The Lighthouse

Release Date

May 19, 2019 (Cannes)
October 18, 2019 (United States)

Runtime

109 minutes

Budget

$11 million

Box Office

$18.3 million

More Information

Release Chronology

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The Witch	The Northman

"Look at yer shiverin'. Yer so mad, y'know not up from down. How long have we been on this rock? Five weeks? Two days? Where are we? Help me to recollect, who are you again, Tommy? I'm probably a fig’ment of your 'magination. This rock is a fig'ment of yer 'magination, too. Yer probably wand'rin' through a grove of tag alders, up in north Canady, like a frostbitten maniac a-talkin' to yerself, knee-deep in the snow, the blizzard overtakin' ye."

―Thomas Wake to Thomas Howard^[src]

The Lighthouse is a 2019 film directed and produced by Robert Eggers, from a screenplay he wrote with his brother Max Eggers.

Synopsis[]

Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.

Plot[]

Arrival[]

and sup on their first night at the — Ephraim Winslow and Thomas Wake sup on their first night at the Lighthouse

In the 1890s in New England, Ephraim Winslow arrives on an island with Thomas Wake to begin their tenure as caretakers of a lighthouse. Once the previous keepers leave, Winslow and Wake begin to make themselves at home, with Wake farting in front of Winslow once they enter their sleeping quarters. Winslow finds a hole in his mattress, within which is a scrimshaw of a mermaid and hides it in his jacket. Winslow soon gets to work loading the boiler with coal. That evening as they sit down to eat their supper, Wake toasts the four weeks they will spend tending the lighthouse, asking that God save their souls should they die from the meal. Winslow rejects Wake's offer of a drink, as it is againts regulations, with Wake telling him that it is bad luck to leave a toast unfinished. Wake tells Winslow that if he does not wish to make trouble, he will follow his orders. Winslow gives in, pours himself a drink and toasts the drink. As Winslow drinks, he coughs and splutters, earning a laugh from Wake, who tells him that looking after the cistern is one of his duties. Wake forbids Winslow to go near the lantern at the top of the lighthouse, stating that tending to it is his duty alone.

The squawks at — The one-eyed seagull squawks at Ephraim Winslow

Winslow grows frustrated as he tends the machinery. At the top of the lighthouse, Wake stares into the light and undresses, toasting it by declaring "to ye, me beauty". On the ground outside, Winslow looks up at the light. He looks out to sea and sses a shape lying in the water. He swims out toward it and sees that it is a dead body. He is then pulled under that water a sees a mermaid swimming towards him. The next morning, Winslow is woken when Wake splashes water on his face. He orders him to tend to the cistern and the shingles and fetch some oil for the lamp. Winslow carries out these duties, staring in at the sleeping Wake through a gap in the shingles. He brings a wheelbarrow full of coal down to the shed, but finds a one-eyed seagull blocking the entrance. He attempts to scare it away, but it does not move. He drives it off by throwing a piece of coal at it and as he turns he sees Wake watching him from the top of the lighthouse. Once he drags the oil drum to the top of the stairs, he is tempted to enter the top room, but Wake arrives and stops him. He gives Winslow a jug to save him the trouble of carrying the drum all the way to the to the top in the future. He then chides Winslow for being behind on his duties.

tells that it is bad luck to kill a sea bird — Thomas Wake tells Ephraim Winslow that it is bad luck to kill a sea bird

As they eat supper, Wake tells Winslow to cheer and engage in chatter with him, but Winslow replies that he is not one for talking. Wake reminisces on a mutiny that took place when he was a crewman on the Chicopee in 1864, which was caused by boredom among the crew. He tells Winslown that the only medicine is drink, as it keeps sailors happy, agreeable and calm. Winslow replies that it keeps them stupid, which Winslow finds funny. Wake then urges him to ask the question on his mind and Winslow asks what made his last assistant leave, to which Wake replied that he died after going mad, having raved about sirens, merfolk and bad omens. Wake states the the assistant believed that there was an enchantment in the light, that St. Elmo had cast his fire into it. Winslow dismisses it as tall tales and Wake tells him that he saw his encounter with the seagull and orders him to leave it alone, believing that it is bad luck to kill a sea bird. Winslow dismisses this as a tall tale too, which causes an outburst from Wake, who then tells Winslow to pay him no mind and make them some coffee. That night, the seagull taps on the window by Winslow's bed and Winslow then masturbates over the scrimshaw of the mermaid. Winslow goes outside and has a cigarette, during which he sees Wake standing naked at the top of the lighthouse.

Introductions[]

berates for his workmanship — Thomas Wake berates Ephraim Winslow for his workmanship

Wake accuses Winslow of neglecting his duties, with Winslow insisting that he swept and mopped the floor twice. Wake calls him a liar and Winslow states that he did not come to the island to be housewife or a slave. Wake affirms the importance of following his orders and threatens to dock his wages if he does not do so to a satisfactory degree. Winslow continues to work in the pouring rains, growing increasingly frustrated. Wake holds him up on a harness as he paints the outside of the lighthouse, but the harness breaks and sends him falling to the ground. When he regains consciousness, he finds the seagull standing on his leg. It rips open the leg of his trousers and he swipes at it, driving it away.

questions about his past — Thomas Wake questions Ephraim Winslow about his past

As they sup to commemorate the completion of two weeks of work, Winslow shares his name with each Wake. Wake asks Winslow what brought him to the island and Winslow tells him that he worked in timber in Hudson Bay. Wake reminisces on his time as a sailor and tells Wake that he misses it, but that working at the lighthouse is preferable to dragging his stump around at sea. Winslow asks if was ever married and Wake replies that he left his wife at home with their children while he spent thirteen Christmasses at sea, which she never forgave. Winslow tells Wake that since he left his father, he has taken many jobs, but his yet to find a post that he took a shine to. He expresses a desire to save his earnings and make a home for himself up country.

Winslow asks Wake why is is bad luck to kill a seagull and he replies that they are vessels for the souls of dead sailers. Wake asks Winslow if he is a praying and he replies that he does not pray as often as he should, but that he is God-fearing. The next day, Winslow continues to carry out his duties while Wake locks himself in the top room. That night, Winslow makes his way up to the top of the lighthouse, where he finds Wake standing in front of the light naked and masturbating. Winslow barely manages to avoid Wake's semen as it drips down towards him. He then hears a strange, animalistic noise and sees what appears to be an octopus tentacle in the room with Wake.

Ephraim Winslow kills the one-eyed seagull

The next day, Winslow goes out to the cistern and finds a dying seagull within it. The one-eyed seagull then appears and attacks him. Winslow grabs the seagull by its neck and repeatedly smashes it against the cistern. Once the seagull is dead, a flock of seagulls fly over the island and cry out as the weathervane begins to shift. Wake informs Winslow that the changing of the wind is the calm before the storm. Wake takes issue with Winslow's attitude, usring not to begrudge him now as he is getting of the island the next day. They nail up boards in front of the windows and pull in the lobster trap, eating the lobsters for supper. Wake usrges Winslow to have a drink with him on their last night together. The two men drink, smoke, sing songs and trade stories. Wake commends Winslow on his work and Winslow asks why he has not been allowed to the the light, which starts an argument between them, though they quickly laugh it off. Winslow asks Wake his name and Wake tells him, at which point they drink to getting off the island.

Stranded[]

and await the — Ephraim Winslow and Thomas Wake await the tender

Winslow wakes up hungover the next morning. He goes out onto the cliff edge and empties the chamberpots, but the wind is blowing in the opposite direction and he screams as he receives a faceful of human waste. He continues his work in the torrential rain and sees a body lying on the rocks. It is a young woman wrapped in seaweed. He unties her and runs his hand of her body, only to find that she is the mermaid he saw on his first night at the lighthouse. She wakes and lets out several high-pitched shrieks, which frightens Winslow and causes him to run back to the lighthouse. Later, he and Wake wait for the tender to take them away from the island, but it does not arrive. Wake later informs him that the water has reached their provisions. Winslow is not worried, stating it has only been one day since the tender failed to arrived, and is confused when Wake tells him that it has been weeks. Wake states that they may be stranded there, as a man named Striker was marroned there for seven weeks in 1875.

Thomas Wake calls on the gods of the sea to curse Ephraim Winslow

The men dig and find an emergency crate of rations. Wake tells Winslow of an incident when he and several off his shipmates fell victim to gangreen and were stranded on an island with only grass to eat, which gave him scurvy and ruined his leg. Winslow states that Wake had previous to him that he had broken his leg, to which Wake replies that he must have misheard him. Later that night, a drunken Winslow tells Wake of a Foreman Winslow who always called him a dog and ragging on him. They grow increasingly frustrated with each other until Winslow criticizes Wake's cooking. Wake takes offence and rants at Winslow about the terrors of the deep. Afterwards, Winslow placates Wake by telling him that he likes his cooking.

Ephraim Winslow attempts to kill Thomas Wake

As time passes, Winslow grows increasingly obessed with the light. He makes a failed attempt to pick the lock with a knife and goes to steal Wake's key. He is tempted to kill Wake, who wakes up before he can go through with it. As Wake tells him to get back to work, Winslow tells Wake that he was lost touch with humanity from being apart from people for so long and is only tolerable when he is drunk. Winslow carries out his duties in the rain, after which he masturbates over the scrimshaw as he fantasizes about having sex with the mermaid. He also thinks of the light and a blond-haired young man, crying out in pain as he ejaculates. He throws away the scrimshaw, breaking it, and breaks down crying. He pulls the lobster pot out of the water and within he finds the severed head of a one-eyed man.

Thomas Howard confesses his true identity to Thomas Wake

Wake and Winslow continue to binge drink, sing and dance. They have a slow dance and share an intimate moment, which escalates into a fist fight. Afterwards, Winslow confesses to Wake that his real name is Thomas Howard. Wake tells him not to spill his beans, but Winslow tells him that he was station on a log drive with the real Ephraim Winslow, who always ragged on him. Howard admits that he wanted to kill Winslow, but insists that he did not, that Winslow fell as they were on the log drive. He then stole Winslow's identity so that he could have a clean slate and find respectable work.

Wake grows angry at Howard for splling his beans. Howard finds someone lying on the grond, only to discover this it is himself. He then finds Wake standing over him, naked and with beams of light coming from his eyes. Wake then takes the lifeboat in an attempt to leave the island, but Wake finds him and attempts to destroy tne boat with an axe. Howard runs back to the lighthouse while Wake chases him with the axe. Howard accuses Wake of killing his previous assistant by driving him insane with the mermaid scrimshow. Wake is baffled by Howard's actions and accused him of smashing the lifeboat and trying to kill him with the axe. He urges Howard to hand over the dinner knife he took, which he does. Wake confuses Howard by throwing his perception of reality into question, and having run out of alcohol, they instead drink Thieves' Oil. That night, the island is struck by a wave which overwhelmes the lighthouse.

appears to as — Thomas Wake appears to Thomas Howard as Proteus

The next morning, a hungover Howard finds and reads Wake's journal. Enraged by what he reads, he smashes the clock with his fist. He lights Wakes pipe and then accuses him of lying to him about everything. Wake relieves Howard of his duties, to which Howard points out the critical comments that Wake made about him in his journal. Howard insists that he is a good worker, which Wake denies, and Howard begs to see the light. Wake accuses Howard of being entitled and damning them by bringing about the storm when he killed the seagull. He states that Winslow was right, that Howard is a dog, and they begin to fight. As the right progresses, Howard sees Wake as Winslow, the mermaid and a crowned figure covered in corals and tentacles. He savagely beats Wake and tells him to bark like a dog. Wake does so and Howard ties a rope around his neck and has him follow him outside on all fours. As Howard buries him alive, Wake tells him of the fate of those who see the light. Howard then takes Wake's keys.

The Light[]

Thomas Howard screams as he looks into the Light

Howard goes back inside and Wake rushes in with an axe, plunging it into Howard's shoulder. Howard strikes him across the face with a teapot, which causes him to fall to the floor and drop the axe. He takes it and kills Wake before lighting a cigarette. He repeats Wake's dinner toast before drinking more thieve's oil.

Howard crawls up the stairs to the top of the lighthouse, opening the trapdoor with Wake's keys. As he climbs inside and stares at the lantern, it opens before him. He stares into it and is overcome with bliss. He laughs and then screams in agony. He loses his balance and falls all the way down the stairs of the lighthouse.

Howard later lies naked on the rocks as the flock of seagulls defecate on him and peck at his exposed organs.

Cast[]

Production[]

Casting[]

Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe had both been fans of The Witch and approached Robert Eggers about a potential collaboration. Eggers proposed a project in which Pattinson would portray a Victorian socialite, but Pattinson was not interested as he did not think it would challenge him.^[1] He met with Eggers again once he had finished the script for The Lighthouse, during which Eggers showed him a clip of an intoxicated man screaming "I am a demon" to convey his vision for the film.^[2]

Eggers' initial pitches to Defoe has not been successful.^[3] Defoe met with Pattinson at a party and Pattinson used his own involvement to pitch the film to Defoe. Defoe was intrigued by Eggers fundamental approach to filmmaking and signed on to make the film.^[1]

Anya Taylor-Joy expressed interest in portraying the mermaid, but Eggers felt that she was not right for the role. She jokingly suggested that she would portray a seagull instead.^[4]

Filming[]

Robert Eggers directing Robert Pattinson

The filmmakers were unable to find a lighthouse suitable for the needs of the production, so they constructed a 70-foot lighthouse set on Cape Forchu in Lief Erikson Park in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia.^[5] Most of the interiors were shot on sets constructed inside a hangar at Yarmouth Airport and in soundstages close to Halifax.^[6] Principal photography began on April 9, 2018 and lasted approximately 35 days, running slightly over schedule due to unforseen circumstances. Additional photography took place in Pinewood Studios and Brooklyn.^[7]

Videos[]

Trailers[]

The Lighthouse - Official Trailer HD - A24