Post by cubbies04 on Aug 16, 2007 23:31:19 GMT -5
"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream"-Edgar Allan Poe
Overall Grade: B (but I don't know if it matters here)
I will try to write my typical style of review here, but basically, I'm stumped. David Lynch's INLAND EMPIRE is unlike any film I have seen before, or will likely see again-this coming from someone who is a diehard, loyal Lynch fan.
The best way I can describe this film is if someone placed a camera directly into Laura Dern's brain and filmed her dreams. I have never seen a film that has come this close to resembling an actual dream. There is almost no plot to the film. Events fall out of sequence, and often repeat themselves. Characters will appear out of nowhere, then disappear. Dern's character will find herself in different places (sometimes two places at once). Indeed, she will often seem like a different character entirely. Like a dream, actions fall out of sequence, the only constant being a tone of unease throughout the film.
Positives: It's almost ludicrous to compliment this film for being original. Like his best work, there are moments that are absurdly funny-and others that are downright scary. There are also moments where Lynch's unique genius shines through-one scene in particular will haunt me for a long time: Late in the film, a character "dies" (note the quotes) on Hollywood Boulevard, but is comforted by 3 homeless people during his/her final moments. The scene starts off absurd, but soon becomes incredibly moving and powerful. It is one of the best scenes he has ever filmed and no who sees it will ever forget it. The other main positive: Laura Dern. She should have been nominated for an Academy Award for this role. Not only does she run the full gamut of emotions, but she plays roughly three or four different characters in this movie (all part of the same person).
Negatives: I can't recommend this movie to someone has never seen a Lynch movie before, or does not like his previous work. It is just too extreme, not to mention long (3+ hours). Anyone who is not patient or ready for the challenge will become exasperated and give up. To put it another way, if you are not ready for a 3 hour film with no plot, yet features scenes such as 1) a TV sitcom, complete with canned laughter, in which all the characters are dressed like rabbits (no, I'm not kidding) or 2) a group of hookers doing the "The Locomotion," then this film is not for you. Other negatives: though this film is more extreme than Mulholland Drive (which is saying something), I feel that MD is the better film, and that he repeats himself in a way. Dramatic shifts in time and place, sobbing women, mysterious men in suits, darkly lit rooms with sparse furniture and characters who seem to be two or three people at once were all seen in Mulholland Drive-and used to greater effect.
I guess the best way to describe INLAND EMPIRE is as follows: usually, the "cousin" of movies is literature, be it stories or plays. There is usually a story to tell and a plot to follow, from beginning, middle to end. INLAND EMPIRE is not such a film: it is more akin to looking at a painting or sculpture-the meaning comes more from the immediate visual experience rather than from the story. Some unique (and great) films, share this trait: Bergman's Persona, Kubrick's 2001, Tati's Playtime, Richard Linklaetter's Waking Life and Lynch's own Eraserhead to name a few. INLAND EMPIRE is clearly one of them.
Would I see it again? I will, but not very soon. I rarely say this about movies, but this one was mentally and psychologically draining. I hope this review did not seem to negative, but it is clearly not a film for everyone. Still, I am very glad that I saw it and would watch it with someone game.