Review of Inland Empire (2006) by Carl P — 22 Jul 2011

Inland Empire centers around Nikki, a fading actress who is on the comeback trail with a new film, a remake of a cursed German film. Nikki's co-star, Devon, is seen as a bit of a womaniser. When they first get together to read through the script they are informed on that the actors who played their roles in the original film were murdered before the film could be completed. Creepy. in fact, if it were me I would have done a bit of research to see just how true that was before continuing to make the film, but what the hell, they both needed the job, particularly Nikki. It's when they start shooting that things turn confusing. Nikki, having been away from the spotlight for a while, has difficulty differentiating between reality and fiction. She seems to have lost sight of where she ends and the character begins. That makes perfect sense, it's just an actress trying hard to get back on top again. So what was it that confused me?

Well, first up we have the rabbits. What is it with rabbits in screwed up films? Donnie Darko and Alice in Wonderland are probably the most famous films to use weird rabbits, and this odd family of rabbits were no less odd and even had their own laughter track. Then there's the dancing prostitutes. I thought I had them figured out too, they were representative of Devon's sexual past, but then I realised they weren't prostitutes as 'Sue' becomes one of them. So perhaps they were Devon's former co-stars, as he was notorious for sleeping with them, and the whole idea of them being prostitutes was suggesting that all actors inevitably whore themselves out for money. With every question I answered, another load were ready to confuse me. What was with the psychiatrist or the scenes in Polish? Or the times "after midnight" and 9:45? Or the repetition of the line "has a way with animals"? And the creepy distorted face, how could I forget that?

I began to think the film was all a dream, the nonlinear narrative would certainly back up this theory. After watching the film I read that Lynch wrote the film as he went along with no idea where he was going with it, thus making it a subconscious film in itself. Perhaps it really was all just a surreal dream? The fact that the stars of the film themselves have no idea what it's about makes me feel better about not getting it though.

Inland Empire is a truly amazing piece of work, I cannot argue that. It is very well put together, beautifully shot and well acted. But regardless of how well it is made the fact remains, I still have no idea what just happened. Lynch has made a film which deserves discussion and repeat viewings, and when all is said and done that is what every director should be aiming for.