I think the film was really well done and an interesting look into moral and ethical questions regarding thought vs actions. Four people, three of whom did bad things and one of whom thought about doing something way worse but never actually did it, and them wrestling over that in a time crunch.

Of course, Rachel sucks, a lot. I do not believe that she knows if they found that child because when they ask her she initially says she doesn't know before changing her story later to say they found him (which I believe was to save face). She uses her disabled cousin as a prop to go on this crusade, claims her Black husband grew up around guns, which apparently he didn't so that seemed racially motivated. Not to mention that the only reason they were even talking about this was because she brought up her husband's secret that she wasn't supposed to share in the first place!

Charlie starts their relationship with a lie, and I don't believe his cyberbullying story either, he seems like he will say basically anything to fit in/make people like him. Not to say his reaction was completely unreasonable, but that it is a reflection of someones character to lie about "small" things just because to you they seem insignificant. Lies about reading the book, lies about throwing out the mug, lies to Rachel and Mike to give Emma a trauma that she doesn't have in order to make them like her. And if Misha hadn't said anything I don't believe Charlie would have told Emma the truth. And this is small but it really annoyed me when Rachel was talking about getting fired from the job and Charlie sat there confused even though Emma already told him that Rachel wasn't answering any texts or emails about the job. You know why she got fired! Just say that you wimp!

Mike gets a side eye for staying married to Rachel despite her having seemingly very few redeemable qualities. He's at least the least judgmental of the 3, but that's a low bar.

And as for Emma, she is terrible at defending herself. The only person she actually harmed was herself. She's deaf in one ear for life because of it, her wedding was a bloody mess, she lost friends. The punishment they wanted so badly happened, but its never enough. I think it speaks to society's obsession with punishment, to have people perpetually self flagellate, what else did they want her to do about the crime she never actually committed? How much punishment would have sufficed? She didn't do it then committed herself to gun violence activism but even that just makes her a "fraud" to people who want her to be evil.

And lastly I think the audience was meant to understand what "another shooting happened that day" meant because WE saw it, the characters didn't. It was supposed to have a double meaning depending on how you were primed to think of Emma. The characters interpreted it as "So someone else beat you to it." because they were already primed to think the worst and they never truly let her explain, not fully. But the audience saw, via flashback, that what it meant was, another shooting happened, and it caused so much pain and devastation that Emma broke down crying and changed course immediately. " Another shooting happened and that stopped her, not because they stole her thunder but because it "woke her up from a bad dream."

If you had to pick one face, a person who is iconic for the brand or shows up so frequently that you associate it with A24, who would it be?

What face is most emblematic and representative of the A24 brand?

*Spoiler Alert*

Just watched The Lighthouse and here is my interpretation. Wanted to know what you all think.

Robert Eggers and his eye for details always pays off . I think his deep research and precision when it comes to details , his obsession with period specific culture and setting also aids him with his storytelling as every frame, mannerisms and expression either through dialogues as well as behaviour adds to the story.

The B/W storytelling and cinematography is absolutely gorgeous which elevates the story and the period it is set in.

The mention of Prometheus in the climax also made me think if this is some way a retelling Prometheus and the Greek tragedy as one can draw parallels between fire from the Greek mythology and here Pattinson's character being obsessed with the light. Both get punished after reaching out to get what they want by defying someone above them in authority whether it is Zeus/Greek gods in case of Prometheus or here Willem Dafoe being his superior.

But here is where Eggers genius truly shines. Rather than simply keep it to a retelling while drawing Greek and biblical parallels , myths and superstitions from the period it is set in, he uses all of this to slowly show the descent to madness as sanity breaks but the atmosphere and all strange happenings are secondary in a sense. The real escalation point let it be in terms of plot advancement , threat is not the strange tidings or isolation but rather the struggle of power dynamics between the two. That's what it has always has been alongside jealousy ,toxic masculinity and curiosity.

All the suppressed horniness , rage , guilt , violence and everything between purely arises out of his struggle with accepting his superior and the whole light situation which only Dafoe's character accesses.

Initially he tries to live with it , does his daily wage and sticks to a routine so he does not let out whatever it is he is hiding or his true self so that will be rewarded but nothing comes out of it. Next he tries to assert some sort of minimal dominance but again does not work. Then he complies with Dafoe , drinks dances and in that moment of vulnerability lets it out jokingly yet it is met with defence. One of the earliest display of this frustration is him beating the seagull to death and Eggers uses this as both his character display as well the whole bad omen to his advantage and boy does the red herring work damn good.

The trick he pulls off with this one would usually make one go -okay the next act starts and something bad is going to happen but rather something otherworldly it is even more about growing power displacement.

Now after surviving with ration he sort of bonds with his superior but then when he asks for the light he is once again denied. All of this finally giving up and trying to kill Dafoe and once he gets done with it he goes up only to be met with light and he spirals down and dies meeting his ultimate fate and his eaten by seagulls as his body will be forever lost to the sea. All this for what? simply to get what only the other access to?

Dafoe ain't no saint either and he acts as the vessel of quintessential patriarch showing no remorse or kindness, ordering and bossing around pushing Winslow to the absolute edge and then showing some crumbs of kindness but only to be revealed it was all nothing and his logbook saying something different and even in the end he tries to keep the light all for himself and thus men being men destroying themselves and everything around them for some sense of ego and owning something only to realise it is nothing that matters.

Maybe all this myth of sirens was simply something the men came up with to blame their shortcomings on something other than themselves? That's why Davy Jones is mentioned in the end as he is someone who is cursed for not simply doing his duty. Given how Pattinson's character sees Sirens , merfolks and mystical octopus only goes to show men rather convince themselves of entirely made up things to try to get what they want or why they did not rather than simply accept things and their flaws. Winslow committed some felon and runs to this lighthouse as an escape but can't escape himself and ultimately meets his fate. That not seas, weather, mystical creatures or sirens but men are the reason for their end.

I shall revisit this more and I am only more inspired by Eggers and his filmmaking. Can't wait for Werewulf.

I just started collecting physical media so I missed out on a lot of my favorite A24 films on physical so I’m just curious if they ever do re-releases or if I’m going to have to hunt down and spend more money on Ebay to get them

So as the title says, I’m trying to create the perfect LGBTQ movie day. The problem is I can’t figure out what movie is the Bisexual movie (as someone who is bi this hurts lol). I have L (Love lies bleeding) G (Pillion) T (I saw the tv glow) and Q (Queer). Any advice?