Review of Inland Empire (2006) by Reece L — 06 Jul 2015

David Lynch's, as of yet, last commitment to cinema was equally hailed as both his best and most convoluted worst work committed in his canon of nightmarish delights. I will happily stand up right now and say that Inland Empire is both alienating and extremely brutal to push your way right through to the end with.

However this only makes the experience feel more real and rewarding by its conclusion. It's 1 minute shy of 3 hours run time, instantly makes it one that you cant just shove on, in the back ground and turn your brain off, as Inland Empire requires you to have every brain cell operating at its fullest, in order for you to get any sense of cohesion from it, but if your willing to slug it out, it is as rewarding and demanding as some of Lynch's best work to day.

Bare with me here, so the film follows an unnamed woman, she is sad, alone and trapped within a nightmare, here she has no option but to glue herself to the television, however this channel isnt exactly HBO or BBC, its a television of nightmarish and ghastly proportions, churning out bizarre erotic pornography and a sitcom that's 3 lead characters are bunny rabbits.

.. Still with me? So on the screen starts what appears to be a highly resonate and depraved movie about an actress, played by Laura Dern, who is married to a very dangerous and frightening Polish man, hugely wealthy and feared by all.

She is lucky enough to receive a role in a new up and coming Hollywood film, directed by a hot shot director Kingsley and co star with a heart throb Devon, its the chance of a lifetime for her and if all goes well, it could cement her place, firmly in Hollywood, only soon Nicky, Dern, becomes confused with her character and real life and is unable to let go of a highly intoxicating and demanding character and to go any deeper into it would just lose you completely.

Even with my summary I have barely scratched the surface and it can hardly be set in stone as Lynch is always been about what you take away from his imagery and bizarre story arcs. It is extremely tough, I find the best way is to just allow it all to flow through and try to digest later, forcing multiple viewings and constant conversation.

It is most certainly art, but to what degree of connection to your self, is entirely up to you as an individual. One thing that can be said is this cast, apart from being a huge wealth of talent, are all in it for the long shot, no performance to weak, no character to small to own mere moments of screen, talent such as Laura Dern, Justin Theroux, Jeremy Irons, William H.

Macy, Terry Crews, Harry Dean Stanton, Diane Ladd, Grace Zabrinski, Naomi Watts, Laura Harring and Scott Coffey to name merely a few, in this huge black comedy, psycho thrilling, satire, stuff with horror, intrigue and romance.

Its fucking deep. And Dern shatters the screen with her multi layered, bipolar and hypnotizing role as Nicky. Her arc is so wonderfully crafted and woven together, that by the very last frame, we are still unsure of just how deep she went down the rabbit hole.

Justin Theroux is perfect as Devon, his whit, looks and charisma just ooze every time hes on screen. Jeremy Irons is outstanding as Kingsley and Harry Dean Stanton is a work of genius as his right hand man.

Even William H. Macy makes his 30 second intervention wonderfully hilarious, magnetic and highly resonate, 30 seconds, seriously name a character in any film, who has 30 seconds to completely blow you off your feet.

It happens here. All this would be lost, if it were not for Lynch's new and unorthodox approach to film making. He has pushed himself away from being as cinematic as possible, with huge multi layered story lines, shot lists comprised of 75 percent close ups and a script that takes just about every ounce of energy in which to decipher, and even then you wont get close, he tries something new, its not user friendly and it most certainly will not gain him any new fans, more appease his already existing followers.

Trust me, you want a friend to get into Lynch, this is NOT the one to start on. Ease them in with Blue Velvet or Elephant Man, as this thing is as far detached but equally as stunning as both of those films.

The new digital aspect of his film, also works in making the film feel incredibly lifelike, you feel like you are in the film, taking part, which is probably why its so difficult to get through, as what our characters have to go through is tormenting and a battle of strength.

We feel exhausted 1 hour in and there is still 2 hours to go. Lynch continually throws curve balls, using all of his previous card tricks, in a well paced out manner, in order to keep the ship floating and for me, it works.

He throws in some new moments, like the locomotion, yes that one and Sinner man, which could act solely as music videos, but their inclusion is hysterical and hypnotic all at the same time. Even in the sound department, the first time away from Angelo Badalamenti, long time collaberator, the score is excellently crafted and the use of songs from Beck and other great artists and warmly welcomed and dont feel shoe horned in.

All this being said, the 3rd act does begin to wilt, and it leaves you asking yourself a huge question, what am I doing, why have I spent my time with this? For a huge portion of people, making it to the 3rd act, is just not going to happen, sleep or surrender will kick in long before then, Inland Empire does not want you to like it, it wants you to endure it, live it, breathe it and it is without a doubt one of the most accurately depicted collapse in mental health ever committed to cinema, but people are not going to be comfortable with that, some will even hum and haw at its potentional sway into the art wank category.

However for those of you, willing to sit through marathon-esque nightmares, enveloping your life within the film, you will come out the other side, scorned maybe but thinking. People sometimes forget that film is a visual medium, and although this is a jumbled pot of ideas, wonderfully woven into one, it consistantly hits every note a film should, always coming back around and never getting too lost within itself.

Not for everyone, not just for anyone. Inland Empire will push you as far as you can go, the question is, how far are you willing to go?