YARMOUTH, N.S. — The Lighthouse movie that was filmed in Yarmouth last year has been receiving great reviews by those who saw the movie when it premiered in Cannes.
And the reviews are offering a glimpse of what people can expect when the movie eventually hits theatres.
But when that will be is still not yet known.
The world premiere of The Lighthouse was Sunday, May 19. The first screening of the film was part of the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight section. As of Tuesday, the film held approval rating of 100 per cent on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 19 reviews with an average rating of nine out of 10.
"Robert Eggers’ film, his follow-up to the indie horror classic “The Witch,” stars Robert Pattinson opposite Willem Dafoe, with Dafoe playing an aging lighthouse keeper in the early 20th century in Maine," wrote reviewer Brian Welk for The Wrap. "The two lock horns in a tense psychological battle that has the two screaming at each other amid the film’s dark comedy and supernatural horror touches. And that doesn’t even begin to describe the half of it."
Actors Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson and director Robert Eggers took part in a media Q&A at Cannes following the film’s debut. They were asked about the filming that took place at Cape Forchu, Yarmouth County, last April and about other aspects of the film – described as a fantasy-horror – and the production.
“We built every building that you see in the film. We couldn’t find a period lighthouse that worked for us that wasn’t on a remote island that would be impossible to get to,” Eggers said. “So we shot on the southern tip of Nova Scotia on this peninsula of volcanic rock in Cape Forchu.
“We built a 70-foot lighthouse that could shine for 16 miles, they told me. And Forchu was a very unforgiving place,” he added. “There’s no trees. The wind is relentless. The wind could be blowing so loud that I couldn’t hear Rob or Willem if I was standing (close to) them.”
But, he said, the conditions add to the feel and dark mood of the film.
“We wouldn’t have had the believability of the atmosphere and the environment of the storm if we weren’t actually shooting in it,” he said.
Robert Eggers and his brother Max wrote the film.
“A tremendous amount of research went into it to have this crusty, dusty, musty, rusty, tactile atmosphere I knew it needed to be black and white. Before I wrote the script I wrote on the title page this must be photographed in black and white 33mm negative,” Eggers said during the Q&A. He said while the look of the film is not supposed to seem like an old movie, “it should evoke some of the same feelings.”
Here's a sampling of some of the reviews written about the film...
The Guardian.com: The Lighthouse review – Robert Pattinson shines in sublime maritime nightmare
The Ringer: ‘The Lighthouse’ Is a Dark, Flatulent, Wholly Original Masterwork'
Slash Film: ‘The Lighthouse’ Review: Robert Pattinson and the Director of ‘The Witch’ Explore Maritime Madness and Mayhem [Cannes]
https://www.slashfilm.com/the-lighthouse-review/
Comicbook.com: The Witch Director's Follow-Up The Lighthouse Earning Terrifying First Reactions
Vanity Fair: Robert Pattinson Takes an Unsettling Journey in The Lighthouse
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/05/robert-pattinson-the-lighthouse-movie-review-cannes
Thrilllist: The Best Movies from the 2019 Cannes Film Festival You Won't Want to Miss
https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/cannes-film-festival-2019-best-movies
The Hollywood Reporter: 'The Lighthouse': Film Review | Cannes 2019
Bloody Disgusting: ‘The Witch’ Director’s New Movie ‘The Lighthouse’ Earns Rave Reviews at Cannes; “A Gripping Nightmare”
