i… think this movie warrants a rewatch. the problem with casually watching a movie that is ridden with material for close interpretation with a friend is that you start making fun of everything (there was a lot to make fun of in this movie, like, but not limited to, pattinson jorkin his shit to a figurine of a mermaid) instead of really locking in. the setting is ripe for conflict—the isolation, the dreariness, the eerie feeling that constantly haunts the lighthouse, this sense that we don’t know something we really ought to. it’s a lovecraftian tale with a decidedly homoerotic codependent dynamic at its centre. it’s really pattinson and dafoe’s stellar chemistry and performance that gives this movie its oomph factor. paired with robert eggers’ distinctive direction: this film’s one of a kind. i’m on my way home in a metro rn so it’s kinda difficult to fully articulate myself through my phone screen. there’s this scene where both the characters are slowdancing while entwined in an intimate embrace, and it’s my favorite scene from the whole movie. it’s just so beautiful (i need to learn more synonyms for that word), more erotic than shane and ilya rawdogging live. robert eggers just got this vision, man. i really fw it. i haven’t even begun talking about the cinematography. oh god. GOD. i haven’t seen any film with such use of lighting and framing in a long time. well, in terms of framing 12 Angry Men got this beat BUT LIGHTING. it’s magnificent, especially coz this is black and white. idk what more to say tbh. there’s a lot i missed in the movie. also there were instances where i was hyperaware of the actors ACTING so that’s another thing mildly ruined. solid movie tho.
