David Lynch

Hi Blogface,

It's about time I said a few words on my favourite feature film director, Mr David Lynch. Not only is he a great director, he also writes most of his scripts and his unorthadox take on story telling is excellent. So far I have seen the following movies of his:

Eraserhead, Elephant Man, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, Inland Empire

I saw Eraserhead first and it's the first time I've come out of a film and had no idea how I felt initially. Repeated viewing helped me realise that there's not much point looking for a standard plot but to take in the visuals and symbolism and direction; if you will. Lynch is the only director I watch where I try to evaluate every scene - why that angle/lighting/sound/dialogue? It engages me a lot more.

I then saw Elephant Man which I completely love - it's the saddest film I've ever seen; Adagio for Strings coupled with his death is incredibly moving. The film is cast brilliantly and the lighting of the film, though black and white, is superb. The film drew criticism as it is not historically true - Joseph Merrick did not dislike the circus and the ringmaster was his best friend - however, this takes nothing away from it being a brilliant and touching story.

I then saw Lost Highway and although it looks a little dated now, I enjoyed it muchly and I admit that I was straight onto the message boards to read people's perceptions and it in turn helped me appreciate it more. Lynch also has unique ways of building tension - the coversation between Pullman and the Mystery Man is very tense - yet it takes place at a busy party in broad daylight (most directors would go for the "dark alley" approach I'm sure). Once again, I was very engaged by the film even though Pullman is not one of my favourite actors to say the least.

Mulholland Dr was next for me - apart from casting two hot girls that "geddit on", this is probably the best of Lynch's surreal films (that I have seen thus far). The film just looks and sounds great (my favourite OST along with Taxi Driver) and the story is not obvious, but makes a lot of sense and any metaphors are done subtley and brilliantly. The way Lynch blends reality and fantasy and past and present into his scenes is mind blowing and strangely, the more I think about the film, the more I enjoy it. Mulholland Dr is definitely worth a second viewing in the next few months.

Lastly, I watched Inland Empire. Although similar to Mulholland Dr's story, this was directed completely differently. I wasn't aware that Lynch cut the film amongst other things - it is uneasy viewing - unorthadox lighting, hand-held cameras with close-ups, the volume was all over the place...not easy to watch late at night (constantly turning it up and down throughout). I once again am not sure how I felt about the film after I watched it. I didn't enjoy it as much as the above films yet it intrigued me more and is once again worth another viewing. Like someone said above, you are on constant edge throughout the film yet it isn't a standard horror movie.

So in conclusion, I find Lynch's work extremely satisfying and am craving more of his work. Seeing interviews with him just furthers my opinion that not only is he an acomplished director, but a fascinating individual and someone I would genuinely love to meet. Next viewings of his work shall be The Straight Story and Blue Velvet..