@@basketcas3717 it actually is very loosely based on an Edgar Allen Poe story. It started out being an adaptation of The Light-House by Poe but became it’s own story once it was finished
A very impactful scene indeed. As if judgement is being passed down for Tommy killing Winslow. The painting this is influenced by is also quite amazing. It's called "Hypnosis" I believe.
@@reemmeer5572 heres my take. ephriam winslow was already slipping before he hit the house with ol tommy boy wake. his guilt, his conscious or lack there of has already set him on a path of madness. early on wake tells of the wiki that ephriam replaced, how he thought the light held salvation. that plants the seed in ephs subconscious, and that seed is fed by myth and folklore that wake feeds him here and there. the resulting hallucinations and the like send him over the edge. in my thoughts thomas wake is a hard ass, but not insane, hes a fucker for sure and putting the screws to his new apprentice, perhaps not knowing itll push eph as far as it did in the end.. for sure in the last act of the movie thomas wake is slipping as well but not nearly enough as eph. lots of cool subtext in this one. there is a pdf of the screen play online that helped me decipher some of thomas wakes face paced sea captainesque rambles, helped me kinda suss things out. i could be totaly ass backwards though! but thats the good thing about movies of this sort. lots to interpret!
This was one of the scariest parts of the movie, when it falls silent after having the noise of waves in the background the entire movie. Sent chills up my spine.
mine too! there's something about the shot at 2:29 - 2:42 that really encapsulates the horror of it all. It's almost like waking up estranged by your surroundings? I can't really put it into words, my english is also kinda bad~
@@cibo6174 I was just thinking of that...the hallway seems to go to Infinity due to the repeating doorways. The same uncanny valley of architecture that Stanley Kubrick displayed.
"…And I had ‘im handy and helpless. Alone. Too far behind on the orders. And I… I wanted to do ‘im in. I admit I did. Seein’ the back of his head. One swipe of the spatula'd be all. Uh… It was… I… I didn’t. I didn’t… I did not. The day was long on that grind. I was lead-tired. I admit it. But I saw him slippin’, not me. I saw the knife on the floor. I stood and he slipped. He shouted to me, and I… I just stood there. “Squidward, you barnacle!” I just stood there, is all. Just… Just stood and watched ‘im git bled out by the blade. And all I could think when he was done was, “I… I could use a Krabby Patty.” That’s it. So, I packed up his kit and fixins, as if they was my own and… Spongebob Squarepants, well, now, he got a spiffy clean slate. And Squidward Tentacles, well, he don’t. No prospects. How else am I gonna find respectable work? Mr. Krabs! Mr. Krabs!" [echoing] "…Why’d y’spill yer beans, Mr. Squidward?…Why’d y’spill yer beans?…Why’d y’spill yer beans?…" [distant sound of Old Man Jenkins’s jalopy] [Squidward hallucinates Spongebob's body lying on the floor of the kitchen.] [Mr. Krabs suddenly appears behind him naked, eyes shaped like dollar signs. They begin glowing.]
I'm of the mindset that both characters are just one person. And insanity has snapped his sense of time like a twig. There's a ton of hints to this scattered throughout the movie.
After he may or may not killed his colleague, he thought of smoking a cigarette. After he killed Ol’ Tom(Willem DaFoe), he smoked a cigarette. The details in this film is incredible.
Tyler Kaga-Davis Also, earlier in the film when Dafoe buries the axe into the table, they later rest underneath the same table, and the axe is very clearly above Dafoe’s head, almost looking like it’s buried in it. Pattinson’s character later kills Dafoe’s by burying that same axe in his head. Nice little bit of foreshadowing, or perhaps even implying that the events we see are not linear.
I love that last shot. As if tom has been granted godlike status through the power of the light he protects, as he casts his judgement or whatever the hell hes doing to ephraim
Something that just hit me is that when you feel guilty for something you sometimes feel paranoid that other people around you somehow secretly know what you did. And seeing how the eyes are the windows to the soul and how young Thomas' soul is tarnished by guilt old Thomas can see right through him at least in this delusion.
Pattinson just keeps getting better and better with each film he's in. Reminds me of Heath Ledger's arc. Except Ledger sadly did not get to keep going. Pattinson is also incredibly good with accents. The subtlety and nuance he gives the upper Maine/new England dialect here is beyond impressive. Another note : Robert Eggers was very upfront that this film is steeped in Greek mythology. So, in context, Proteus is Dafoes character (or some representation) and Prometheus is Euphraim/Pattinsons character. Promethus's fate is the fate that befalls Euphraim at the end of the movie. Birds eat his innards every day for eternity. Messed up huh ?
I respect him a lot. I'd do the same, I'd take the money to do those shit movies with no second thoughts. But I love the effort his putting on his career. He'll never be a GOAT actor but if he keeps getting better he'll be mentioned, eventually.
What an amazing range of emotion Pattinson goes through delivering this monologue. I especially enjoy his delivery on "But I...I didn't..I didn't...I did not."
This particular scene and the ominious foghorn ever present in the background throughout the movie was really what set the chills in. I left the theatre genuinely horrified, and disturbed.
elli The movie is a follow up to the original tale about a young man killing a lighthouse keeper and going mad. Willem plays that young man who has grown old but is still mad, hallucinating that his younger self (Robert) is him, as if it’s all happening again. That’s why both are named Thomas, Willem constantly warns Robert about stuff that he’ll end up doing such as Killing a seagul or the mermaid, Willem knows where the buried box is, or why the people don’t come. And the final most important showing of this is the obsession with the Light in the lighthouse, Willem is protective of it because he too has had the experience Robert has at the end, because he is Roberts character!! The whole film is basically the purgatory of the young man that goes mad after killing the old lighthouse keeper in the real life story. Confusing yes, great movie definitely 😂
@@3flavourscornetto237 it is a plausible theory that makes the most sense. The director said that he liked that people had guessed right and that theory is pretty spot on to everything that happens, but you mind be small minded and not understand movies like this go watch a superhero movie clown ;)
I like the reference to the painting Hypnose. Interesting how they flipped it. In the painting the guy getting light shown in his face is naked, and Hypnos was clothed.
@@mr.fahrenheit3460 my interpretation? Tom falls asleep as he tells his story and has nightmares that drive him further into his insanity. My interpretation of the film is that it's a movie about Pattinson going mad
To me it seems like Winslow was tormented that he didn’t feel anything after his partner died. And it’s human of him to at least try to confess and own up to that scary fact. But in doing so, he confronts his past and therefore must face his judgment, from the light (aka whatever higher power is in this movie). So when he’s asked, “why’d ya spill yer beans?” It feels creepy because we now enter into the metaphysical chapter of the movie, where the facade of “lighthouse workers” is over….
I remember physically bracing/squirming when the camera panned and zoomed on the door as the sound of the rain faded out but then instead of a jump scare we got "why'd you spill your beans tommy"
Every scene in this movie is quotable and burned into my memory. Every line of dialogue is so engaging that you cant stop watching, even when what you are hearing and seeing is insane. Great movie
Imagine if Joaquin Phoenix played Howard and Daniel Day-Lewis played Wake. Joaquin might be too old now to play that role now but that'd be insane. If Daniel was younger then the roles could be reversed and it'd be equally as amazing.
That part for me is when Pattinson touches the light in the end with blood on his face. Really reminds me of the scene from There Will Be Blood where DDL has oil on his face and we get a close up on him right after the whole H.W incident.
@@SlipknotMachinehead Yeah, this would be another good one. But this scene here reminded me very much of the conversation between Plainview and "fake Henry". Pattinson looks very much like Day-Lewis here.
Maybe there is no theory. Maybe there is no deeper meaning. Maybe two dudes just went insane in a lighthouse. That's scarier and more impactful than anything you can come up with.
Fuckin' right. All these people claiming it is definitely purgatory drive me nuts. Just because a movie has supernatural elements doesn't mean everything isn't real.
scampoli25 bruh... i can type out a whole essay explaining why it’s purgatory... ive seen the movie 4 times, Read the script from start to finish, and Listened to the soundtrack. Its not hard to figure out something if you sit back and think. Sorry you have a basic interpretation of the movie
@@XDarkBrotherhoodHD exactly. People commenting here that there isnt a theory and its two people going mad....well yea. But Eggers himself explicitly stated Greek mythology is imbued in this film. The last scene of the movie where Pattinsons character is having his intestines picked at by gulls is a direct reference to the fate of Prometheus. There are several theories or ways to interpret this film for sure and I think thats the point.....but still...
@@salaciousjrick2530 At last a comment re: Kubrick by someone who knows what he's talking about. The Lighthouse doesn't resemble anything about Kubrick in visual style, and almost nothing thematically. People nowadays seem to think "Kubrickian" just means "A movie I don't understand" or something.
I took this as after spilling his beans, the identity that Young hid behind was now dead, and the still shot shown afterwards was to portray his complete exposure to the light/keeper. He cannot hide anymore. He's an open book. Love this movie! So many ways to interpret.
Jesse Brennan not literally, light as in the truth of him murdering his coworker. Cats out of the bag after he spilled his beans, can’t hide from the light.
Interpreting something intelligent is the best part of intelligent media! It opens up discourse and conversations that cause us to reflect. And that's honestly the best thing a piece of art can be.
@@Robb1977 my problem with these kind of artsy movies is that once you get to a certain level of vagueness, you can just put whatever the fuck you want in the film and it'll make people lose their minds theorizing over what it mean, even if it actually has no intended meaning. "yea lets just film some random crazy shit, the audience will eat it up and call it art either way!"
Yeah, dont care for these "same person" theories, I like to think that Defo's character is a priest of Neptune, and that Pattison character is shipwrecked man whos soul is on his way to afterlife, but ends up in hell after killing the priest and insulting his cooking skills
To me the whole thing is in Winslows mind or basically dream logic. He killed his colleague but refuses to admit his wrongdoing and essentially tries to escape the reality of his situation. The whole movie is like his escapism where he can just be a simple man who did nothing wrong and there's fantastical elements like the mermaid and a caricature of a seaman. The light is his salvation he seeks to rid himself of the guilt or responsibility of coming to terms with what he did which ultimately he can't.
??? This is the story of Prometheus (the greek myth I mean, not the movie from the Alien franchise). Pattison´s character even appears being eaten alive by birds, at the end...
@@gabrielp9646 It's an accurate comparison because of the many references to it throughout the film but it's definetly not the only interpretation of the film since there's so much going on. Plus only saying its a retelling of Prometheus story doesn't itself explain all the themes or answer all the questions in the film.
There are such things as author and directors intent as well as a narrative by the film itself. If you want to say "oh he's just mad" than Winslow was insane before he even got to the island we see him have nightmares and visions the first day on the island, not to mention we literally see Wake take the form of Triton with his tentacles and attraction to the light and LITERALLY HAVE WAKE EXPLAIN TO US THE SUPERNATURAL POWER OF THE LIGHT, HE LITERALLY SAYS MULTIPLE TIMES WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO WINSLOW. Even if you wanted to say it's because they're insane, why does every person that comes onto the island have these visions, attracted to the light AND we see their souls are trapped on the island as seagulls. "Souls of dead sailor picking away at your body until the sea takes you away" paraphrasing but that's literally what happens at the end of the movie. So get outta here with "iS nO pUrGay" because it's clearly more than just two people going insane. Unless in Winslows insanity he just decided to get naked outside and pass out for seagulls to eat his organs, he just imagined seeing what the light shows exactly as described by Wake, and even if you want to say it's all in his head why would he voluntarily give up the light and go outside to be killed we literally see him judged by the light and fall downstairs breaking his legs, how did he even walk outside?
This film was a masterpiece. Now while i’m glad Parasite got all the accolades it did, this film for me was right up there for best picture. Even in more respects in terms of cinematography and production design. Would’ve loved to see this win cinematography at least. So frustrating that people had such a hard on for brad pitt this year (even though i did love his performance) as Defoe put in a career best. Both Pattinson and Defoe deserves nomination at least Such a master class in directing as well. Eggers has made two films and each are such incredible experiences.
1:58 Thomas's near enough breaks the fourth wall. He's staring directly at the audience as if he's directly addressing them rather than Wake. It also works because the whole point is he's becoming more and more unhinged to the point of madness.
Saw this movie for the first time last year and I can easily say it's my new favorite movie. It was so good after watching it for the first time, I started it all over!
This was my favorite movie of the year and my favorite performances of the year. Pattinson and Dafoe were just incredible. Probably too weird for most people but man I loved it.
1:28 "I could use me a smoke." Those were the exact words he used after Wake asked him if this wasn't all just a psychotic dream his mind conjured up while he was freezing to death in Canada...
Wow. When he looked me dead in the eyes I was horrified. This movie is nothing short of disturbing and I love it. Multiple ways you can perceive what the story was about, could be as simple as two men going mad at a lighthouse in the ocean, all the way to the theory that this is purgatory and Tomas howard is being tested by the captain an angel of some sort
First time I watched this, the slow pan then zoom to the doorway had me frozen in fear - I genuinely couldn't look away but was scared shitless that something was gonna jump out at me. Incredible film.
Funnily enough, Mermaids in sea myth are actually considered sea demons. So I guess the Mermaid scenes in this movie could be considered a demon tempting Winslow with some bad shit.
Pattinson was able to break the "Twighlight" mold he was in which makes me happy. I bet a lot of actors would be good in more experimental films such as this, they're just not willing to take a risk.
So I know that it's kind of the point of art to be up to your interpretation, but what's interesting about the movie to me is that I can see multiple references and allusions to what it might be about. Right after the movie finished I tried to figure out what the light really was or represented. Prometheus' quest for the fire and the captain talking about St. Elmo's Fire brought me to that. I gues the director also mentioned something about Prometheus and Proteus. On the other side of things, the sea mythos and superstition was so heavy and to me the lighthouse and the sea seemed to be nature itself working on tommy's irreverence for the legends and superstitions of the old captain. After all, the wind changes after he kills the seagull which brings that storm. Then you have the angle of it merely being a psychological thriller, the old captain says himself that Tommy is so confused he might be simply imagining all of this as some grand hallucination. On the other hand, perhaps the captain is driving Tommy to this madness. You could totally determine nearly every weird scene as from the point of view of a disturbed individual, or you can really believe he really did find a siren beached on the rocks and there are supernatural forces at work. Anyway, I think there are weaknesses to a film left this incredibly open, but it was still far more interesting and engaging than most crap out there. It feels like if Eraserhead by avid Lynch and The Old Man And The Sea by Hemmingway had a disturbed child called The Lighthouse.
This scene seems to symbolize an awakening of the younger character turning the scene of him speaking outloud in reality into a scene of what can be seen as a vizualiztion into his inner thought.... In his mind is where he sees himself on the lighthouse and a mystical Thomas hypnotizing him... This is imo when he realizes he has been played the whole time.... Fucking incredible movie. Havent gotten this excited for breakdowns in film is so long.
Don’t know about anyone else but not only was this my favorite film of 2019 it may be one of the most interesting, intriguing and mysterious films I’ve ever seen. I found myself awake at night for days after watching it just thinking about the story, the themes and the metaphors.
Every time I watch the movie I get the feeling that it wasn't even filmed in color. I have a feeling they added all the bright psychedelic colors in post.
One of the influences of the movie was a real life event in 1801 of two Welsh lighthouse keepers that were stranded because of a storm and both of them were named Thomas
Seems to me Pattinson is a younger version of Dafoe, although it’s hard to say if it’s told from the perspective of Dafoe seeing a younger version of his once self or Pattinson imagining himself many years from then, either way a internal strife between the two.
The way the background sound fades to silence and the camera slowly pans around when he sees Wake isn't there creeps me the fuck up. It's so hard to find (sort of) horror movies that excel at creating dread and anxiety instead of depending on loud, shocking action. Masterfully done scene and a masterpiece of a movie.
This scene represents the ID, ego, and superego. Winslow is the ego; Wake is the superego, and the tied Winslow symbolizes the animalistic side of Winslow, namely his ID, which is constrained by the superego's influence. Winslow is determined to liberate his ID (reach the lighthouse), reflecting our real-life desire to express our sexuality and animal impulses freely. However, our ever-watchful superego (depicted by Wake illuminating Winslow) prevents us from connecting with our ID, compelling us to obey its constraints
