-You a dullard?
-No Sir
-Fooled Me

The cinematography alone serves to cement this film as one of the best. Using nearly century old lenses (we’re talking the same ones likely used to shoot the original Frankenstein). The way this film looks perfectly sets the atmosphere and tone of a “musty, crusty, dusty” lighthouse (which is a working lighthouse the built for the film and to accommodate for the vertical-heavy cinematography) on some rock in the middle of nowhere. This film was entirely snubbed for the Oscars, and it pains me to think about it.

This film goes so deep on many themes and ideas that the film does a lot of justice. Some of the things being:

This plays into a lot of the idea of the human psyche especially how it is affected by isolation. It does so better than most films I have seen with the same motive. The way we see both men break down throughout the film to the point where us as the viewers question our own sanity and it’s fragility is masterful. Brilliantly highlighted by the way “Winslow” becomes a unreliable narrater and we begin not being sure of what is real and what are the machinations of a mind plagued by madness. It also plays into the idea of the fragility of the human mind in the pursuit of gaining immense knowledge, power, etc. This is specifically shown through the ending of “Winslow” finally reaching the light and immediately falling down the stairs back into the pits of weakness.

The relationship between Young and Old is a source of importance here as well. We see both men have a certain bit of hostility against each other brought by their difference in experience, ideals, and notably age. Which causes a rift in their relation even though we come to find that these two are just about the same people with a few aforementioned differences. It opens our eyes to whether this whole situation is real or not. It could be that even this whole plot is some figment of Winslow’s imagination or even a perpetual loop he is stuck in for the rest of his life (a sort of purgatory or hell he lives in for the terrible things he has done in life).   

Power dynamics are also prevalent in this film as the entire relationship between Thomas and Thomas is one constant power struggle with such big moments as Wake keeping the light for himself to such little ones as Howard/Winslow pouring out the alcohol on their first night to gain an upper hand. It all plays into another one of the films biggest themes, that being...

Masculinity, which could easily be this film’s title, is at the heart of this all. It serves as the initial barrier between our two wickies and keeps the animosity between them burning. It shows the pure almost animalistic tears of it while also showing the fragility of it (this can be seen in the scene where our two keepers dance in each other’s arms, nearly kiss, and immediately start brawling as a result). 

And myth, myth plays such a strong role in this. From the seagulls supposedly being the souls of sailors past to our two characters straight up being Greek mythological gods, shout out to my Greek Myth buffs. Thomas Wake is the god Proteus, who was known as “the Old Man of the Sea.” Proteus was a shape-shifting sea god, that explains the tentacle-heavy form Wake dawns while Howard/Winslow hallucinates at the end, who was very knowledgable but very protective and overbearing of said knowledge. Sound familiar? Howard/Winslow is the god of Prometheus who stole fire from the Zeus and gave it to man. In this case, the Fire is the lagern of the lighthouse and man is himself. Zeus famously chained Prometheus to a mountain and kept him there to have his innards forever be at by eagles for such a deed, this is the reason the film ends with Winslow half-dead in the shore being eaten alive by the seagulls.

All of these things make this film something incredible.

And the acting... is pure genius. Brilliant performances from both DaFoe and Pattinson. Both of their performances were beyond Oscar-worthy, in my humble opinion.

This is the first film to ever have me genuinely jumping and on edge with no jump scares in sight. I am not easily scared by movies but this one absolutely horrifies me to the core. It just has a way of creeping into you and seeping chills directly into your spine.

Thank you Robert and Max Eggers for creating something so unique and mystifying. I will never take for granted how much I adore this film. It is one of the greatest things I’ve ever watched, and a masterclass of affective filmmaking.