Review of Lost Highway by Lynch

After reading the screenplay I watched the film. It was a more intense, more aware viewing. I knew what some of the characters were going to say before they said it. I was more engaged in the film. Yet, I was still somewhat in the dark about what the film meant or how it made sense. Perhaps, like a surrealist masterpiece, it isn't supposed to make any sense. Perhaps I don't know enough about surrealism and film. Before I started my mini- film festival about David Lynch I was a committed realist following, so I thought in my inflated self-importance, the Italian neo-realist filmmakers like Rosselini, Visconti, and Fellini. Now, I've taken out some books from the library and will read a book about Surrealism and film. I'm sure they will discuss Lynch's films along with, hopefully, some discussion of Hitchcock films. And other films and filmmakers that I might not be aware of.

The film was great. I think it might be Lynch's best. The visuals are stunning at times. The narrative is gripping, totally a horror noir film if there ever was one.Similar to the screenplay the first half hour or so of the film is really gripping. I couldn't, even on the second viewing, pull myself away from it. The floating camera in the videotape is mesmerizing and Pullman puts in a great performance.

The last sequence is very good to. I was totally scared of the mystery man. Robert Blake was perfectly cast in that role. The visuals in that sequence are also a feast for the eyes. The fire, the lovemaking, the car, and, again, the mystery man. All compelling, all great.

The slowest part, where Mr. Eddy beats up the guy for tailgating, is a bit slow. Yet, I suppose, it creates fear of Mr. Eddy. Without that scene Mr. Eddy might not be so feared. The sight of him pistol whipping the tailgater creates a sense that he is a very violent man capable of brutality. This stays with us until the end when he gets it from Pullman or the Mystery Man.

I also like how the narrative appears circular. Pullman's character speaks the "Dick Laurent is dead" into the intercom. Pullman then hears the voice telling him that. It appears that the narrative is somehow overlapped. Somewhat confusing, yet compelling. I don't know if that is what Lynch is doing, making viewers confused, but it works. A total abstraction on film.