6 Things To Watch After The Lighthouse
6. The Work Of Sascha Schneider (1870-1927)
A left-field entry to start off with, the work of German artist Sascha Schneider clearly influenced The Lighthouse.The clearest homage being made to 1904 painting Hypnosis, remade with Dafoe (Old in the script) as the beacon-eyed antagonist.
The scene is one of many that are left open to interpretation. It appears to be from the perspective of Pattinson's Young character (as he called in the script), who may be suffering a fever dream brought on by hysteria and intoxication. Young tries turning over the familiar foreman figure from his past only to find his doppelganger staring him in the face. He is then whipped around by the vice-like grip of the naked Old, who holds him hostage to his spell.
Young is clearly captive to the power that Old holds over him, even before Old shines a blisteringly bright light into his face. It is a powerful image, the kind that can be found across much of Schneider's work. An interest in the male form is a consistent theme among his paintings. This homoeroticism was accepted while Schneider's sexuality had to be repressed, due to it being a dangerous time in history to be homosexual.
The reference to Hypnosis could lend credence to the many queer readings of the film's subtext.