Review of Blue Velvet (1986) by Ivan D — 08 May 2010

For a David Lynch film, this is surprisingly straightforward compared to his other works, though it still has some handful of Lynchian grotesques. Departing from his art ghetto film upbringing, "Blue Velvet" contains a Hollywood-type character twist in the climax, unlike in his later "Mulholland Drive" where twists were endlessly suggested but not explained.

So for those expecting some plotless visual feast, it's not that kind of a Lynch picture, it needs constant attention, and an open mind. "Blue Velvet" is David Lynch's most well-known film, this status helped in some way by Dennis Hopper's legendary Frank Booth.

It was violent, profanity-fueled, sadomasochistic exploration of a surrealist crime underbelly, and I could have only given this film 3 1/2 stars because of the senseless exploitation of such immoral themes(Even Lynch was laughing off-camera because of its absurdity).

But what made me give "Blue Velvet" a solid 4 stars(aka 8) is its pure retention of what is human in the end. Of course, it was an assault to the senses and sensitivities, but when it reached the final montage, it came back from being a picture of animalistic display of machismo and insanity into what was left of the film's humanity.

And once again, to my surprise, it was utterly preserved, as if Lynch himself put it in a jar to protect it from the foulness of everything. A transition from the disturbed to the serene is what made the film for me.