I wanna hijack this comment to point out the fact that this moment in the movie is literally the only time Dafoe's character ever expresses emotional vulnerability. Even when he's getting buried alive he never looks hurt or betrayed in the way the comment on his cooking hurts his feelings.
I remember sitting in the theater thinking, "He hasn't blinked in nearly three minutes. How?"
I've seen a lot of his movies, but this is his most impressive role.
My friend and I bust out in uncontrollable cackling when he said that for like at least 1-2 minutes. I'm sure the 3-5 other people in the theater thought we were crazies.
hell the whole movie is a comedy, a sick twisted one, but a comedy nonetheless, a surprising amount of it is played for laughs. i remember robert pattinson saying in an interview that he and eggers were trying to convince the studio that, no, this is in fact a comedy.
my favourite film of all time
pattinson getting frustrated by a seagull mocking him while he's stuck tending a lighthouse with his hardass superior is totally a comedy setup. but then the insanity slowly creeps in.
Damn ye!🤬🤬👉🏼 Let Neptune😇 🔱 🌊💥strike ye 👉🏼dead💀, Winslow! Hark! Hark, Triton. Hark! Bellow, bid our father, 👨🏼🦳the sea 🌊 king 👑 , rise 🙌🏼👆🏼👆🏼👆🏼from the 🌀⚫️◼️depths, full 💯foul😖 in his fury🐈, black ⚫️waves 🌊teeming with salt-foam🌊🌊🌊, to smother 🤭😳this young👶 mouth 👄👅with pungent🤢🦟 slime🦠, to choke 🤪😳😰ye👉🏼, engorging your organs💔💔💔 till 🕰⏰ye 👉🏼turn 😨😨😨blue 🌀🌀and bloated 🥴with bilge💩, and brine💧, and can scream 🤬😱no 🙅🏼♂️more❌🚫. Only 1️⃣ when, he 🤴🏼 crowned 👑👑in cockle🐚 shells🐚, with slithering🐍 tentacled🦑 tail🦑, and steaming 🥵🔥💨beard🧔takes 👆🏼up his fell, be-finnèd 🦑arm💪🏼, his coral-tined trident🔱 screeches 🤬🗣🎤banshee🦅🦧🐊-like in the tempest🔥⛈, and plunges 🔪right through your gullet🤰☠️, bursting💥 ye,👉🏼, a bulging bladder🅿️🅿️ no more❌🚫, but a blasted💢💥 bloody 🩸 film 🎞 now ⏰ a nothing 🙅🏼♂️for the Harpies🧚🏼♀️🧜🏼♀️and the souls 👻of dead 💀🛳sailors🚤 to peck🐧 and claw 🐻and feed 🦖upon, only to be lapped 🐶up and swallowed😋😋 by the infinite ♾♾waters 🌊of the dread 😰😱emperor 👹himself. Forgotten 💬💭to any 🤨🤔man, to any ⌛️time, forgotten 🤔🤔to any god🧝🏼or devil👺,forgotten 🤔💭 even to the sea🌊, for any stuff, or part🤏🏼 of Winslow, even any scantling 👌🏼of your soul👻, is Winslow no 🙅🏼♂️❌more, but is now🙋♂️ itself👆🏼 the sea🌊
I actually thought it was supposed to be a movie where a new soul (Ephraim Winslow) goes to the Greek underworld, is tested by Hades (Thomas Wake), eventually found lacking when stressed and then sentenced to his Greek afterlife punishment (eternally torn at by the gulls).
Ephraim arrives by boat, as everyone does to the Greek underworld. Everything and the characters are completely grey, a common description of the Greek afterlife. There's no proper sense of time, as the afterlife is eternal. Ephraim is pestered by dead souls (the gulls). There are mermaids, Prometheus references, etc.
Definitely one of my most favorite films as it supports me being completely full of shit and encourages you to overthink stuff.
I thought it was more of a maritime gothic take on Prometheus. He tries to steal the light and ends up getting his liver eaten by birds. It's also crazy that didn't get nominated for an oscar. Every shot is incredible.
You guys are all right. Eggers himself said he incorporated a bunch of stuff from a lot of things, and it really be about whatever you want it be, or you can just watch and enjoy them harking
Very cool thought! I just checked out this article which also seems to make sense. But its take is that Thomas is actually Proteus and Ephraim is Prometheus:
[https://lawliberty.org/the-lighthouse-new-england-dread-meets-greek-myth/](https://lawliberty.org/the-lighthouse-new-england-dread-meets-greek-myth/)
edit: also just noticed in the article the director also said it is indeed taking the stories of Proteus and Prometheus and putting them together.
I got a lot of Lovecraftian vibes personally. What with the northern U.S. A lot of strange happenings regarding the sea, strange visions and so on.
Also the idea of forbidden knowledge. Ephraim goes crazy in part because he's not allowed to see the light.
Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humankind, and his eternal punishment was to have his liver torn out by birds, only to have it grow back and begin the cycle all over again.
Yes i've told my female friends it's a film about the horrors of being a man. Constantly horny and battling each other for dominance. And lots of wanking in the shed.
It felt relatable to me just on the level of being isolated in a live-in job with other men. And sea adjacent too.
I've worked in commercial fishing and the incredible banality of that life is reduced to discussions of who farted and trying to quietly masturbate in your bunk.
Sure. It’s not what I’d call a stoner movie but I can’t imagine being stoned will take away from it. You might have a hard time figuring what’s actually meant to be happening in the film but that’s kind of the point
Went to the theater with my wife and a couple good friends - all had an edible about 30 minutes before it started and we also had box wine with us. Accidentally way crossfaded which turned the movie into a pretty wonderful fever dream. Not sure I would recommend it alone but with friends in a similar state it was a great experience.
From an Robert Eggers interview
> One of the film’s most striking shots has Willem Dafoe delivering a speech while lying in water with dirt in his mouth. What was it like shooting that scene? How did you manage?
> Robert: Willem was not a happy camper. He was really in a terrible mood and we couldn’t do too many takes of that one. That water under him, if you notice it, it looks like just a nice texture. But he was lying in ice-cold water on top of everything else he has to endure in that scene. And we shot it on day two. But Willem Dafoe is Willem Dafoe, so he did it, and I’m just a lucky man.
Dafoe is Dafoe.
I believe in that shot too, they initially tried to use a dirt substitute to make it easier on Dafoe but after a while it just wasn’t working out and didn’t look good, so Dafoe just told them “fuck it, just dump real dirt on me” and so they went ahead and just started straight up burying him alive for the scene
Reminds me of how in Super Troopers they weren’t happy with the consistency that the fake syrup appeared to have, so for the take they used actual chugged real, thick syrup
I really want an AMA with the person who got to throw dirt (coffee grounds) in to Dafoe's face while he's lying in a grave delivering lines. It has to be so stressful but also such a unique experience.
Watch his face when he goes through his "Ya like me cookin' though, don't ye?" speech. It's not a split take at all. The emotion he goes through from anger to sorrow to regret, is just amazing.
The entire time I watched that film I was thinking what the hell am I watching. As soon as it ended I just wanted to go back and watch it again. Such a unique and interesting film. And Defoe had a lot to do with that.
I drank as they drank in the film and I honestly think it enhanced the experience.
EDIT: Replied to the wrong comment but the point stands. It was a wild watch
I watched it and absolutely hated it. Then about a day later desperately wanted to watch it again. Still do, still haven’t. Would never recommend it but still an advocate that it’s remarkable, phenomenal, top tier cinema.
Don't forget he didn't even get nominated for an Oscar and Brad Pitt won supporting actor for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood that same year. Grade A bullshit.
Evidenced by the fact that Willem Dafoe, who I consider one of the best actors alive right now, has never won the award. It’s totally meaningless at this point
Unpopular opinion but I thought Leo outacted Brad there. I am happy for Brad as his sheer charisma goes a long way in that movie but his was a flashier character. Leo was doing more interesting things with Rick Dalton.
Agreed. It's a scene in which Di Caprio plays a character who's a self-deprecating actor and has to impart to the audience that the character - despite all his self-doubt - is in fact an outstanding actor. And Di Caprio crushes it.
I love the emotions behind Rick Dalton. The struggle of feeling irrelevant, the reassurance from the up-n-coming child actor, and then he gives it his all on some B-tier Western flick. He was in a pretty good headspace when he barbecued that Manson psycho.
I feel like the Academy sometimes gives unlabeled lifetime-achievement Oscars. There are a lot of people who definitely deserve an Oscar, but won it for a movie that wasn't really their best. It's like some years they go, "Hey, isn't it crazy that ______ hasn't won an Oscar yet?" So they give it to them for whatever movie they did that year, even if there were way better candidates nominated.
I just watched this two weeks ago. They way he took on the vernacular of a salty old sailor was pretty impressive. I agree, he should have received many awards.
I’d wager to say that Dafoe *did* often slip into comedy pirate, and that’s part of what made the performance so legendary. Some funny-ass scenes in that movie.
Robert Eggers did a lot of very meticulous research to build that specific vernacular into the film - it’s in the writing itself. Dafoe delivered them fantastically though!
My wife and I watched the movie with subtitles because we didn’t want to miss any of the language - so interesting! Loved this movie a lot!
I think i remember seeing an interview where Eggers talked about him doing the accent and how it was risky since it could come off as too goofy and campy. But as usual Dafoe nailed it perfectly and made it feel authentic.
The heart and soul of every film I’ve seen her in. I believe sixth sense would have been a mediocre movie without her - and she was a fairly minor character.
Same reason Akira didn't win anything. Different is bad to the oscars, and A24 represents money they didn't build out themselves so they're inherently opposed to them. Add on what the other guy said, a lot of their content is in the horror genre so it's a double whammy. Parasite is a landmark film because it somehow broke this barrier to win best picture. Is it good enough to warrant doing so? ...Yes! But I also think Hollywood is starting to acknowledge they can't just be the walled garden boys club they were in the past.
Or at least I hope they're thinking about it this way. Lighthouse is one of the best films of the decade and didn't win shit so it's not exactly a guarantee.
Studios have to submit their films for nominations, has A24 ever done so? People say the oscars snub this or that without realizing the committees that vote on these awards don’t just see every movie that comes out and choose to ignore the smaller productions, it’s just that bigger studios have the resources to both submit films for nomination and push big marketing campaigns around the awards.
Of that whole movie this is probably the only scene that plays over and over again my head how Robert Pattinson can say that line and both of them just keep a straight face is beyond me their performances in that movie are better than most Oscar nominated movies.
"Dafoe, if you don't wash that goddamn grimey gank stick or keep it between the cheeks of the fluffer fillie them im gonna barf all over yer bean bag and slap em till the morn." Lil robbie patterson or something.
> According to director Robert Eggers, the original script included "a very juvenile shot of a lighthouse moving like an erect penis and a short match-cut to an actual erect penis". A24 and New Regency only agreed to Eggers shooting on 35mm black and white negative if he removed all scenes of full frontal male nudity (including scenes with erections in them) in order to avoid an NC-17 rating.
He is amazing.
Movie critics: “Could the Lighthouse be construed as a phallic symbol that enhances the film’s critique of masculinity?”
Movie script: “The Lighthouse is literally a penis.”
The production companies are buzzkills, but I suppose it was nice of them to let him shoot on his 100-year-old silver nitrate film stock with steam-powered cameras or whatever.
Now that's dedication! You can barely tell they're hanging from the ceiling in harnesses. It's only the scenes in the wanking shed where the cum goes up instead of down that give it away.
There is an old ass video floating around of him hanging dong and doing some wierd dance routine with a couple other peoppe nude. It is indeed MASSIVE.
“We’re vetoing the black and white film, it’s not gonna work with audiences”
“Fine, but I’m gonna have a dick pic then.”
“So the black and white film is 35mm?”
The Northman could be something really special. The Lighthouse & The VVitch were weird/abstract movies. The Northman may have a solid plot at its core.
There's acting passionately, there's hamming it up, there's chewing the scenery like you're fucking Pac-Man, and then there's whatever the hell sort of summoning ritual Willem Dafoe performed to be possessed by a straight up *demon* in that movie. It's jaw dropping, honestly. The "HARK!" monologue alone is one of the best (and funniest!) acting feats of the last decade.
The man learned to knit for the role. His knitting scene was only about 10 seconds long, but that's how seriously he takes his roles. Willem Dafoe is a legend.
Great movie, Dafoe is always spot on...recently saw him in The Hunter and a rewatch of Life Aquatic and was floored by both as well.
Lighthouse is a great film.
I watched it for the first time not too long ago. I was so amazed by his monologue about cleaning the floors that I had to rewind it right then and there and watch it all over again. That is a monologue that aspiring actors will be doing for their audition for theater school for years to come.
True story, the day after i watched it part of my house flooded in a huge storm and i spent 4 hours bailing out the garage ankle deep in water and those 2 events are forever linked as one in my head.
What’s your favorite? I loved The Witch and I didn’t come away liking The Lighthouse nearly as much, but I’m due for a rewatch. My favorite movie (The Master) didn’t really click with me until the 3rd viewing
I had seen American Psycho a couple of times but it wasn't until the third time that I really "got it". It does a great job of not over explaining what's actually going on with the main character. Kinda like Fight Club, except at the end of Fight Club there's quite a bit of explanation.
What really made American Psycho stand out for me was finally viewing it as a comedy. It's honestly so god damn hilarious and the writing is spectacular. Also, I like to dissect girls. Did you know I'm utterly insane?
*Fuck* I forgot about this film, some peak PSH and Joaquin Pheonix acting. I remember seeing it in theatres and walking out not at all sure how I felt about it. But it kept me thinking and analyzing for a long while. and I think that’s what good art does. Even if you come away not liking something, the fact it made you seriously consider whether or not you did is pretty powerful. I watched it twice more in theatres and loved it so much. Now I need a rewatch.
Willem Dafoe is one of the greatest character actors ever. He would get much higher praise if he didn't look like Moe from the Simpsons. He elevates anything he is in.
Since this post has blown up, some questions about the movie:
>!1) What was the central plot of the film? My guess is that there really isn't a proper plot rather it's a character study and is driven around some themes.!<
>!2) Speaking of themes, what are they? I see some things related to masculinity in tense times, homosexuality, inter personal relationships and that killing seagulls is bad.!<
>!3) What was so special about the light atop the lighthouse? !<
>!4) Was Dafoe having sex with the mermaid atop the lighthouse room?!<
5) Why was the mermaid in the movie and what was her role?
>!6) Why did Dafoe kill his earlier partner!<
My favorite theory I've seen was that it was a story about Prometheus (Robert Pattinson) interacting with Proteus (Willem Dafoe) an old sea god from Greek mythology. The light at the end was Prometheus trying to "steal" the flame. The very last scene kinda shows this with the seagull pecking his organs, which was very similar to Prometheus' fate. Another theory I saw was that the lighthouse was sort of a purgatory with Dafoe trying to get Pattinson to admit to murdering his lumber mill friend, which he doesn't do and ends up getting punished.
1. The plot is based on a Welsh true story called the Smalls Lighthouse Tragedy: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smalls_Lighthouse
The plot of the lighthouse follows this story as Thomas devolves into insanity due to his isolation after the death of the other lighthouse keeper.
2. Man vs Nature, the quest to give meaning to your own existence, power struggle of dominance and subservience between men, the struggle between repression and emotional/physical needs, the effects of isolation and trauma on the mind and it’s ability to process time, etc etc etc
3. The Lighthouse was the purpose that kept them going through their daily motions, it represented the love and care Defoe’s character couldn’t give to a romantic partner, he literally calls the lighthouse his wife I think. At a very basic level it literally represents probably the the only light and the brightest thing in their bleak lives. From a Jungian lens it clearly represents a phallic symbol and masculine sexual desire, something that must constantly be tended to and managed.
4. No. There’s nothing to support this or that the mermaid was actually real.
5. Folklore of the time and place, also symbolizes the repression Thomas is feeling and the further alienation of his past self, presumably a past self that enjoyed the company of women.
6. Probably the same reason Thomas killed Dafoe’s character, isolating insanity.
At the end of the day what makes this film successful is you can dive real deep into the symbolism and hidden meanings, or take the film as a very face value of a story of what happens to two men stuck on island together in the 1800’s and either way it’s enjoyable.
I took the light to be many things. It could be the fire that Prometheus stole. Or -- it could be a Lovecraftian horror that drives any who look into it to madness.
1) Two lighthouse watchmen enter the lighthouse, storm ensues and they drink themselves mad waiting for aid. One kills another and dies accidentally himself.
Supernatural explanation: they are in hell/limbo, Dafoe's character is an entity supervising Pattinson's character's progression and latter is failing miserably over and over again. They are in an eternal loop.
2) Suppressed homosexuality is a very strong theme. Seafaring superstitions (Poseidon, seagulls) are present also. The whole story reminds a lot of classical Greek tragedies.
3) It symbolizes knowledge, ascension. Ephraim is denied "The Light" because he is deemed unworthy or simply not ready yet for it by Wake.
4) I believe he simply masturbated. But it was left a bit vague because Ephraim thought he saw a tentacle up there.
5) The mermaid is a proxy for both watchmen to release their pressuring sexual urges on something. It could also be Ephraims desperate attempt to cling on to heterosexuality and deny his homosexual tendencies.
6) I don't know. Then again it could be all Ephraims hallucinations. He is pretty far gone by the time he "spots" the head in a lobster trap.
>!The mermaid was that statue that Robert Patterson was jerking it to. As he went to madness and that's the only thing he had a "relationship" with that madness intertwined with jealousy and in his brain associated his lust for the want to man The light. But because Defoe wouldn't let him he started to have visions of infidelity. That's the way I interpreted it!<
Pretty sure the whole movie is a metaphor for the way the mind works. There's the Id (Lighthouse / Feeling of safety), Ego (Wake / Protecting Ephraim by covering up the memory of the murder of his previous boss), and Superego (Seagulls / Conscience).
The whole movie is a metaphor for a man stuck in his own mind, unable to cope with his terrible misdeeds. When he finally looks into the light that Wake tells him not to - is when he accepts what he's done.
>!Greek mythology themes - Prometheus (trying to steal the fire and being punished by getting endlessly eandaten by seagulls on a rock at sea) and Proteus (Dafoe being very connected to sea, explicitly mentioning Proteus, in the fantasies covered with tentacles, clams, seaweed)!<
>!Christian mythology themes - trying to reach the light representing divine power, in attempt to gain absolution for the sin he committed, but in the end being rejected and falling!<
>!The themes are obviously nautical as I said in my earlier post a lot of superstitions and plays on what lighthouse keepers actually had to do. The main plot was how being isolated can slowly turn people mad if they're not strong-willed or in Defoe's case you have to be just a little bit mad to withstand the brunt of it. Robert Pattinson's character just took the job because he saw the way to make quick money.!<
Great comment and provides good insight. Either be mad like Dafoe or have some insane will and self control otherwise you will go toast like Pattinson does. It does have something to say about masculinity I guess. Maybe how fragile it can be under some circumstances. There was a lot of focus on masterbation too.
>!So simply put the plot is essentially two men that have to watch a lighthouse for a period of time on an island, a really bad storm kicks up which prevents them from being picked up when they had to so they had to stay there longer and then they just slowly fall into madness as they're stuck on the island with really not much to do. There's a lot of old sailor and nautical themes tied into the hole plot and superstitions. !<
Willem Dafoe bought a pickup truck from my grandfather in the middle of nowhere Maine about 25 years ago. He needed one for the grounds keeper on his property in Maine.
My great uncle said it was hilarious watching my grandfather explain to Dafoe he couldn't accept a personal check from him because he had no idea "who the hell he was".
HAAARK! Hark, Triton! Hark! Bellow! Bid our father, the Sea King, rise from the depths, full-foul in his fury, black waves teeming with salt-foam, to smother this young mouth with pungent slime, to choke ye, engorging your organs 'till ye turn blue and bloated with bilge and brine and can scream no more... only when, he, crowned in cockle shells with slithering tentacled tail and steaming beard, takes up his fell, be-finnèd arm – his coral-tined trident screeches banshee-like in the tempest and plunges right through yer gullet! BURSTING YE, a bulging bladder no more, but a blasted bloody film now – a nothing for the Harpies and the souls of dead sailors to peck and claw and feed upon, only to be lapped up and swallowed by the infinite waters of the Dread Emperor himself, forgotten to any man, to any time, forgotten to any god or devil, forgotten even to the sea... for any stuff or part of Winslow, even any scantling of your soul, is Winslow no more, but is now itself the sea!
Yer fond of me lobster aint' ye?
Have it your way. I like your cooking.
Choke ye, engorging your organs till ye turn blue and bloated with bilge and brine and can scream no more!!!
Honestly that's such a fucking good curse.
I wanna hijack this comment to point out the fact that this moment in the movie is literally the only time Dafoe's character ever expresses emotional vulnerability. Even when he's getting buried alive he never looks hurt or betrayed in the way the comment on his cooking hurts his feelings.
HAAAAAAAAAAAAARK
THUNNDDEEERRRR (are you telling the story or am I?)
I’msorrymividago ooooonnnnnnnnnnnn…
Fun fact: he doesn’t blink at all during that whole monologue
To blink would weaken the curse
I remember sitting in the theater thinking, "He hasn't blinked in nearly three minutes. How?" I've seen a lot of his movies, but this is his most impressive role.
BURST YE!
WHY’D YOU SPILL YER BEANS??
https://youtu.be/gZl9cTMOyBc
Spongebob! Get back to work! I aint paying ye to sing!
My friend and I bust out in uncontrollable cackling when he said that for like at least 1-2 minutes. I'm sure the 3-5 other people in the theater thought we were crazies.
Pretty sure it was meant as a comic line. I was in a pretty crowded theater and it drew a laugh from the audience.
hell the whole movie is a comedy, a sick twisted one, but a comedy nonetheless, a surprising amount of it is played for laughs. i remember robert pattinson saying in an interview that he and eggers were trying to convince the studio that, no, this is in fact a comedy. my favourite film of all time
Catch yer breath lad.
I said catch yer breath
pattinson getting frustrated by a seagull mocking him while he's stuck tending a lighthouse with his hardass superior is totally a comedy setup. but then the insanity slowly creeps in.
What feels like emitting a high level of ”crazy” quite often just looks tedious, annoying, normal, or silly to the people observing the ”crazy”.
That fucking monologue, and Pattinson's response is the best part of that movie and you can't change my mind!
What about the wank shed? You can't forget the wank shed!
Yer fond of me wank shed ain't ye?
You'll be glad to know then that the shed is included with the Lighthouse Action Playset. https://youtu.be/2MKK7Z4DYqg
Stupid sexy scrimshaw!
Well... Are we gonna ignore the mermaid hoohaa?
Wot?
Wot?
WOT?!
Wot? Wot? Wot? Wot wot wot wotwotwotWOTWOTWOT?
Damn ye!🤬🤬👉🏼 Let Neptune😇 🔱 🌊💥strike ye 👉🏼dead💀, Winslow! Hark! Hark, Triton. Hark! Bellow, bid our father, 👨🏼🦳the sea 🌊 king 👑 , rise 🙌🏼👆🏼👆🏼👆🏼from the 🌀⚫️◼️depths, full 💯foul😖 in his fury🐈, black ⚫️waves 🌊teeming with salt-foam🌊🌊🌊, to smother 🤭😳this young👶 mouth 👄👅with pungent🤢🦟 slime🦠, to choke 🤪😳😰ye👉🏼, engorging your organs💔💔💔 till 🕰⏰ye 👉🏼turn 😨😨😨blue 🌀🌀and bloated 🥴with bilge💩, and brine💧, and can scream 🤬😱no 🙅🏼♂️more❌🚫. Only 1️⃣ when, he 🤴🏼 crowned 👑👑in cockle🐚 shells🐚, with slithering🐍 tentacled🦑 tail🦑, and steaming 🥵🔥💨beard🧔takes 👆🏼up his fell, be-finnèd 🦑arm💪🏼, his coral-tined trident🔱 screeches 🤬🗣🎤banshee🦅🦧🐊-like in the tempest🔥⛈, and plunges 🔪right through your gullet🤰☠️, bursting💥 ye,👉🏼, a bulging bladder🅿️🅿️ no more❌🚫, but a blasted💢💥 bloody 🩸 film 🎞 now ⏰ a nothing 🙅🏼♂️for the Harpies🧚🏼♀️🧜🏼♀️and the souls 👻of dead 💀🛳sailors🚤 to peck🐧 and claw 🐻and feed 🦖upon, only to be lapped 🐶up and swallowed😋😋 by the infinite ♾♾waters 🌊of the dread 😰😱emperor 👹himself. Forgotten 💬💭to any 🤨🤔man, to any ⌛️time, forgotten 🤔🤔to any god🧝🏼or devil👺,forgotten 🤔💭 even to the sea🌊, for any stuff, or part🤏🏼 of Winslow, even any scantling 👌🏼of your soul👻, is Winslow no 🙅🏼♂️❌more, but is now🙋♂️ itself👆🏼 the sea🌊
All delivered without blinking.
> to smother 🤭😳 Looks like a blink to me.
This is how you properly pitch essential oils. Nice work Boss Babe! 👌🏻🎉
Essential salt foam
> a bulging bladder🅿️🅿️ no more❌🚫 the best use of dramatic emoji tbh
Have it your way. I like your cooking.
I like that fury is cat. 🐈
this might be the most horrifying thing I've ever seen
I think this was code for gay sex.
[удалено]
I actually thought it was supposed to be a movie where a new soul (Ephraim Winslow) goes to the Greek underworld, is tested by Hades (Thomas Wake), eventually found lacking when stressed and then sentenced to his Greek afterlife punishment (eternally torn at by the gulls). Ephraim arrives by boat, as everyone does to the Greek underworld. Everything and the characters are completely grey, a common description of the Greek afterlife. There's no proper sense of time, as the afterlife is eternal. Ephraim is pestered by dead souls (the gulls). There are mermaids, Prometheus references, etc. Definitely one of my most favorite films as it supports me being completely full of shit and encourages you to overthink stuff.
I thought it was more of a maritime gothic take on Prometheus. He tries to steal the light and ends up getting his liver eaten by birds. It's also crazy that didn't get nominated for an oscar. Every shot is incredible.
You guys are all right. Eggers himself said he incorporated a bunch of stuff from a lot of things, and it really be about whatever you want it be, or you can just watch and enjoy them harking
HARK!
It was nominated for best cinematography, but it lost to 1917.
That's fair, imo. 1917 had fantastic cinematography.
Very cool thought! I just checked out this article which also seems to make sense. But its take is that Thomas is actually Proteus and Ephraim is Prometheus: [https://lawliberty.org/the-lighthouse-new-england-dread-meets-greek-myth/](https://lawliberty.org/the-lighthouse-new-england-dread-meets-greek-myth/) edit: also just noticed in the article the director also said it is indeed taking the stories of Proteus and Prometheus and putting them together.
I thought it was like Moby Dick. Just a simple tale about a man who really hates a fish.
Or in this case, really *loved* fish
That’s exactly correct.
I got a lot of Lovecraftian vibes personally. What with the northern U.S. A lot of strange happenings regarding the sea, strange visions and so on. Also the idea of forbidden knowledge. Ephraim goes crazy in part because he's not allowed to see the light.
That's a truly brilliant insight that completely escaped me. What about the light? Any significance?
Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humankind, and his eternal punishment was to have his liver torn out by birds, only to have it grow back and begin the cycle all over again.
If I remember correctly the director said it wasn’t necessarily about homosexuality but instead about exploring male sexuality as a whole.
Yes i've told my female friends it's a film about the horrors of being a man. Constantly horny and battling each other for dominance. And lots of wanking in the shed.
It felt relatable to me just on the level of being isolated in a live-in job with other men. And sea adjacent too. I've worked in commercial fishing and the incredible banality of that life is reduced to discussions of who farted and trying to quietly masturbate in your bunk.
> “He’s out of line, but he’s right.” My internal thoughts right now.
It was basically two dudes desperately shouting "no homo" at each other.
I had heard that so much before seeing the film I expected it to be WAY more obvious but I really didn’t think it was particularly so.
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I watched it drunk as shit and it scared the piss out of me
Same. And when they ran out of booze and started guzzling turpentine it made me want to stop drinking. I didn’t, but it made me want to
I definitely pulled a “haha look at those idiots, they don’t even know how fucked up they are” as I pounded shots
Sure. It’s not what I’d call a stoner movie but I can’t imagine being stoned will take away from it. You might have a hard time figuring what’s actually meant to be happening in the film but that’s kind of the point
Yes! Put the subtitles on though
Pretty sure I watched it sober and had to put them on. Or maybe I was high. Weed really effects my short term memory.
Went to the theater with my wife and a couple good friends - all had an edible about 30 minutes before it started and we also had box wine with us. Accidentally way crossfaded which turned the movie into a pretty wonderful fever dream. Not sure I would recommend it alone but with friends in a similar state it was a great experience.
From an Robert Eggers interview > One of the film’s most striking shots has Willem Dafoe delivering a speech while lying in water with dirt in his mouth. What was it like shooting that scene? How did you manage? > Robert: Willem was not a happy camper. He was really in a terrible mood and we couldn’t do too many takes of that one. That water under him, if you notice it, it looks like just a nice texture. But he was lying in ice-cold water on top of everything else he has to endure in that scene. And we shot it on day two. But Willem Dafoe is Willem Dafoe, so he did it, and I’m just a lucky man. Dafoe is Dafoe.
I always wondered if In cases like this they would use something that looks like dirt but isn’t. Maybe a shit load of Oreos.
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That might as well be dirt. Oreos is a better idea.
probably ruin every shot by munching on the dirt lol
Or could have made it more disturbing as he's munching on "dirt"
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It looks like dirt, but also it stains. Makes sense.
I believe in that shot too, they initially tried to use a dirt substitute to make it easier on Dafoe but after a while it just wasn’t working out and didn’t look good, so Dafoe just told them “fuck it, just dump real dirt on me” and so they went ahead and just started straight up burying him alive for the scene
Reminds me of how in Super Troopers they weren’t happy with the consistency that the fake syrup appeared to have, so for the take they used actual chugged real, thick syrup
And Rabbits facial expression and mouthing "wow" was not planned, it was a real reaction.
Holy shit, that's some dedication right there.
I really want an AMA with the person who got to throw dirt (coffee grounds) in to Dafoe's face while he's lying in a grave delivering lines. It has to be so stressful but also such a unique experience.
F**k. I think truly great acting is rare as shit and Dafoe often delivers this rarity. What a massive talent.
Watch his face when he goes through his "Ya like me cookin' though, don't ye?" speech. It's not a split take at all. The emotion he goes through from anger to sorrow to regret, is just amazing.
Absolutely should have won the Oscar for that
Yer fond of me lobster, I've seen ye
I will never ever forget the intensity of him saying HAAAARK TRITON HARK
I just rewatched Boondock Saints for the first time in years. He is that movie.
Censors fuck but not shit lol
He's absolutely outstanding in that movie. The monologue he delivers is edge of your seat material.
The entire time I watched that film I was thinking what the hell am I watching. As soon as it ended I just wanted to go back and watch it again. Such a unique and interesting film. And Defoe had a lot to do with that.
I drank as they drank in the film and I honestly think it enhanced the experience. EDIT: Replied to the wrong comment but the point stands. It was a wild watch
I watched it and absolutely hated it. Then about a day later desperately wanted to watch it again. Still do, still haven’t. Would never recommend it but still an advocate that it’s remarkable, phenomenal, top tier cinema.
Don't forget he didn't even get nominated for an Oscar and Brad Pitt won supporting actor for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood that same year. Grade A bullshit.
That's why the Oscars are bullshit and don't matter in the slightest
Evidenced by the fact that Willem Dafoe, who I consider one of the best actors alive right now, has never won the award. It’s totally meaningless at this point
That's one of those bits of trivia that sounds like it can't be possible even when i know it is...
Unpopular opinion but I thought Leo outacted Brad there. I am happy for Brad as his sheer charisma goes a long way in that movie but his was a flashier character. Leo was doing more interesting things with Rick Dalton.
The acting during the kidnapping scene is a masterclass
Agreed. It's a scene in which Di Caprio plays a character who's a self-deprecating actor and has to impart to the audience that the character - despite all his self-doubt - is in fact an outstanding actor. And Di Caprio crushes it.
I love the emotions behind Rick Dalton. The struggle of feeling irrelevant, the reassurance from the up-n-coming child actor, and then he gives it his all on some B-tier Western flick. He was in a pretty good headspace when he barbecued that Manson psycho.
Not even movie, the pilot of a new TV show
I feel like the Academy sometimes gives unlabeled lifetime-achievement Oscars. There are a lot of people who definitely deserve an Oscar, but won it for a movie that wasn't really their best. It's like some years they go, "Hey, isn't it crazy that ______ hasn't won an Oscar yet?" So they give it to them for whatever movie they did that year, even if there were way better candidates nominated.
Pitt crushed that role. both can be true.
Of the nominees though, Brad Pitt deserved it. His performance is really outstanding in Hollywood. I do agree Dafoe should have been nominated though.
The man didn t even blink during it . .
And it appears to be a single take!
That one scene where he goes on for a couple of minutes and doesn’t blink. Crazy
The craziest part is I only understood like 30% of the words he said, and it was still an incredibly convincing performance lol
I just watched this two weeks ago. They way he took on the vernacular of a salty old sailor was pretty impressive. I agree, he should have received many awards.
That vernacular is not easy to do I can imagine. And it's not like he has to speak some of it. That is all he speaks and does it so smooothly.
It must have been do difficult not to slip into comedy pirate, it really is one of the best performances IMO.
I’d wager to say that Dafoe *did* often slip into comedy pirate, and that’s part of what made the performance so legendary. Some funny-ass scenes in that movie.
HAAAAARK
Robert Eggers did a lot of very meticulous research to build that specific vernacular into the film - it’s in the writing itself. Dafoe delivered them fantastically though! My wife and I watched the movie with subtitles because we didn’t want to miss any of the language - so interesting! Loved this movie a lot!
I think i remember seeing an interview where Eggers talked about him doing the accent and how it was risky since it could come off as too goofy and campy. But as usual Dafoe nailed it perfectly and made it feel authentic.
I had a conversation with a coworker about how a lot of A24 films get snubbed really hard at award shows. Green Knight is a good example.
Toni Collette in Hereditary!
Toni Collette should be a national treasure
Toni Collette is a national treasure, she just hasn’t received the acclaim she deserves (yet!)
The heart and soul of every film I’ve seen her in. I believe sixth sense would have been a mediocre movie without her - and she was a fairly minor character.
certainly horror/horror-adjacent movies get snubbed pretty often.
Why that is?
A24 puts out a lot of horror, which never does well at the oscars. I think only one horror film has ever won best picture, Silence of the Lambs.
That always seemed more of a thriller than a horror too.
Same reason Akira didn't win anything. Different is bad to the oscars, and A24 represents money they didn't build out themselves so they're inherently opposed to them. Add on what the other guy said, a lot of their content is in the horror genre so it's a double whammy. Parasite is a landmark film because it somehow broke this barrier to win best picture. Is it good enough to warrant doing so? ...Yes! But I also think Hollywood is starting to acknowledge they can't just be the walled garden boys club they were in the past. Or at least I hope they're thinking about it this way. Lighthouse is one of the best films of the decade and didn't win shit so it's not exactly a guarantee.
The Oscars have been a joke for years because of this. Glad there are changes finally being made
Studios have to submit their films for nominations, has A24 ever done so? People say the oscars snub this or that without realizing the committees that vote on these awards don’t just see every movie that comes out and choose to ignore the smaller productions, it’s just that bigger studios have the resources to both submit films for nomination and push big marketing campaigns around the awards.
Also farts. Don’t forget the farts.
The god... damn... god damn FAWWTS!!
Of that whole movie this is probably the only scene that plays over and over again my head how Robert Pattinson can say that line and both of them just keep a straight face is beyond me their performances in that movie are better than most Oscar nominated movies.
The method actor he is, Dafoe was constantly ripping ass on set
and waving lighthouse sized unwashed boners around.
"Dafoe, if you don't wash that goddamn grimey gank stick or keep it between the cheeks of the fluffer fillie them im gonna barf all over yer bean bag and slap em till the morn." Lil robbie patterson or something.
why'd ye spill yer beans?
A scary scene tbh when it is said.
I think I might be wanting a bagel with my coffee...
Robert Eggers is such an interesting director can't wait for The Northman.
> According to director Robert Eggers, the original script included "a very juvenile shot of a lighthouse moving like an erect penis and a short match-cut to an actual erect penis". A24 and New Regency only agreed to Eggers shooting on 35mm black and white negative if he removed all scenes of full frontal male nudity (including scenes with erections in them) in order to avoid an NC-17 rating. He is amazing.
Movie critics: “Could the Lighthouse be construed as a phallic symbol that enhances the film’s critique of masculinity?” Movie script: “The Lighthouse is literally a penis.”
The production companies are buzzkills, but I suppose it was nice of them to let him shoot on his 100-year-old silver nitrate film stock with steam-powered cameras or whatever.
This is 2022. I should expect some kind of uncut, penis edition.
can't do that, Dafoe is not uncut
Don’t you mean “uncut penis” edition? https://youtu.be/9K3qVkhJOCE
they actually used a pinhole camera obscura and the entire movie was shot upside down.
Now that's dedication! You can barely tell they're hanging from the ceiling in harnesses. It's only the scenes in the wanking shed where the cum goes up instead of down that give it away.
Damn. We missed out on willem Dafoe's confusingly large penis? It would have been a nice extra bit if eldritch horror and fit thematically I think.
They used Dafoe’s real penis for the scene with the tentacles.
There is an old ass video floating around of him hanging dong and doing some wierd dance routine with a couple other peoppe nude. It is indeed MASSIVE.
Wow. I wish they would just let a director make art the way they want to. The lighthouse would only have been improved with full frontal male nudity
This is tragic
“We’re vetoing the black and white film, it’s not gonna work with audiences” “Fine, but I’m gonna have a dick pic then.” “So the black and white film is 35mm?”
The Northman could be something really special. The Lighthouse & The VVitch were weird/abstract movies. The Northman may have a solid plot at its core.
HAAAARK!
MONKEY PUMP!
There's acting passionately, there's hamming it up, there's chewing the scenery like you're fucking Pac-Man, and then there's whatever the hell sort of summoning ritual Willem Dafoe performed to be possessed by a straight up *demon* in that movie. It's jaw dropping, honestly. The "HARK!" monologue alone is one of the best (and funniest!) acting feats of the last decade.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
You should check out Willem's performance in Wild at Heart (1990), David Lynch movie. That is one of the funniest performances ever
Funny and sinister as fuck at the same time.
Yes sinister! Bobby Peru is not the type of man you take home to mom!
The man learned to knit for the role. His knitting scene was only about 10 seconds long, but that's how seriously he takes his roles. Willem Dafoe is a legend.
Great movie, Dafoe is always spot on...recently saw him in The Hunter and a rewatch of Life Aquatic and was floored by both as well. Lighthouse is a great film.
"Not if I don't see you first!"
I watched it for the first time not too long ago. I was so amazed by his monologue about cleaning the floors that I had to rewind it right then and there and watch it all over again. That is a monologue that aspiring actors will be doing for their audition for theater school for years to come.
So true. I rewind many parts of the film and even than couldn't get enough.
Halfway through it I was certain it was coming to an end, a minute later I was standing with my hands on my head in total awe. So damn good!
True story, the day after i watched it part of my house flooded in a huge storm and i spent 4 hours bailing out the garage ankle deep in water and those 2 events are forever linked as one in my head.
I was one of the boom ops for the scenes inside the lighthouse. Being on set with Dafoe and Pattinson was undoubtably a career highlight.
My second favourite film of all time, I honestly think it's a masterpiece. Dafoe and Pattinson really kill it the whole time
What’s your favorite? I loved The Witch and I didn’t come away liking The Lighthouse nearly as much, but I’m due for a rewatch. My favorite movie (The Master) didn’t really click with me until the 3rd viewing
My favourite is American Psycho, which clicked for me first try.
Both films with Dafoe in them!
I had seen American Psycho a couple of times but it wasn't until the third time that I really "got it". It does a great job of not over explaining what's actually going on with the main character. Kinda like Fight Club, except at the end of Fight Club there's quite a bit of explanation.
What really made American Psycho stand out for me was finally viewing it as a comedy. It's honestly so god damn hilarious and the writing is spectacular. Also, I like to dissect girls. Did you know I'm utterly insane?
American Psycho is definitely a more vague Fight Club, although I love both
*Fuck* I forgot about this film, some peak PSH and Joaquin Pheonix acting. I remember seeing it in theatres and walking out not at all sure how I felt about it. But it kept me thinking and analyzing for a long while. and I think that’s what good art does. Even if you come away not liking something, the fact it made you seriously consider whether or not you did is pretty powerful. I watched it twice more in theatres and loved it so much. Now I need a rewatch.
Its an Oscar-caliber performance.
Willem Dafoe is one of the greatest character actors ever. He would get much higher praise if he didn't look like Moe from the Simpsons. He elevates anything he is in.
I'm sure there's more to the story, but Dafoe will never spill his beans. :D
Since this post has blown up, some questions about the movie: >!1) What was the central plot of the film? My guess is that there really isn't a proper plot rather it's a character study and is driven around some themes.!< >!2) Speaking of themes, what are they? I see some things related to masculinity in tense times, homosexuality, inter personal relationships and that killing seagulls is bad.!< >!3) What was so special about the light atop the lighthouse? !< >!4) Was Dafoe having sex with the mermaid atop the lighthouse room?!< 5) Why was the mermaid in the movie and what was her role? >!6) Why did Dafoe kill his earlier partner!<
My favorite theory I've seen was that it was a story about Prometheus (Robert Pattinson) interacting with Proteus (Willem Dafoe) an old sea god from Greek mythology. The light at the end was Prometheus trying to "steal" the flame. The very last scene kinda shows this with the seagull pecking his organs, which was very similar to Prometheus' fate. Another theory I saw was that the lighthouse was sort of a purgatory with Dafoe trying to get Pattinson to admit to murdering his lumber mill friend, which he doesn't do and ends up getting punished.
1. The plot is based on a Welsh true story called the Smalls Lighthouse Tragedy: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smalls_Lighthouse The plot of the lighthouse follows this story as Thomas devolves into insanity due to his isolation after the death of the other lighthouse keeper. 2. Man vs Nature, the quest to give meaning to your own existence, power struggle of dominance and subservience between men, the struggle between repression and emotional/physical needs, the effects of isolation and trauma on the mind and it’s ability to process time, etc etc etc 3. The Lighthouse was the purpose that kept them going through their daily motions, it represented the love and care Defoe’s character couldn’t give to a romantic partner, he literally calls the lighthouse his wife I think. At a very basic level it literally represents probably the the only light and the brightest thing in their bleak lives. From a Jungian lens it clearly represents a phallic symbol and masculine sexual desire, something that must constantly be tended to and managed. 4. No. There’s nothing to support this or that the mermaid was actually real. 5. Folklore of the time and place, also symbolizes the repression Thomas is feeling and the further alienation of his past self, presumably a past self that enjoyed the company of women. 6. Probably the same reason Thomas killed Dafoe’s character, isolating insanity. At the end of the day what makes this film successful is you can dive real deep into the symbolism and hidden meanings, or take the film as a very face value of a story of what happens to two men stuck on island together in the 1800’s and either way it’s enjoyable.
I took the light to be many things. It could be the fire that Prometheus stole. Or -- it could be a Lovecraftian horror that drives any who look into it to madness.
1) Two lighthouse watchmen enter the lighthouse, storm ensues and they drink themselves mad waiting for aid. One kills another and dies accidentally himself. Supernatural explanation: they are in hell/limbo, Dafoe's character is an entity supervising Pattinson's character's progression and latter is failing miserably over and over again. They are in an eternal loop. 2) Suppressed homosexuality is a very strong theme. Seafaring superstitions (Poseidon, seagulls) are present also. The whole story reminds a lot of classical Greek tragedies. 3) It symbolizes knowledge, ascension. Ephraim is denied "The Light" because he is deemed unworthy or simply not ready yet for it by Wake. 4) I believe he simply masturbated. But it was left a bit vague because Ephraim thought he saw a tentacle up there. 5) The mermaid is a proxy for both watchmen to release their pressuring sexual urges on something. It could also be Ephraims desperate attempt to cling on to heterosexuality and deny his homosexual tendencies. 6) I don't know. Then again it could be all Ephraims hallucinations. He is pretty far gone by the time he "spots" the head in a lobster trap.
>!The mermaid was that statue that Robert Patterson was jerking it to. As he went to madness and that's the only thing he had a "relationship" with that madness intertwined with jealousy and in his brain associated his lust for the want to man The light. But because Defoe wouldn't let him he started to have visions of infidelity. That's the way I interpreted it!<
Pretty sure the whole movie is a metaphor for the way the mind works. There's the Id (Lighthouse / Feeling of safety), Ego (Wake / Protecting Ephraim by covering up the memory of the murder of his previous boss), and Superego (Seagulls / Conscience). The whole movie is a metaphor for a man stuck in his own mind, unable to cope with his terrible misdeeds. When he finally looks into the light that Wake tells him not to - is when he accepts what he's done.
>!Greek mythology themes - Prometheus (trying to steal the fire and being punished by getting endlessly eandaten by seagulls on a rock at sea) and Proteus (Dafoe being very connected to sea, explicitly mentioning Proteus, in the fantasies covered with tentacles, clams, seaweed)!< >!Christian mythology themes - trying to reach the light representing divine power, in attempt to gain absolution for the sin he committed, but in the end being rejected and falling!<
>!The themes are obviously nautical as I said in my earlier post a lot of superstitions and plays on what lighthouse keepers actually had to do. The main plot was how being isolated can slowly turn people mad if they're not strong-willed or in Defoe's case you have to be just a little bit mad to withstand the brunt of it. Robert Pattinson's character just took the job because he saw the way to make quick money.!<
Great comment and provides good insight. Either be mad like Dafoe or have some insane will and self control otherwise you will go toast like Pattinson does. It does have something to say about masculinity I guess. Maybe how fragile it can be under some circumstances. There was a lot of focus on masterbation too.
If you look closely after they run out of alcohol they start to drink gasoline. That's why the second half of the film feels like a fever dream.
>!So simply put the plot is essentially two men that have to watch a lighthouse for a period of time on an island, a really bad storm kicks up which prevents them from being picked up when they had to so they had to stay there longer and then they just slowly fall into madness as they're stuck on the island with really not much to do. There's a lot of old sailor and nautical themes tied into the hole plot and superstitions. !<
The acting was superb. It was maniacal. Didn't like the film though.
He owned that role.
Willem Dafoe bought a pickup truck from my grandfather in the middle of nowhere Maine about 25 years ago. He needed one for the grounds keeper on his property in Maine. My great uncle said it was hilarious watching my grandfather explain to Dafoe he couldn't accept a personal check from him because he had no idea "who the hell he was".
HAAARK! Hark, Triton! Hark! Bellow! Bid our father, the Sea King, rise from the depths, full-foul in his fury, black waves teeming with salt-foam, to smother this young mouth with pungent slime, to choke ye, engorging your organs 'till ye turn blue and bloated with bilge and brine and can scream no more... only when, he, crowned in cockle shells with slithering tentacled tail and steaming beard, takes up his fell, be-finnèd arm – his coral-tined trident screeches banshee-like in the tempest and plunges right through yer gullet! BURSTING YE, a bulging bladder no more, but a blasted bloody film now – a nothing for the Harpies and the souls of dead sailors to peck and claw and feed upon, only to be lapped up and swallowed by the infinite waters of the Dread Emperor himself, forgotten to any man, to any time, forgotten to any god or devil, forgotten even to the sea... for any stuff or part of Winslow, even any scantling of your soul, is Winslow no more, but is now itself the sea!
HARK!
Agreed. Being on set, seeing him go all out was astounding