David Lynch's Inland Empire (2006)

 The jury will never return
You have probably gathered by now that this is a surrealist film in David Lynch's most extreme style. (I should probably say watching it is a surreal experience as it probably isn't strictly a surrealist film).

The imagination, drama, and power for which we love his work is all there. And so is the mystery, in spades. If you thought Mulholland Drive was hard to understand or, in simpler English, didn't make sense, you ain't seen nuffin' till you've watched this one.

The typical comment of artists when facing an enquiry of something hard to understand is to declare the question invalid. There's nothing to understand, it just is. But everything has to have some standard against which it can be judged. If it isn't supposed to mean anything, if the plot isn't supposed to make sense, if there is no answer to the question whether a certain incident is a scene from the film within the film or a scene in the actress's "inland empire" of the mind, then there must be some other route to appreciation or coherence. If I tell you I had a weird dream, and proceed to list a meaningless series of random events, that won't be very interesting to you. It may be interesting if I succeed in showing how those events are symbolic for actual conflicts in my life.

So the question we need to ask is whether the lack of narrative is justified, whether all this weirdness, mystery and incoherence actually achieves anything. Does it add up to some real insight about this unfortunate lady's mind or does it just tell us that she was as deranged as we feel on leaving the cinema? In the case of Mulholland Drive I was in no doubt the answer was yes, it was justified. You couldn't express the events of the film as a logical narrative but you felt that the strangeness pointed the way to an understanding of what Lynch was trying to say.

My question is by definition very hard to answer. It may be worth watching the film just to try to answer it. (But bearing in mind how long and slow it is, that's not certain). In my view the case for Inland Empire is much weaker than Mulholland Drive. Mulholland Drive was definitely a good film, and one that rewarded a second viewing. After watching Inland Empire I was unconvinced. Maybe a second viewing would have convinced me, but I didn't feel like watching it again.
April 29, 2008

 Lynch as only Lynch can be...
I absolutely loved this film! Some of the reviews I had read before seeing this film made me think it might be a rather tedious, pointless affair from start to finish. However, it was nothing like that. I was transfixed from beginning to end, and when it was all done I found myself delighted. Once again, David Lynch has outdone himself, and for anyone who claims to love his earlier films, I would be very surprised if you didn't enjoy this one. Highly highly recommended! April 28, 2008

 Four Stars for Audacity
Inland Empire is perhaps the most obtuse movie David Lynch has made since Eraserhead. In many ways it is a triumph of the imagination and admirable for its total disregard of Hollywood convention. However, this is the first Lynch film (and I've seen them all) where my attention began to lag and my fingers were sorely tempted by the fast-forward button. Although this movie contains a plethora of dark and wonderful elements, the whole does not equal the sum of the parts. I think the ultimate problem is the story lacks a compelling central character. About halfway through the movie I ceased to care what happened to Laura Dern, in any of her incarnations. Also, while the movie is laden with the sense of mystery and forboding that is a Lynch trademark, it quickly loses any effect because there is never any payoff. Inland Empire is in many ways a summary of every theme or device Lynch has employed in the past. Until he creates his next masterpiece, it will have to do. April 13, 2008

 Too Long
Three solid hours of nonsensical, esoteric allusions to reincarnation. It grapples with the deep truth that our current lives can be likened to a needle stuck in a record groove as our dormant spirits go through life in a vulgar body entriely unaware that we are treading the same doomed path we have trod time and time before; only in this film Laura Dern seems to lose the comfort of that unawareness and all her lives start playing out at once.

It is so abstract and goes on for so long it gets nigh on impossible to enjoy. Also, much like Twin Peaks, it offers no hope or positive energy, only an overwhelming sense of the all-consuming, dark void over which we have no control, making for a very bleak and unforgiving experience.

Not one to watch on a Saturday night with a bowl of popcorn. March 29, 2008

 Baffling, Confusing, Incomprehensible
Truly the most challenging movie I've ever seen. I was baffled and confused. Why couldn't I understand what was going on? Where was the plot? WHAT was the plot? The movie seemed to be about something, and then it wasn't. It was moody, atomospheric, dreamlike, surreal, and extemely disturbing. I was intrigued at first, and then finally, in the end, just angry for wasting so much of my time and energy on it. I searched for the meaning of it, and read some things that helped me, although not much. But seriously if one has to go through all that trouble to make any sense of a film they just watched---well, then this is the perfect film for you! Good luck and don't say you weren't warned. March 28, 2008

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