10 Astounding Facts About The Lighthouse You Didn't Know

Why'd ya spill yer beans?

The Lighthouse
A24

Robert Eggers' sophomore film is nothing short of a spectacle. Filled with brooding atmosphere and the most ambiguous story this side of Mulholland Drive, The Lighthouse is a future classic that leaves you disoriented and wondering what you'd just experienced.

It's riddled with symbolism and ambiguity that would make Carl Jung's head spin in grasping its underlying psychoanalysis on grief, power display, male intimacy, and sexual repression. So many parts of the film create its aura of mystery from the leads symbolic performances down to the very lenses and aspect ratios used.

With such mystery in its story and subconscious cues set by its moody lighting and subtle camera work, deconstructing its process and exploring the behind-the-scenes production might illuminate and reveal some of the intention and creative decisions made by Eggers and company behind the film.

10. Character Immersion And Inebriation

The Lighthouse
A24

An interesting thing about method actors is their stringent commitment to the roles they play. Whether it's Shia LaBeouf taking acid, Daniel Day-Lewis not breaking character off set, or Jim Carrey locked-in Andy Kaufman's state of mind. For Robert Pattinson, he felt the only way to fully embody his character's descent into a drunken stupor is to be in a stupor.

In an interview with Esquire, Pattinson reportedly was so drunk, production was nearly a blur. “[I was] basically unconscious the whole time. It was crazy,” Pattinson said. “I spent so much time making myself throw up. Pissing my pants. It’s the most revolting thing. I don’t know, maybe it’s really annoying.”

The scenes with Pattinson's character drunk recalled Martin Sheen's scene in the opening of Apocalypse Now... if a mental and emotional breakdown was stretched into an entire film.

Contributor
Contributor

Filmmaker and film enthusiast who dabbles in photography and music.