Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'The Lighthouse'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Unfortunately, in life, sometimes we are forced to deal with rough patches and hardships. But no matter how hard those parts our lives turn out to be, we always find solace in the fact that these issues are only temporary. In fact, that mantra of ‘this too shall pass’ likely helps to galvanize us to the point where we push ourselves to do anything and everything to get out of the respective situation that’s causing us strife, and in reality, it really is the right mindset to have when bad things come along.
 
However, perhaps one of our greatest collective fears when it comes to the bad in life, is that there is a remote possibility that the bad…will never come to an end. That despite our positive thinking and push toward recovery, the ugly stuff will simply remain, and we fear that, simply because we don’t know what our lives will look like, or what we will become, if that kind of unpleasantness continues to persist and recently, I had the opportunity to watch a motion picture that explores what happens to our psyche when we have to endure incredible hardships for far too long in The Lighthouse.
 
Set in 1801 and based upon a true story, this is a film that takes us to a remote lighthouse, 25 miles from shore for a routine shift change, and it is during this personnel swap that we meet two men; Thomas Griffiths and Thomas Howell, a pair of lighthouse keepers who are polar opposites in life but tolerate one another because they’ve got a job to do and they only have to deal with one another for a short while until they are relieved by the next pair of keepers. But a tough complication arises for these two men, in that…a powerful storm has arrived in the middle of their watch, one that won’t let up and now these two men will be tested like never before as it becomes apparent that they may perish in this remote and lonesome place, since the storm is preventing any boat from rescuing them…

---

​So, I have to fully admit, that I was ill prepared for how dark this motion picture turned out to be, because holy cow, this is one bleak story, the kind where you need a moment to process the horrors that you’ve just seen when it comes to an end and in all honesty, that’s a good thing. Because film should serve as an experience, regardless of whether it’s good or bad and this film accomplishes that with ease. Because once that storm hits, you lose hope as well and what makes this part of the story so powerful, is the sheer fact that you join these men on their downward spiral and the film holds nothing back when it comes to that.
 
It makes a for a visceral experience, one that at times feels like a waking nightmare and quite frankly, is extremely tough to watch because you do bear witness to some serious suffering when it comes to these poor souls, to the point where you wonder if the torture will ever end and, in all honesty, while that seems like an awful experience to endure when watching a motion picture, it’s not. It’s simply amazing to see something this raw and powerful unfold before your very eyes because few films out there take the time to truly pull the audience into a disaster the way this one does.
 
In fact, you really only find this kind of psychological hardship in the horror genre, except, there’s no monster waiting in the rain for these men, just despair and when all is said and done, this is a movie that quite frankly, is worth your time. In part because it’s a slice of history, but also because, it really is unique in what it brings to the screen and really, kudos need to go to actors Mark Lewis Jones and Michael Jibson, who play the two Thomas’ in question, because they are the ones that sell this harrowing tale and credit is also due to Co-Writer/Director Chris Crow, for putting together a powerful story that reminds us of how tough life can be, when we are robbed of hope. 

---