Director’s Fortnight
I’ve literally just come out of the very first screening of Robert Eggers’ new one, The Lighthouse, in Cannes. Oh wow. It’s in the slot that was occupied by Gaspar Noe’s Climax last year, and this one was equally as intense – perfect for a rainy Sunday morning in the south of France. Just, wow!
I will just say that this is Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson at their absolute best – the latter in particular – a dank, sodden black and white nightmare – the best film I’ve seen in Cannes this year. The film is remarkable and the critics went crazy for it as the final credits rolled (just before Eggers, Dafoe and Pattinson took to the stage to take their applause.
Related: The Lighthouse amongst Director’s Fortnight line-up at Cannes 2019
The film, co-financed by New Regency and A24, has been acquired by Focus Features for international release. We presume that it will debut later in the year.
The film’s official description from Cannes is as follows:
From Robert Eggers, the visionary filmmaker behind the modern horror masterpiece The Witch, comes this hypnotic and hallucinatory tale of two lighthouse keepers on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.
Here are some of the reactions from Twitter which started to appear as we walked away onto the street, desperately attempting to type our own into our portable devices as we navigate the hoards of Pattinson fans outside.
Willem Dafoe makes his Green Goblin performance feel demure in comparison, but omg Robert Pattinson gamely goes all out trying to outdo him and is excellent, showing us yet another new facet of his talent we hadn’t seen yet! What an incredible actor #Cannes2019 #TheLighthouse
— FilmLand Empire de la Comédie-Française (@FilmLandEmpire) May 19, 2019
Still recovering from #TheLighthouse. What a cinema experience that was! #WillemDafoe on glorious form and #RobertPattinson in a career-best performance. I feel dirty, but wow!
— THN (@thncom) May 19, 2019
Robert Eggers #TheLighthouse is real treat. Two (or maybe one) men go mad in a lighthouse in a kind of Waiting for Godot meets Withnail and I on acid. Lyrical, visceral and with a beauty of a script, it’s a blast for anyone who loves cinema and or weather. ?
— Stuart Brown (@Brownstu) May 19, 2019
My word. #RobertEggers #TheLighthouse is really something else. Wow! As a huge fan of his previous film The Witch, this did not disappoint. pic.twitter.com/wutNK7vodU
— Charlene Lydon (@charlenelydon) May 19, 2019
Just saw #TheLighthouse at #Cannes2019. Robert Eggers’ newest, with Willem Dafoe & that Twilight guy I refuse to name, is a beautiful B&W scary sea shanty of a film. I can still feel the saltspray. Can’t wait for it to get wide release! Yarrrr! pic.twitter.com/f7Y0WgKNyZ
— Chris Knight (@ChrisKnightfilm) May 19, 2019
Director #RobertEggers with #RobertPattinson and #WillemDafoe , who are outstanding in his pressure cooker of a movie #TheLighthouse , about 2 lighthouse custodians stuck on a remote rock . Startling and stunning film . @Quinzaine pic.twitter.com/XjJPYLptDi
— Baz Bamigboye (@BazBam) May 19, 2019
Robert Eggers’s gripping nightmare The Lighthouse is the best thing in #Cannes2019 with sledgehammer performances from Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, like Steptoe and Son in hell #Cannes72 #Cannes
— Peter Bradshaw (@PeterBradshaw1) May 19, 2019
Laughing with amazement at the end of The Lighthouse. Cinema! #Cannes2019
— Robbie Collin (@robbiereviews) May 19, 2019
I don’t want to marry a Lighthouse keeper. The Lighthouse is an inspired piece of gothic salty dog brine drenched genius. Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe are fantastic. #CannesFilmFestival pic.twitter.com/0qGIPEqFav
— John Bleasdale (@drjonty) May 19, 2019
Avast! The Lighthouse has left me woozy with shaking sea legs. A swirling descent into madness, with two mezmirizing performances from Pattinson and Dafoe. By far the best film to screen at Cannes so far.
— Joseph D A Walsh (@JosephDAWalsh) May 19, 2019
