Lost Highway review

 Number 635 on the top 1000 films of all time is David Lynch's surrealist neo-noir psychological thriller 'Lost Highway.'

Fred Madison (Bill Pullman) is a saxophonist who is accused of murdering his girlfriend Renee (Patricia Arquette.) After being jailed, he mysteriously disappears only to be replaced by a completely different man - Pete Dayton (Balthazar Getty) a mechanic who has connections with frightening mobster Mr Eddy (Robert Loggia.)

This is film is classic Lynchian horror - think Mulholland Drive. It is surreal beyond belief. Painfully surreal. And too often that surrealism got in the way of what could have been a very psychological thriller.

I'm not the smartest or most attentive of viewers so I struggle in following neo-noir films or even the old-time noir films like The Big Sleep at the best of times. This was only exacerbated by the surrealism. I could just about follow the storyline without the body-swapping or abstract dreams, but with? I was more lost than the titular lost highway.

This is probably a criticism of my own cerebral capabilities rather than Lynch's direction - although I would argue that the film started very slowly. It dramatised Fred and Renee's sexual relationship. It was probably only fifteen or twenty minutes, but it felt like it was going on for ages. And I think the film's pacing is a legitimate criticism. At times, it moved along at a blistering pace. At other times, all his momentum stopped whenever things got more abstract.

What I can't criticise is the casting of Robert Loggia who brought an electrifying energy to his role of Mr Loggia the bad guy. It had the same fear factor of Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet. Appropriately after being passed over for Blue Velvet, Loggia directed a tirade at Lynch - which is what subsequently won him the part here.

I've seen a few Lynch films now and with the exception of The Straight Story, I can't say I'm a fan. All too weird for me.

Mulholland Drive review

*Spoilers ahead* 

Number 354 on the top 1000 films of all time is David Lynch's surrealist neo-noir mystery horror film Mulholland Drive.

Betty Elms (Naomi Watts) is an actress arriving in Hollywood to start her career. She befriends amnesiac Rita (Laura Harring) who is the only survivor of a terrible car crash. Betty resolves to help her new friend regain her lost memory to horrifying consequences. A separate storyline sees director Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux) struggle to maintain control of his latest film project, as both studio executives and mobsters try to interfere.

David Lynch regarded this film as his magnus opus. It takes surrealism to a whole new level - far more so than previous efforts like Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. This isn't any understatement. Mulholland Drive is one of the weirdest films I have seen since Dark City or even Blue Velvet. I'm not sure it's worth trying to figure out the meaning behind Mulholland Drive - considering there is any meaning at all. Perhaps it's weird for purely the sake of being weird. Justin Theroux said that Lynch was happy for viewers to arrive at any interpretation they wished. As for Lynch, he has never elaborated on the deeper meanings behind the weirdness of Mulholland Drive. 

There is a lot of weirdness from the strange opening scene that looked to be from another film to Kesher meeting a mysterious cowboy to everything that happened at Club Silencio. And who can forget that awful decaying corpse believed to be Diane Selwyn. I was with the film until the final act where Rita unlocks a mysterious box leading to both her and Betty disappearing. Betty then reawakens as struggling actress Diane Selwyn. Rita is now Camilla who is playing the lead in Adam Kesher's new film. Oh and there's a weird old crone character uttering abstract prophecies. At this point it all became incomprehensible to me. I'm not even going to try and decipher the various oddities.

Instead, I will say this is one of the scariest, most unsettling films I have seen. The final scene where Diana, being terrorised by hallucinations, runs into her bedroom and shoots herself, was terrifying to watch. But it was also masterfully shot. The lighting and camerawork were brilliant. Watts and Harring were also great as the two leads. Mulholland Drive was very much Watts' breakout role and she really acted her socks off. Her terror in the above scene was palpable. Harring was also very good - playing her role as the amnesiac Rita with all the confusion, panic and fear that you would expect.

Yes, Mulholland Drive is a WEIRD film. It is surreal, abstract and confusing, but that's exactly what David Lynch intended. And he wouldn't want it any other way. It was also gripping, terrifying and thrilling. A good film all around. 

The Straight Story review

 Number 305 on the top 1000 films of all time is David Lynch's 1999 biographical road film 'The Straight Story.'

The Straight Story tells the true-life story of Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) - an ailing, elderly man living in Iowa. When he finds out that his estranged brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton) has suffered a stroke, Alvin determines to make amends. The only problem is that Alvin can't legally drive and Lyle lives 240 miles away in Wisconsin. Alvin resolves to drive there on a John Deere tractor that travels at 5mph. Sissy Spacek co-stars as his simple-minded daughter.

It's difficult to believe that this film was directed by the same David Lynch who directed Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet. It is the least 'Lynchian' film he has ever directed, despite how he described it as his most experimental film. Although considering he is so well-known for his surrealism, anything else would be considered experimental.

The Straight Story was an intimate, quiet, but powerful film that focussed on family and community. It featured Richard Farnsworth who was absolutely endearing as Alvin Straight. Farnsworth brought a vulnerability, but also a relatability to the role. Who among us hasn't wished we could make amends with their estranged family members? Farnsworth earned his Oscar nomination. It's just so heart-breaking that a year later, a cancer-stricken Farnsworth took his own life.

Nevertheless, he left behind a lasting legacy with the Straight Story. Alvin's story was a heart-warming tale of tragedy and triumph. He is a character determined to achieve his goals, regardless of whatever comes his way.

Film critic Roger Ebert compared the dialogue to the realism that you would read in a Hemingway book. He hit the nail on the head. The whole film, particularly the dialogue, felt painfully real. And this was down to Mary Sweeney and John Roach's script. They excelled in crafting an authentic script where there was so much power in what the characters didn't say. In a particularly powerful poignant scene, Alvin swaps traumatic war stories with a fellow veteran. Much of the scene's deeper meanings are left up to the viewer to figure out for themselves. It was subtle and understated with a brilliant subtext - the same can be said for the rest of the film.

Yes, you can argue that the ending is anti-climatic, but this film epitomises the phrase: "it's not the destination, but the journey." And this film was a hell of a journey.

Blue Velvet Review

Number 471 on the top 1000 films of all time is David Lynch's neo-noir mystery thriller 'Blue Velvet.'

Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) is a recent college graduate who is returning home. When he discovers a severed ear in his garden, he is thrown into a dark world involving the night-club singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rosselini) and psychotic drug dealer Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper.)

When you think of David Lynch, you think of dark, abstract and surreal. When you think of noir films, you think of over-complicated, convoluted films. Thankfully Blue Velvet was relatively straightforward lacking any of the backwards-speaking and red rooms that made Twin Peaks such an enigmatic watch. If anything, David Lynch was just warming up here for his seminal TV show. Don't get me wrong, Blue Velvet was still weird, but it was nowhere near as weird as it could have been.

It helped that you had the excellent Dennis Hopper playing Frank Booth. Some might argue that he was so over-the-top, but this is what made him so scary. You never knew what he was going to do next. And this unpredictability made him such a terrifying villain. Yet Hopper kept the character incredibly grounded. He brought an electric energy to the role.

Praise should also be given to Isabella Rosselini. She was playing the tragic character of Dorothy Vallens helping her to revitalise her flagging career. But with good reason. She was great as the emotionally damaged cabaret singer who had fallen victim to Frank Booth's violent tendencies.

While Lynch was warming up for Twin Peaks, Kyle MacLachlan was doing the same for detective Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks. Kyle was good as well. But I think Lynch was the true star here, crafting a memorable, if weird thriller that was an intense and gripping watch, with a great performance by Dennis Hopper.