There is enchantment in the light.|Oct. 18, 2019|Canada|109 Min.|R
Genre: Adventure;Drama;Fantasy;Horror;Mystery;Thriller
Description: In the late 19th century, Ephraim Winslow takes on a month-long contract as a wickie on a remote New England island, working under the watch of the long-standing lighthouse keeper, Thomas Wake. While settling into his quarters, Winslow finds a small mermaid scrimshaw, which he keeps in his jacket. Wake quickly establishes himself as a demanding supervisor, assigning Winslow strenuous tasks such as emptying chamber pots, painting the lighthouse, and carrying heavy kerosene containers up the stairs. Wake also strictly denies Winslow access to the lantern room, and Winslow notices that every evening, Wake secretly ascends the lighthouse, disrobing before the light.
As time passes, Winslow begins to experience hallucinations of sea monsters and floating logs. He becomes fixated on the mermaid scrimshaw, using it as an object of desire. A one-eyed gull also continuously bothers him, and Wake warns him not to harm it, believing that gulls are reincarnated sailors. During a dinner conversation, Wake shares that his previous wickie lost his sanity and died, while Winslow reveals he is a former Canadian timberman seeking a new career.
On the eve of his departure, Winslow finds a dead gull in the cistern, contaminating the water. When the one-eyed gull attacks him again, he kills it in a fit of rage. Soon after, a violent storm strikes the island, preventing the relief ferry from arriving. Winslow and Wake spend the night drinking heavily as the storm persists. While emptying chamber pots the next day, Winslow discovers the body of a mermaid washed ashore, which suddenly awakens and howls at him. Terrified, he flees back to the cottage, where Wake informs him that the storm has ruined their rations and new supplies won’t arrive for weeks. Hoping to find reserve rations, the two unearth a crate at the lighthouse’s base, only to discover it contains bottles of gin. As the storm continues, Winslow and Wake consume the gin, oscillating between moments of camaraderie and hostility.
Cast director: Robert Eggers
Cast actor: Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Valeriia Karaman, Logan Hawkes, Kyla Nicolle, Shaun Clarke, Pierre Richard, Preston Hudson, Jeff Cruts
Original name: The Lighthouse