I saw Robert Eggers‘ “The Lighthouse” at Cannes, a slow-building tale of the sea and madhouse isolation; it is a tale filled with booze, demons and the nightmares that come in feeling so alone and vulnerable as a man. Robert Pattinson is, as usual great, but I wouldn’t call this his best performance; Essential and peak Patttinson is still his turn in The Safdies’ “Good Time.” The real reason to watch this is for Eggers’ astute and deeply folklore-indebted stylings and, of course, the madman-esque performance from Willem Dafoe as the old bearded sea dog.
From my Cannes review titled ‘The Lighthouse' Review: Sophomore Effort Proves ‘The Witch' Director Robert Eggers is the Real Deal:
“Much like “The Witch,” this sophomore endeavor from Eggers is about characters threatened by invisible forces. It may not necessarily be as bold a narrative as its predecessor, but it almost makes up for it with the kind of imagery, courtesy of “The Witch” cinematographer Jarin Blaschke, that is heavily indebted in 19th century folklore — a 35mm black and white nightmare, if you will”
A24 will release “The Lighthouse” on Friday, October 18th 2019.
I can confirm that Joel Coen’s “Jack of Spades” is based on Frances Frederica Montrésor’s 1901 novel “The Alien: A Story of Middle Age.” It’s a ghost story. A gothic mystery.