Review of Blue Velvet (1986) by Catherine D — 23 Apr 2011

Not everything is as it seems in the town of Lumberton. On his way home, Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) finds a dismembered human ear lying in a field. Curiosity about the ear drives Jeffrey deeper and deeper in, from the local detective to his daughter (Laura Dern) who is just as interested in the ear as Jeffrey is. Just another romantic setup, until they conspire together to break into the apartment of the mysterious Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini), at which point Jeffrey becomes both object and voyeur to Dorothy's sordid existence in the same night at the hands of her "daddy", Frank (Dennis Hopper). Suddenly, Jeffrey has a new quest, to save this damsel in distress, even if it makes him both a victim and a perpetrator of the same mess she's involved in. And they all lived happily ever after.

The most immediately obvious thing about this film is how strange it is. It portrays Everytown USA and lulls us into peacefulness with completely unremarkable scenes of daily life. The music, by a composer I've never heard of before or since, goes from melodramatic suspense undertones to the familiar strains of Bobby Vinton providing the film's title song, later to be repeated in increasingly strange encores as David Lynch's queer vision unfolds. The uniqueness of the film is not in its story - Jeffrey has figured out and explained to us exactly what's going on before the halfway point is even reached. The film is unique because no one else has ever mimicked or duplicated it, from its outlandish characters and focus on S&M to its pat ending. Never the most believable or cohesive film, but certainly compelling and intriguing.

Overall, a cult hit that overlays its bizarre plot of sex, violence, and mystery onto idyllic small-town America, with inconsistent results.