Inland Empire

Released this week on DVD.

David Lynch is one talented filmmaker. He seemed to make The Straight Story just to stick it to the critics who accused him of being a one-trick pony – only capable of making confusing, challenging, non-linear films focused on dreams, alternate realities, and the sick underbelly of small town America. With Mulholland Drive, he moved his critique to Hollywood. In Inland Empire (named after a region near LA), Laura Dern plays an actress who begins to shoot a movie with director Jeremy Irons and co-star Justin Theroux. When she falls for the womanizing Theroux, the film shifts and Dern becomes multiple characters in different walks of life.
For the first time, Lynch uses a digital camera. He uses close-ups not only to focus on character but also to distort the facial features of his cast. The digital camera also accentuates the lines in the faces of his actresses. It’s great to see Dern as well as Julia Ormond and Mary Steenburgen (in limited roles) show their age. In many ways, they’re even more beautiful now than they were in their 20s. While Lynch hasn’t quite mastered the digital camera like, say, Michael Mann, he does use it to great dramatic and artistic effect. Lynch has mastered everything else though, including lighting, cinematography, and sound design. During the dream-like fantasies and nightmarish sequences, strobe lights, swinging lights and strong, piercing beams of light all accentuate scenes and create a sensational atmosphere. Lynch’s sound design is superb as usual. The sounds are frightening without the haunting imagery. Together, they will leave indelible imprints on your cerebral cortex.

A scene late in the film has Dern walking around Hollywood Blvd. with Beck’s “Black Tambourine” playing on the soundtrack. It’s the most hypnotic – and cool – scene in the film – and you realize Lynch is just messing with us. He could create the most audience-friendly and accessible film if he chose to, but he’s after something deeper. Anyone who says they know what it is would be lying. Unlike Lost Highway or Mulholland Drive which can be (mostly) understood after 2 or 3 viewings, Inland Empire looks eternally indecipherable and equally eternally fascinating.

At nearly 3 hours, Inland Empire does run a little long and Lynch includes too many of his dreams/ideas. Rabbits in a sitcom? Check. Hot chicks dancing to “The Locomotion”? Check. The movie’s numerous non-sequiturs threaten to derail it. But Laura Dern stays strong in the center. With all due respect to Ms. Mirren, this is the best female performance in a 2006 film. Laura Dern’s character sees into the future at several times during the film. David Lynch must know how she feels – he just made a film several years ahead of its time.

At this point, I’d like to point out the obvious and state how capricious the “grades” are. The appropriate “letters” throughout much of Inland Empire are “W”, “T”, and “F” – followed by a huge question mark. Some will find the lack of a cohesive narrative infuriating. Others (like me) will revisit Inland Empire every few months searching for answers, finding few, and creating some. A-