Willem DaFoe was Next Level in "The Lighthouse"

I like to rewatch movies from time to time. I believe I have mentioned this before. I find things I may have missed while doing this, or sometimes I just want to watch a performance that was so good once again. That was my reasoning for rewatching "The Lighthouse" recently.

I love this movie. The first time I saw it it confused and frustrated me. That was because they speak in old timey sailor talk, so I had no idea what they were saying to one another for most of the movie. When I watched it the second time I put the subtitles on and this made all the difference in the world. I felt like I understood so much more of what was happening and going on in the movie. I could parse together the stuff that made no sense and that was the moment it became a movie I knew I would revisit. While watching it this most recent time I was taken aback at the performance that Willem Dafoe gives. Robert Pattison is great in this movie. This was one of his performances, much like his work in "Good Time", where I found myself amazed by his acting and it washed all the "Twilight" nonsense from my brain. But Dafoe is a true powerhouse and the star of this wild movie.

For people that may not know much about "The Lighthouse", the movie takes place in 1890, two men travel to work on a lighthouse and live there for four weeks and they both go insane. It is pretty much a story of two dudes losing their minds and growing to hate one another. Dafoe got the juiciest of the two roles. He is the older guy that works there. He is the veteran and leader. He knows what needs to be done and how it should be done, in his vision. He is rude, crude and kind of gross. Our first glimpse into his portrayal of this character is him getting up from a bed, snorting and then farting. And not to be outdone, as he is walking out of the room, he rips another fart and leaves it in the room for Pattison to deal with. At dinner he gives the same toast every single night. He says the same thing over and over again. That alone would drive me nuts if I was living there with him. He constantly chides the work that Pattison is doing. Nothing is ever good enough for him. The work doesn't mean his ridiculous standards. He forces Pattison's character to do extra work, and when he is done with the hard work, Dafoe's character will tell him to do it the easier way next time, giving him the proper tools after he has already done the grueling work. He swings the swing so hard that Pattison is painting from that it rips. He drinks constantly. He snores and farts when he sleeps. He likes to get nude while he is up in the lighthouse. His laugh is loud and obnoxious and almost done at the wrong time every time. He refuses, only for a few minutes, to call Pattison by his name after he asks him politely to do so. He degrades and demeans Pattison any chance he gets. He is grumpy and old and taking it out on this poor young kid just trying to make some money. And Dafoe nails it. I grew to despise his character during this most recent watch. I wanted Pattinson to beat the hell out of him. I just knew that if he went at him with full force that he could really mess him up, and I found myself rooting for that. The constant passing of gas was akin to something a frat boy would do to a young pledge. He was supposed to guide this young man and maybe usher him into taking over when he was too old. But he refused. He would lock Pattinson out of the lighthouse, forbidding him from going up there. And if he saw him getting close, he would shut him out immediately.

I am kind of surprised more people didn't talk about award consideration for this role. Dafoe was so up to the task and so good playing this vile person. I believe this was when the partnership really blossomed between him and Robert Eggers. They both continue to do wonderful work together to this day. But this may be my favorite performance of Dafoe's to this point, and he has put on some excellent performances before and since this movie. But he is doing the best work, in my opinion, in "The Lighthouse". I highly recommend watching for his performance alone. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.