The Lighthouse

"The Lighthouse" (Robert Eggers, A24, Regency Enterprises, Universal Pictures) is a black and white psychological film inspired by the avant-garde/experimental style.


Set in the late 19th Century, two lighthouse keepers are sent to the lonely and secluded island for their four week shift. The two do not get on and, trapped on the island in a storm, it seems that they both begin to lose their sanity with deadly results...


Personally, this film was not for me. Technically speaking, however, it's an interesting film. Well shot and bleakly atmospheric, it delivers a disturbing piece. Filmed on 35mm and in an old fashioned ratio adds to the cinematic experience. From what I've read, the set up and filming process were both extremely labour intensive and complicated, so the film is certainly a feat in this regard.


Both Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe give intriguing performances as the younger, less experienced keeper and the abrasive older keeper. Their relationship is taught, uncomfortable and ultimately deadly. There's also the added element that both characters are extremely unreliable narrators (given their own secrets, alcohol abuse and apparent cabin fever), so that we are never truly sure what events are happening, and what are figments of the men's imaginations.


Overall, I found the purposefully disjointed style and delivery to be rather boring and I definitely felt the full 109 minute runtime. Whilst I can appreciate the style and aesthetic of the piece, I didn't find it to be particularly entertaining and, unlike Eggers' "The Witch" (2016) or Ari Aster's "Hereditary" (2018) , I wasn't even left with the same grim emptiness or shell-shocked feeling that lingered after the credits rolled. While I think it's sure to become an important film in the future for aesthetic and style reasons, I wasn't overly impressed with it as a film and wouldn't hold it in the same esteem as I do David Lynch's surreal and uncomfortable "Eraserhead" (1977) (which no doubt played some part in inspiration). For me it played out a little too much like a project piece rather than a finished article.


So, although I can and do appreciate the film's technical and aesthetic merits, it's unlikely to be one I'd choose to revisit. However, for the intrigued, it's certainly worth catching for the experience.

[Image: A24, et al]

Hani

Death Note

"Death Note" (2017, Adam Wingard, LP Entertainment, Vertigo Entertainment, Lin Pictures, Netflix) is an American horror film based on the Japanese Manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.

Light Turner (Nat Wolff) is a high school student. He's not popular, he's not athletic and he makes cash on the side through doing others' homework. When Light comes across a mysterious notebook and meets the sinister Ryuk (Willem Dafoe), a demonic death god, his life begins to change. Quickly unlocking the secrets of the notebook's power: to kill any individual properly targeted using the book, Light finds a kindred spirit in his crush, Mia (Margaret Qualley), and also attracts the unwanted attention of L (Lakeith Stanfield) , an FBI agent seeking to halt their murderous spree.

Although Light's original intentions may have been good, things become complicated and messy as time progresses and he becomes suspicious that Ryuk may not be on his side after all. The overall taking from this film is the old adage: 'power corrupts'.

The film offers some good qualities: Dafoe's performance as the creepy and charming Ryuk is very effective, and the aesthetics of the film are nicely put together. However, the film attempts to pack so much in to the run time that it feels slightly unfinished and focuses perhaps too much attention on the puppy-love aspect of the sub-plot as opposed to mysteries of the notebook or of Ryuk. The ending is also convoluted and felt unhinged from the rest of the film.

I've learned that as well as removing the story from Japan to suit a more Western audience, the film has made other changes to the plot and characters as to make this version very different from the base material. I am not much of a Manga reader, but I feel intrigued now to search "Death Note" out and give it a whirl, if anything to understand the base material more and perhaps seek a better appreciation for this interesting story.

[Image: Netflix]

Hani

Shadow of the Vampire

"Shadow of the Vampire" (2000, E. Elias Merhige, Saturn Films, Long Shot Films, BBC Films, Delux Productions) is an extraordinary film about the filming of the classic 1922 masterpiece, "Nosferatu", but it's no documentary by any means.

From the slow process of filming with the old hand turning equipment to the period dress the feeling of making this film is recreated elegantly. Humorous in places and excellently put together, "Shadow of the Vampire" is quite a captivating piece.

While filming the famously unauthorised version of Bram Stoker's "Dracula", Frederich Wilhelm Murnau (John Malkovich) is obsessively creating his masterpiece. He hires in an unheard of method actor, Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), who refuses to 'come out of character'.

The other crew members are wary of Schreck, who is altogether a weird guy. But things become increasingly more suspicious that Schreck may be something other than human!

A truly eccentric film, I loved it. Dafoe plays the hammy horror icon to a tee and you can always rely on John Malkovich to bring some weird in. While not a scary film, it's an intriguing concept and a fun view for any fans of artsy cinema.

 

 

[Image: Saturn Films]

Hani