Mary Brown

The soundtrack of ship horns, ticking clocks, seagulls, and yes, sometimes the flatulence of Willem DaFoe, sets the perfect tone for this film. It reminded me a bit of some The Shining, The Twilight Zone, There Will be Blood, even some Evil Dead (I don’t know…the ticking clock and banging porch bench minus the comedic gore). It brought up a lot and I don’t want to bore you. Basically, the psyche of man in isolation, fueled by booze and guilt, is at the heart of the story. Filming it in black and white was a good call. The casting- spot on. I would like to speak to that aspect a bit more. Willem seems an easy choice to me. He’s fantastic in everything. A bearded old drunkard keeping a lighthouse in 1890 seems in his wheelhouse. Moving on to what’s his face from Twilight. That’s what I USED to call him. Now he’s the crow I eat whenever his name comes up. Yes, our newest Batman is, and apparently, had been a superb actor for long before I was aware. If you are a fan of movies deemed for the big blockbuster genre (filled with explosions, sex, car chases, etc.) and only those, you may lose interest in this one. But it’s a great exploration of the mind and the talents of some of our favorite silver screeners. It’s twisted and surreal and sorta beautiful. Weird, but worth it.