This is a period piece with two lighthouse workers in the late 1800s on what seems like the American east coast. The entire movie is in a 4:3 aspect ratio (or something similar), in full black and white, with primarily two actors throughout the film. The dialogue is sometimes hard to understand but not so much that it ruins the movie. But your mileage may vary in understanding what these characters are saying.

If you can swallow that pill, there's more. Unfortunately, the two characters spend most of their time intoxicated later in the film, making their slurred speech and mindless ramblings harder to understand. And unless you're into late 1800s men's locker room banter, you'll probably not find much of the dialogue that funny or interesting.

The audio mixing and cinematography are fairly good. Both Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson give outstanding performances. But I can tell by the look on their faces they did not enjoy shooting these scenes. Both men look physically and emotionally drained throughout the whole film. They spend most of the film drenched in seawater and torrential rains, if not endlessly smoking and drinking with each other inside a small shack.

It's relatively slow-paced and quiet. A24 seems to like these kinds of movies. It's some recreation of a 1940s or 1950s film style, which I don't think most people are asking for. I at least appreciate the bold choice. It's different from most modern movies you'll watch.

This is a well-made movie with terrible writing, dialogue, and questionable artistic choices. They give Willem entertaining monologues, but his character is so unlikeable that I don't care. By the end, I was hoping for something redeeming at all but got nothing when the credits rolled. I want to say this movie is trying to communicate something more profound, but I don't feel like it even tries.