The Wokingham Word, March 2020

LOCAL REVIEWS
Film Reviews
by
Bill Robinson
The Lighthouse (2020)
The Lighthouse is the latest psychological
thriller from acclaimed director Robert
Eggers. It centers around two lighthouse
keepers as they battle a fierce storm and
try to maintain their sanity in the process.
The film is shot with a 4:3 aspect ratio,
making the picture far narrower than the
standard 16:9 we usually see in the cinema.
This pens the action into an incredibly tight
space, making the film feel claustrophobic
and inescapable, much like the lighthouse
islands. In addition, the absence of colour
in the picture helps to emphasize the
constant sense of dread and terror that
is swirling around Defoe and Pattinson's
characters. Done correctly, black and
white films can achieve an atmosphere
and tone that is unrivalled. On the topic
Lost in Translation (2003)
Empire magazine recently called Lost in
Translation one of their best films of the
21st century so far. The story is slow and
thoughtful and although I was interested,
I'm not fully behind the hype.
Lost in Translation tells an odd story of
troubled romantics played by Bill Murray
and Scarlett Johansson. They are each
having problems with their separate
partners and eventually bond over their
shared experience in a soulless hotel in
Japan. The dramatic age gap between the
characters is easily apparent, making their
budding romantic connection uniquely
intriguing and taboo. Both of their
respective performances are good, which
is a relief given that they are essentially the
of Defoe and Pattinson, they provide the
film with its only performances, and they
are equal parts beautiful and harrowing.
They expertly guide us down the path to
madness with every hallucination-induced
scream or alcohol fuelled punch; it is
visceral to watch.
As may be obvious at this point, The
Lighthouse is not a film for the faint of
heart. Rarely have I encountered descents
into madness portrayed so effectively and
only two characters in the whole movie.
Johansson in particular gives a stand out
performance as a newly graduated Yale
student, struggling to find her place in
the real world. By contrast Bill Murray's
performance is very ... Bill Murray; funny
and cynical but nothing new.
Lost in Translation has an incredibly
slow and meandering pace, which is not
necessarily a bad thing, but for someone
who doesn't find romantic films particularly
enjoyable, I did struggle. More interesting
for me was the theme of two people lost
in a vibrant and immersive culture. The
film oozes Japanese culture, to an almost
problematic extent. Frequent jokes made
at the expense of Japanese citizens are a
bit off colour by modern standards and
(although I have never been to Japan) I
so stylishly in a modern film. This depiction
of insanity is helped enormously by Karin
Blaschke's stunning cinematography.
Seldom do we see empty space in the
tight frames, objects characters and
props constantly fill our view resulting in
a beautifully messy and disturbing feeling.
Nightmarish imagery of dark, deep sea fills
the screen as the audience plunges into
the character's madness with them. What
this film lacks in a solid and memorable
narrative it makes up for in a treacle-thick
atmosphere that stayed with me from
eerie start to sickening finish.
Far from being a light-hearted popcorn
flick, Egger's The Lighthouse is moody
and oppressive; aside from a lack of a
noticeable story, it's absolutely brilliant.
9/10 in cinemas now.
found the presentation of the city to be
highly stereotypical. The theme of two
modern, white Americans running through
the quirky, alien world that is Japan, is a
little troubling.
Overall Lost in Translation is held up by
two strong, core performances, but the
sluggish romantic storyline stretched
my interest on occasion.
7/10 available on Netflix and Blu-ray
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The Wokingham Word 13 MARCH 2020