Tag Archives: Robert Pattinson

The Lighthouse (2019): Strange, but Not Scary

Refusing to fit the mold of standard horror films, Robert Eggers (The Witch) has created another hyper-specific period piece, albeit with poor results. Winslow (Robert Pattinson; Good Time) is brought to a remote island to work as a lighthouse keeper under the supervision of Wake (Willem Dafoe; The Florida Project). The men begin a terse working relationship, but animosity grows as the two develop suspicions about each other’s intentions.

If nothing else, the film is devoted to its aesthetic. Eggers, a former production designer, has created a world worn down by the ocean. The lighthouse has a brick façade with weathered paint and the ramshackle house they live in is cramped and broken-down. The buildings are built for functionality, not comfort and it adds to the prison-like feeling of the location. Eggers also chooses to avoid modern conventions by neither shooting his film in color nor in widescreen to add to the period’s authenticity. While other filmmakers often use black and white out of nostalgia or beauty, Eggers uses it for its harshness. The visuals are in the vein of German Expressionism and hint at the potential for insanity, even if the film isn’t able to add meaning to that insanity.

The film’s cohesive visuals are its strongest asset.

Pattinson and Dafoe carry nearly the entire film and are fully invested in their roles. Neither Winslow nor Wake seem like the kind of people anyone would want to be stuck on a remote island with. Both appear to be hiding some part of their past. Pattinson’s Winslow is, comparatively, the relatable character. He wants to avoid small talk or drinking and focus on the work ahead until their tour of duty is over. Dafoe’s Wake has other interests in mind. He is cranky, impulsive, and enjoys his power over Winslow as he demeans him and has him slave over difficult, unnecessary tasks for his own sadistic pleasure. There are moments when he appears to be kind as he invites Winslow to drink with him, but behind each of these actions is a short, potentially dangerous temper. His impulsiveness and cruelty is what allows for the Winslow’s suspicions to form.

Eggers uses the dynamic between Winslow and Wake and their isolation to fuel to film’s mystery. As Winslow is mistreated by Wake, he begins to doubt Wake’s intentions. He suspects that Wake is hiding something from him when he refuses to let him onto the top floor of the lighthouse. Additionally, in his loneliness, Winslow begins to see strange occurrences like animals behaving oddly and images that may or may not be hallucinations. The unknown combined with the potentially unhinged thoughts lead to several strange scenes of erratic behavior that range from rude to oddly humorous to aggressive. As unique as the situations may be, the film’s failing is that these moments don’t progressively build on each other. They instead feel like only partially connected abnormalities. In The Witch, a film that was also built on mistrust with a potentially supernatural bent, every scene escalated the story’s tension in a cohesive direction that built to a conclusion in line with the bizarre events that preceded it. In The Lighthouse, committed performances and distinctive visuals can’t save a narrative that never unites its unusual digressions to create tension, horror, or an ending that gives meaning to the bizarre occurrences.

2/5 stars.

Good Time (2017): An Ultra-Gritty Crime Caper

Good Time should really be called Tough Luck. Directed by brothers Ben and Josh Safdie (Heaven Knows What), the film follows two bottom-rung losers as they try to steal enough money to get away from their miserable lives. Connie (Robert Pattinson; Twilight) and his mentally challenged brother Nick (Ben Safdie) attempt to rob a local bank for $65,000. When their plan goes south, Connie decides to rescue Nick which leads to a string of progressively complicated situations as he fumbles each step along the way.

The Safdie brothers bring their realistic shooting style to the caper film. The word “gritty” is frequently thrown around to describe what appears as a more realistic shooting style, but in reality, it is a relative term. The concept is often associated with the crime films of Martin Scorsese and, in comparison to most slick, mainstream films, his works do appear more down to earth, but that is only because of the excessive sheen given to the visuals of a standard Hollywood picture. The Safdie brothers employ a style that can only be described as ultra-gritty. Their actors are mostly unknowns that look like regular people. They’re unkept and not particularly attractive. Even Pattinson, the former Twilight heartthrob, looks and acts like a lowlife and the change is refreshing. The extras and minor characters seem like regular, imperfect beings and the glamour-free appearances make Connie’s flight more intense because the setting is grounded in the real world.

Nothing about the brothers’ plans go as desired.

The New York City of the Safdie brothers is a downright shithole. This is a part of Queens far away from the haute intellectual settings of a Woody Allen film. The movie was shot on film and features a pronounced film grain, adding a scrappy, low-budget feel to the actions onscreen. The houses we see are cramped and rundown and the few glimpses of better situations are short-lived. These are the dirty streets of the lower class, filled with people in perpetual cycles of barely making it by. The cast that populates the city is uniformly excellent with the direct, curt behavior expected from the NYC working class. Safdie as Nick is unrecognizable and utterly convincing as a mentally challenged character with his vacant, disconnected stares and delayed reactions. In their previous film, the Safdie brothers followed heroin addicts slumming their way through the city and the realism of their repeated self-harm almost became repulsive. Here, the entertaining characters and Connie’s relatable motivation prevent the aesthetic from becoming unpleasant. Instead, it lifts the stakes and clearly distinguishes the film from others in the genre.

Despite their disparate visual styles, the Safdie brothers have made their own version of a Michael Mann film, specifically Thief. They even use a pounding electric score that is reminiscent of Tangerine Dream’s work. The main difference is the caliber of their characters. Their protagonists, unlike Mann’s professional criminals, are horribly flawed. Connie is shown to have the seeds of good ideas and is crafty enough to momentarily avoid capture, but is not intelligent enough to fully solve his problems. The mistakes he makes as his outlook worsens are believable, but only for a desperate hoodlum with some awful decision-making. His narrow escapes exacerbate his situation and dig himself further into a hole which, to some, will almost be comedic in its escalation, but to others will be equally thrilling. The rough, realistic settings and increasingly precarious getaway make for a uniquely grounded heist movie.

4/5 stars.