Review of Inland Empire (2006) by Harry F — 09 Jan 2013

Inland Empire is a serious contender for the hardest film to review of all time. What does one say about a film as baffling, dense and intricate as Inland Empire? A film that makes the highly challenging Mulholland Drive seem like a cakewalk? You suspect even David Lynch doesn't quite know what to make of his strangest film to date. The synopsis, if you can rightly call it that, is barely even a guide; instead, it's just a tiny piece of a huge, sprawling puzzle. Nikki Grace (Laura Dern) lands a role in new film On High in Blue Tomorrows, and begins an affair with co-star Devon Berk (Justin Theroux). All is well, until producer Kingsley Stewart (Jeremy Irons) informs them that the film is a remake of a Polish feature, which ceased to exist when both stars were murdered. From there, the film tumbles further and further down a rabbit hole, which at times contains actual rabbits...

I will state objectively that I didn't understand great deals of the film, and so my review will not talk about a lot of the great themes or meanings. I give myself credit for understanding a lot of complex films, most of the Lynch back catalogue included (Lost Highway is still baffling), but Inland Empire is one of the most utterly crazy, random, mysterious films of all times. Characters appear and disappear, actors multi role, random anecdotes and narrations are told, and all of it is in some way connected. The time zones also shift; some of the film takes place during the Nikki's present, some of it takes place in Poland, and some of it may or may not take place at all. The running time doesn't help; at three hours long, the plot sprawls all over the place, with no signs of stopping.

In a truly challenging role that requires a huge variety of skills, Laura Dern gives the best performance of her career. Her previously superlative work with Lynch in Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart is sailed over here, in what is definitely one of the most underrated performances of all time, and it is a crying shame that she received no Academy Award nomination. Meanwhile, it is fantastic to see Jeremy Irons, who makes far too frequent appearances on cinema screens these days, but is always a warmly received presence. The dark horror that has always haunted Lynch films is in full swing as well, with a creepy appearance from a Polish neighbour early on, and a scene late in the film in which Nikki searches through corridors which ranks right up there as one of Lynch's creepiest shocks of all time. The rabbits, meanwhile, are the most unpleasant screen bunnies since Watership Down.

It's hard to know what to make of Inland Empire. It definitely isn't boring, and the sheer dedication of the script is deserving of merit. The acting is almost unanimously great, the chills are excellent and it's almost certainly an unforgettable film. However, at three hours, you have to wonder whether this is a riddle worth trying to solve. Whatever you make of it, one thing is for certain; David Lynch will always be David Lynch.