Meaning of the film The Lighthouse: explanation of the plot & ending. Not every ordinary viewer is able to fully understand the essence of the art house genre. The meaning of the film Lighthouse – once again confirms the complex philosophical line of the works of this direction. The picture of Robert Eggers leaves a lot of questions after viewing.
The main highlight of the tape is its multivariance, each viewer can interpret the end of the film Lighthouse in different ways, and all points of view will turn out to be correct.
Description of the story
The plot of the film The Lighthouse revolves around two caretakers Thomas Wake (played by William Defoe) and Ifraim Winslow (star of the Twilight saga by Robert Pattinson).
- The first is a seasoned brawler who constantly spends time drinking a bottle.
- The second is a newcomer who arrived from the “mainland” and understands little about his future work.
It is on their difficult relationship that this surreal picture is built.
Generation conflict
From the very beginning, the senior comrade took the new worker with hostility. Heavy physical activity, a lot of prohibitions, including the main one – the taboo of entering the lighthouse. In such difficult conditions, on duty, two men are forced to spend time together on the island. If there are doubts about the soundness of the mind of the “senior character” from the very first minutes of the film, the loss of reason of Ifraim Winslow occurs gradually.
In the course of the plot, it turns out that the “young worker” is also not simple. When Wake gets him drunk to miss the arrival of the ship, he blurts out that his real name is Thomas Howard and that his profession is a lumberjack. Ifraim died tragically. Whether the main character of the picture has anything to do with this, the director deliberately keeps silent, giving the audience the opportunity to think out this moment. Eggers resorts to this technique repeatedly in the film, which often makes it difficult to determine where real life is and where hallucinations are.
Interesting! The performer of the role of R. Pattinson spoke admiringly about this film: “This is a very strange movie! But I asked for an insane role in an insane movie.”
Film style
Initially, the tape was positioned as a horror. The result is more of a psychological thriller, sometimes acquiring schizophrenic and paranoid features. The oppressive feeling of the film is enhanced by the black-and-white picture, the musical accompaniment and the overall gloomy visual, stylizing Eggers’ creation as a tape of the 30s of the last century.
ending explained
It is difficult to say exactly how the film The Lighthouse ended. There are also many references to ancient Greek mythology, sea deities, Lovecraft and the Wonders of the World. The climax occurs at the moment when Winslow / Howard, who tried to keep calm throughout the whole picture, gets drunk at the suggestion of Wake and finds out a number of unpleasant moments. Firstly, his senior comrade recorded all the mistakes and shortcomings in order to convince the authorities of his unsuitability. Secondly, the mermaid that Pattinson’s character “had fun with” turned out to be a hallucination. The director at the same time transparently hints that in reality the connection was between two men.
As a result of the brawl, Winslow takes possession of the keys to the lamp located at the top of the lighthouse. During the fight, Wake appears as a sea monster with tentacles. Either it was the fruit of Ifraim’s sick imagination, or Thomas really turned into a demonic creature.
On a note! The final meaning of the film The Lighthouse translates into the fact that the true essence of things in reality can be worse than the worst nightmares.
Hidden meaning
The meaning of the ending of the film The Lighthouse, like the whole tape, is ambiguous. Winslow goes up to the lamp and, looking at the light, completely goes crazy. The audience sees him screaming wildly. The next frame is Ifraim lying on the rocks. Seagulls peck at his body and liver (a clear analogy with the ancient Greek myth of Prometheus). Whether the former caretaker remained alive, whether he is doomed to eternal suffering or dies, the author of the tape gives the audience the opportunity to think for themselves.
Films with meaning, to which Mayak belongs, are always complex works. It is not worth recommending them for viewing just to pass the time. You need to get acquainted with the tape to evaluate the amazing acting of Defoe and Pattinson. Unraveling the meaning of the film Lighthouse, the main thing is not to lose a sense of reality, because the whole atmosphere of the tape contributes to this.
