I loved it. I've been a fan forever so it's not an unbiased opinion but now that Lynch is using DV you can't even think of him going back to film. All those people whining about how beautiful his prior films were are totally missing the point. It's like comparing a Bosch to a Pollock. The way he shot INLAND EMPIRE is probably where his career was leading to. Laura Dern is fantastic. She plays about 5 different characters in this film. And even so, Grace Zabriskie steals her scene in the initial moments of the movie. The ending, a kind of whirligig tribute to both Nikki/Sue's and Lynch's subconscious is truly beautiful. See how many shoutouts David has placed in this scene to familiar Lynchian icons.
The movie has been getting mixed reviews. Most unfavorable ones comment on the 'cheap' look of the video. (Warning: the link prior is to a reviewer who reviews as a hobby, but it's representative of a lot of bad writing about film these days.) This argument is probably the most ridiculous thing I hear about DV-shot films. Filmmakers who understand digital video can use cheap cameras to create atmospheres that are impossible with 35mm. We have been conditioned by TV and even the frame-rate of video to see reality in a certain way. 35mm cannot do that- especially for a film about the actual film world in all its ugly hegemony and banality, (Hollywood, duh.) The medium totally serves the story. The scenes with the almost Nativity Star-like transitions (which push the video camera's chip into some sort of whacked-out digital burn) are gorgeous. The whole film has a weird, "old" Hollywood feel- Lynch likens it to old 35mm technology that inadequately represented colors. If you cannot 'get' the tawdry, yellowed digital look and why it makes the film feel MORE real than the fantasy looks of films like Lost Highway and Mulholland Dr. then I dont know how to help you. If anything, this film ruthlessly exposes the lack of true film criticism in this country. American film critics just don't seem to have the tools to approach a film like INLAND EMPIRE. Oh well... as always, we can just ignore them and enjoy the cinema! ;-)
No comments:
Post a Comment