Viraj's Weblog

I've always liked David Lynch's films. Blue Velvet and Lost Highway have got to be my favorites. Not to mention Mulholland Drive. I would call them psychological thrillers. Blue Velvet's Dennis Hopper character is almost evil personified, and it's just amazing to see him act in those scenes. The way Lynch paints film makes the images unforgettable. He also uniquely blends subtle and ominous music that enforces the effect.

So I had to see Inland Empire. It was playing at small arthouse theatre in SF. The movie is a whopping 3 hours long, and I considered not going because of its length. Lynch promoted the movie by sitting on the street with a cow. There are no cows in the movie, but the absurdity of that is equivalent to the absurdity of the movie. In fact, the opening credits included a company called ABSURDA.

So what is this movie about? I honestly don't know. Many would consider it an 'artsy' movie. It doesn't follow any plotline, and the timeline is so disjointed it's pointless to try to piece anything together. Many of the reviews state that you should just let the movie pass over your mind without trying to figure it out.

The movie is made with a digicam. Aside from a few unique effects, the production is rather bland. After about the 20th "slow walking through narrow hallway," I about had enough. Lynch's previous movies were very beautiful, and they blended music at the right times. Inland Empire is more chaotic, and has almost no music for the 1st hour. There are lots of ominous noises though. I cannot really get into a movie without music. When the music does come in, it is rather refreshing and it's a great haunting blues song. There are some scenes that really stick with you, such as a family with human torsos and rabbit heads. Supposedly there are a few references to Alice in Wonderland, but it's a much more horrific wonderland. The movie seems to be about guilt and pathological jealousy. It plays like a dream, where nothing at all makes any sense whatsoever.

The problem I have with this movie is the characters. Lynch's previous movies had all sorts of unique characters that you remembered for a long time. This movie only has Laura Dern. I felt it was too focused on her. Also, previous movies had some semblence of a plot, or at least some small snippets of plots. Think of the 'tailgating' scene in Lost Highway. There are unfortunately no such similar moments in Inland Empire. This movie is more dreamlike, with plotlines changing continously and furiously. You need alot of patience to sit through it.

I'd recommend it only if you are Lynch fan. Otherwise, you'd probably hate it.