailer alone, you know it references a movie that's weird, black and white, and stars the eccentric Willem Defoe. Do we really need to know anything else before signing up for this one?

I can't imagine anyone expected a light-hearted buddy comedy to come out of The Lighthouse. You know what you're getting yourself into before you walk into the theater. And of course, the avant-garde nature of The Lighthouse brings out a certain group of patrons that inherently gravitate towards it, which I feel like lends to some of the more positive receptions. This isn't exactly going to be the Thanksgiving "let's take grandma and grandpa out after dinner" holiday classic.

This is a movie with three casting credits. The make-up department alone consisted of almost three times the amount of thespians on screen with a total of eight IMDb credits. So what does that mean? The acting and dialogue had better be on point. In those specific regards, I wasn't disappointed for a minute.

The performances were truly amazing and should warrant some Oscar buzz. It might be too soon to categorize rumors of Robert Pattinson covering himself in dirt and urinating himself and clashing with Willem Defoe as "urban legends," but these "method" tidbits only underline how much these actors put into playing their roles. Defoe and Pattinson approached their characters with delicate vigor.

The dialogue between the two flows like a timeless prose that I don't recall ever having experienced before in a movie. Look, I work in a movie theater for a living. I watch movies all the time, even the ones I don't want to watch. Inevitably, I hear awful dialogue constantly. I'm talking vitrole, film school, paint by number dialogue. I'm looking at you, Stuber.

I can't recall hearing more poetic line delivery in a movie than in this film. Willem Defoe treats each word as a melodic sailor's cant and Robert Pattinson's "JFK"-esque accent is extremely believable. The lines are fresh and the actors treat each word with the type of delicare care you could expect from a parent tucking a sleepy child into bed. When you marry a good performance with impeccably written dialogue from the first page to the last, you've got yourself a movie worth exploring.

That's not to say that I appreciated everything about The Lighthouse. In fact, there were many elements that I found off putting.

Visually, I can't call The Lighthouse as masterpiece, although many will. While fresh and unique, many viewers find the 1.19:1 aspect ratio to be a bit disorienting while others will applaud it for creating a purer period immersion or for at least being unconventional. Because this was shot with 35mm film but done so with modern cameras, we do get a blend of old and new that creates some beautiful contrast between light and shadow that I've personally never seen before in cinema. You're cheating yourself if you don't watch this movie on the big screen.

While aspects of the cinematography were truly fantastic, I did have a hard time digesting some of the early scenes that were either intentionally or unintentionally underexposed. I wouldn't have been surprised if those hard to watch moments were by design given the avant-garde nature of the presentation. It can be challenging for some to adapt to so many unconventional visual elements at once, especially with some of the slowest pacing I can recall in a narrative in years.

That leads me to another problem that I had with this movie. The actual story itself.

To call this movie a "slow burn" would make it sound much faster than it really is. The narrative trudges along like a snail holding a boulder walking through mud. The Lighthouse offers its viewers very little in set-up or exposition early on and meanders around before we're treated to something close to a plot.

Some people like this element of The Lighthouse. I did not. I constantly found myself asking "are we there yet?" And even when we get to where we're going, I couldn't help but find that I didn't really care. At no point did I really connect with these characters on an emotional level. For me, there was no relatability or affinity. Frankly, I didn't even feel negatively towards them. With these powerhouse performances, I should have found myself feeling more emotionally towards our two characters. And that's where I felt like The Lighthouse steered my ship into the wrong direction.

Sure, after the fact, I learned that the narrative parallels various elements in mythology and lore. But I shouldn't need to read about Greek easter eggs before or after a movie to appreciate the story. To my disappointment, and while some will staunchly disagree with me, there just wasn't much of a plot. Largely, I felt like everything was set up to be weird for the sake of being weird. At the end of the movie, I thought to myself "what was the point?" And that underscores a huge flaw in the writing.

With that having been said, The Lighthouse is about as interesting, unique and refreshing of a film that I can recall seeing in years. Sure to be a cult classic, if you can survive some of the less digestible elements, you'll be treated to a theatrical experience unlike any other.

Viscerally, I didn't really like this movie immediately after watching it. I felt cheated by the story or lack thereof. However, after experiencing bits and pieces for a second or third time, my stance has softened up mainly because of the beautifully written lines of dialogue and the way they were masterfully delivered.

While I've been a bit critical in certain areas, more so than anyone I know that's seen this movie, I would absolutely recommend checking it out. Experience this journey and decide what you think for yourself. Despite my handful of grievances, I'm giving The Lighthouse 8 squids out of 10.