Review of Inland Empire (2006) by Carter N — 26 Jul 2008

The first 55 minutes of this movie are probably worth seeing and show a bit of promise, especially having to do with the idea of a cursed movie. It's shot on a digital camera, and Lynch does wonders with the device.

The sound, as usual, is excellent and some of the dialogue and acting are noteworthy. Harry Dean Stanton has a great scene (as usual). That's the best I can say about this movie, which after the 55 minute mark, devolves into what might have been better called "Walk Down Darkened Hallway" or "Eurotrash Phantasmagoria" for all its scenes of people walking down darkened Polish hallways.

I have a love hate relationship with Lynch and, aside from The Straight Story, pretty much everything he did after Twin Peaks is not so great. Inland Empire continues the downward spiral to new lows. The next time I think of seeing a Lynch movie, I'll read the capsule and if it mentions anything like "dream-like" or "abstract" I think I'll pass.

The film features a number of Lynch's obsessions, images and sounds that have been featured in his movies since Eraserhead, but that film was an absolutely original peice of cinema, and Lynch lived on the set for something like 5 years, which is about how long I lived with Inland Empire.

Freed by the constraints of a budget and producers, Lynch is given free reign and it's not necessarily such a good thing. The last movie of his I genuinely liked was probably a fluke, The Straight Story, and that was edited and written by his then-wife Mary Sweeney, who divorced him after something like six minutes.

Probably after he told her his idea for Inland Empire. My best suggestion is that if you want to see this movie, rent it, but shut it off after the 55 minute mark and do something more constructive with your life like alphabetize your record collection or call your mother.

Or something more interesting like watch the sun set. If I had a red telephone hot line to Dave's house I'd give him a quick call and tell him to stop it. Just stop it. Do something else for a change, and without people in bunny costumes.

This movie is akin to watching three hours' worth of student films by the class' most pretentious and self-absorbed students. Lynch is now spending all his time and money on building meditation centers to help solve the world's problems.

Meditate on this, Dave: we're all fucked, now get to work on something worthwhile. I hear Lynch's next film will be a documentary "road movie" of him traveling across the US talking with interesting people (probably a book-signing tour for his book on meditation?).

Sounds something like The Straight Story, or more likely, that Lynch has finally run out of ideas. By the way, the movie is 3 hours long, 12 interminable minutes longer than stated here, and it was released about 10 years after the date on facebook.