013 - The Lighthouse

In this episode of The Screenplay Lab, host and screenwriter Jeff Barker takes a deep dive into the brilliantly unhinged screenplay for The Lighthouse (2019), written by Robert and Max Eggers. This A24 psychological horror film, starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, is a claustrophobic two-hander soaked in myth, madness, and maritime misery.

We explore how the Eggers brothers crafted a literary and cinematic fever dream - from unique formatting and surreal dialogue to powerful monologues, historical dialect, and deep symbolism. This script is weird in all the right ways - and there's a ton writers can learn from it.

🧠 Topics covered:

• Development history & Poe inspiration

• Dialogue rhythm & page formatting tricks

• Character duality & identity symbolism

• Cinematic writing techniques on the page

• Why this screenplay is a masterclass in tension and tone

🎙️ About The Screenplay Lab:
Welcome to The Screenplay Lab, where we study and appreciate screenplays as stand-alone literary works, not just blueprints for film. We deconstruct a script in each episode, uncovering what makes it unique and exploring what writers can learn.

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There are screenplay breakdowns on:

• Anora (Mikey Madison) by Sean Baker
• Nosferatu (Lily Rose Depp, Bill Skarsgard) by Robert Eggers
• Heretic (Hugh Grant) by Scott Beck and Brian Woods
• A Complete Unknown (Timothee Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle