This is really a movie for people who already like David Lynch; it's not for the Lynch newbie (try something more accessible first, like Mulholland Drive). One reviewer said it's so Lynchian it's almost self-parody, and he's right... surreality blends seamlessly with tragedy, beauty with grime, and everything happens in a completely non-linear way to an ethereal soundtrack. In mood and theme, it's similiar to Polanski's Repulsion.
Actress Nikki (Laura Dern) has been offered a part in a romantic drama about an abused wife's affair with her wealthy boss (Justin Theroux). Before shooting begins, the director (Jeremy Irons) informs these two lead actors that the film is actually a remake of an old Polish film that was never completed, because the leads were murdered in the middle of filming. Legend has it the film is cursed.
Nikki is married to a wealthy Polish man who treats her like a possession, and despite her fear of him she begins an affair with her co-star. Almost immediately, the lines between reality and fiction begin to blur for her, and she jumps from her own life as an actress to a nightmarish dreamlife as the abused, abandoned Susan of the movie. She reimagines her own thuggish husband as the brutal carny who's married to Susan.
We also see glimpses of the Polish actress who starred in the original movie in the 1930s, a Polish prostitute who looks identical to the Polish actress (and could be the same girl, I suppose), a surreal sitcom featuring giant rabbits, and a series of murders involving screwdrivers. Throughout, you have no idea if what you're seeing is part of Nikki's film, part of Nikki's dreamlife, or part of the Polish actress/prostitute's dreamlife. Is the film cursed? Does the character of Susan somehow take over the lives of the actresses who portray her? I still have no idea, but the hypnotic quality of Inland Empire made 3 hours seem like 3 minutes. Some Lynch fans have griped about the graininess of this film (it's digital), but I felt this added a further touch of grimy reality to Lynch's trademark smooth, luscious camerawork. Needless to say, the performances are stellar and the soundtrack is superb (even the end credits, set to Nina Simone, are worth watching).
Actress Nikki (Laura Dern) has been offered a part in a romantic drama about an abused wife's affair with her wealthy boss (Justin Theroux). Before shooting begins, the director (Jeremy Irons) informs these two lead actors that the film is actually a remake of an old Polish film that was never completed, because the leads were murdered in the middle of filming. Legend has it the film is cursed.
Nikki is married to a wealthy Polish man who treats her like a possession, and despite her fear of him she begins an affair with her co-star. Almost immediately, the lines between reality and fiction begin to blur for her, and she jumps from her own life as an actress to a nightmarish dreamlife as the abused, abandoned Susan of the movie. She reimagines her own thuggish husband as the brutal carny who's married to Susan.
We also see glimpses of the Polish actress who starred in the original movie in the 1930s, a Polish prostitute who looks identical to the Polish actress (and could be the same girl, I suppose), a surreal sitcom featuring giant rabbits, and a series of murders involving screwdrivers. Throughout, you have no idea if what you're seeing is part of Nikki's film, part of Nikki's dreamlife, or part of the Polish actress/prostitute's dreamlife. Is the film cursed? Does the character of Susan somehow take over the lives of the actresses who portray her? I still have no idea, but the hypnotic quality of Inland Empire made 3 hours seem like 3 minutes. Some Lynch fans have griped about the graininess of this film (it's digital), but I felt this added a further touch of grimy reality to Lynch's trademark smooth, luscious camerawork. Needless to say, the performances are stellar and the soundtrack is superb (even the end credits, set to Nina Simone, are worth watching).
7 comments:
Mulholland Drive is "Accessible"? I think I'll recommend this one to John. I, myself, am not a Lynch fan.
Yip, I think Mulholland Drive is more accessible than some Lynch films, especially Lost Highway. That one really baffles me. But Mulholland Drive and Eraserhead make perfect sense to me.
I think I'll skip this one...but then...you already knew that, didn't you? ;)
I was pretty sure, yeah. ;D
Oh maybe it is Lost Highway I'm thinking of. The only Lynch movie I've been able to make it through beginning to end without getting frustrated is Blue Velvet... but I was drunk when I saw that, so...
Blue Velvet's good (and actually makes sense), but it's so creeepy that it's my least-favorite Lynch film. I think I'd have to be drunk to watch it again. ;)
I don't know how I missed this review. I love Lynch, but as you are right about the soundtrack being stellar, this one I just couldn't get into.
And Mulholland Drive and Eraserhead make sense to you? Hmm...
At work, we exchanged notes, literally, on what Mulholland Drive meant and who each character really was. I loved that movie, but it's not something I'd show my mother.
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