David Lynch's "Inland Empire" - 8/14/07 (1 Viewer)

[Richard--W]

I love everything David Lynch does. His films and his books. He's a surrealist, and a true artist. INLAND EMPIRE is a fine improvisation, but it doesn't engage me or move me the way MULHOLLAND DRIVE did. Perhaps because it's so loose and untidy. Often the angles on Laura Dern are unflattering. Always at a low angle looking up her nostrils. That bothered me.

I have difficulty suspending disbelief in movies that are about making movies. A film about film making draws attention to itself as a process, and all sense of dramatic tension dissipates into nothing. This is why the second half works better for me. Seeing Laura Dern as a bruised and strung out street prostitute is more connected to how people actually live, and Dern's performance feels grounded in these scenes. Then the camera pulls back to reveal the camera shooting the camera shooting the scene, and my empathy dissipates.

Julia Ormand's performance is highly charged emotionally. She conveys the feeling of risk, of danger. Why don't directors take more notice of her enormous talent. She's doing something interesting here, and I would have liked to see more of her.

 

[JonZ]

What a frustrating experience watching this film was.

For the record I loved Mulholland Drive(until the last scene) but I wouldnt put this in MD league. After a interesting beginning.... as said above just too bizarre and untidy.

Mulholland Drive you can make alot of sense from the last hour, this just seemed random. Just frustrating.

Favorite part of the movie was The Locomotion dance number.sigh.Laura Dern was pretty great though.

edit: I havent watched the deleted scenes yet.

 

[Jefty]

why on earth would you want a tidy movie?

 

[TonyD]

the movie was a mess = untidy.

 

[Clint_G]

I almost think this movie was a joke, intentionally nonsensical so that when people say that they "get it", Lynch can sit back and laugh. Because there really is nothing to get. It's series of scenes strewn together randomly and without meaning or purpose. Yes, I get the whole lowtech television look with the shots and the quality, but the story is still nonexistent.

Surprisingly, despite the waaaaay overlong runtime and the lack of any structure, I was fascinated by the movie and managed to finish it. I was curious more of where Lynch would go because I figured out pretty soon there would be nothing to learn from this movie. Might as well see where the ride goes, despite the ride itself being pretty pointless.