Review of Blue Velvet (1986) by Liam C — 16 Apr 2015

This film is so mesmerising, wholly immersive and really strange, but as is expected from a David Lynch film, 'Blue Velvet' is a very unique experience. Everything starts off peacefully enough with the imagery of a very idyllic town but things go wrong very quickly and a very intriguing mystery unfolds. It also adds quite a lot that the sound effects that are used at points are the ones from 'Rear Window' which were eerie then and still are now. It's a very complex tale that has quite a lot of shocking and disturbing moments. I thought it'd dabble with some horror at one point as there was half a mirror in one of the initial shots in the apartment that looked like it moved but it was relatively straight, in that department. It also didn't have any long pauses either. I also thought the police were in on everything that was going on at one point because of how strange they were acting.

When Dennis Hopper's first words in the film are, 'shut up', you know you're going to be in for a treat. Looking at the poster I had assumed he would be the detective but oh boy was I wrong, still, Dennis Hopper gave an outstanding performance. The rest of the cast do excellent jobs and are all memorable in their own way. Kyle MacLachlan did a good job in the centre of very weird goings on and he reminded me of Robert Pattinson at times and when people got up in his face, he gave the look like he was un-phased by what was going on, which was probably a good thing and, hey, Jack Nance is in here because of course he is.

There were a few little things that bugged me, he could have said the door was left open and he needed to go to the toilet when he is discovered in the apartment (which didn't actually feel like a coincidence either, it was actually a nerve-racking moment and she never seemed to be worried about her keys again and the fact that just because Laura Dern's character is talking to another boy, she must be cheating, what? She can't have friends? But that really doesn't have much to do with anything, that's just me being weird.

'Blue Velvet' is an excellently made film with memorable performances, it will stay with you for a long time and it is, overall, unforgettable, and it's another film off the list and I am so glad that I have finally seen it but you'll never be able to hear 'Blue Velvet' the same way again.