Review of Inland Empire (2006) by Jean K — 25 Oct 2013

While it does stand strong among other surrealist films, Inland Empire is still slightly flawed. On one hand, Lynch perfectly captures the disturbing atmosphere which the film requires, and some scenes in particular are incredibly disturbing, maybe even some of the most disturbing scenes Lynch has ever created. On the other hand, Lynch's new use of handheld digital cameras really took away from the overall experience. Many scenes are just clumsy or even unwatchable in their use of unnecessary close ups. I do believe that the film may have worked better had it used more steady, organized camerawork as it had been done in Mulholland Dr.. Some of the films use of song felt really out of place, and, lastly and most unfortunately, some of the acting was very spotty. Dern was very good in some parts, but many parts of the film consisted of her looking confused and asking "What?" Its distracting, but most of the other time she is actually very good.

Don't like David Lynch? Don't watch this. It is way more dense and harder to sit through than Mulholland Dr., and much less goes on. Overall, the only changes I would have wanted would be to shorten it a little, fix the cinematography, and get rid of the misplaced songs. Otherwise, Inland Empire is an incredibly bizarre yet original film, and yet another great made by David Lynch.