Review: Pattinson and Dafoe shine in ‘The Lighthouse’

Enter ” Lighthouse ” at your own risk.

This is a stark, moody, surreal and prolonged descent into seaside mness that will surely t be for everyone. But those who do choose to go on this black-and-white journey with Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe will ultimately find it a rewarding one, even if blaring fog horn rings in your ears for days to come. Director Robert Eggers has me something truly visionary — stripped down and out of time — that asks viewer to simply submit to his distinctive, strange, funny and haunting tale of a pair of “wickies” in 1890 New England tasked with keeping lighthouse running.

Pattinson and Dafoe make for inspired casting choices for this two-hander, with Pattinson as rookie, Winslow, a former timber man who was looking for a different life, and Dafoe as greying veteran, Wake, who is determined to keep things in order. Winslow is t exactly an er student or subordinate. He wants lighthouse to be his as soon as he gets to island. He does t have a seafarer’s attention to detail and is ill-equipped to handle endless drudgery of keeping house tidy and shoveling rocks back and forth across island. Plus, he’s been having some increasingly demonic and disturbing dreams, has me an enemy of a taunting sea bird and also has to deal with Wake’s constant bgering and flatulence (seriously).

But Wake kws that re’s a reason for ir backbreaking work, seemingly unnecessary chores and ancient superstitions (“It’s b luck to kill a sea bird,” he tells Winslow, vising him to stop quarrelling with his winged tormentor). Boredom, he says later, makes men turn to villains. All y have are ir tasks to keep m from going m. Naturally, mness finds m anyway. film becomes a kind of phantasmagoria as you are left wondering what’s real, what’s imagined and wher or t that even matters.

Eggers, who broke out with terribly creepy “ Witch,” continues to prove his unique ability to transport an audience to a different time. He relishes in langu of era and gives both his stars deliciously odd mologues to chew on and spurt out. dialogue may be minimal — in fact it takes more than a few minutes for first word to be uttered — but that bare bones approach makes what is said even more impactful.

“ Lighthouse” is a triumph of mood and vision, like love child of Andrei Tarkovsky and David Lynch that kws that its actors are just a small piece of overall composition. sounds of sea, waves crashing violently against rocks, birds, that cursed fog horn and looming eye of lighthouse are all equal co-stars. That’s t to diminish joy of acting, however. Pattinson and Dafoe have a wonderfully complex relationship that at times even borders on that of a bickering married couple whose passion is long gone.

If re is a complaint to be me, it is simply that “ Lighthouse” doesn’t exactly justify its nearly two hour runtime. While ims and actors remain transfixing, experimental approach starts to wear thin after about 60 minutes. After 90 it’s downright mind-numbing and repetitive. That’s t to say that it is t worth it. In fact, this is a movie that demands to be consumed distraction-free. But by end, you might find yourself feeling as crazy and untered as wickies.

“ Lighthouse,” an A24 release, is rated R by Motion Picture Association of America for “sexual content, nudity, violence, disturbing ims, and some langu.” Running time: 110 minutes. Three stars out of four.