[.ca] Inland Empire

Amazon.ca:
Though Inland Empire's three hours of befuddling abstraction could try the patience of the most devoted David Lynch fan, its aim to reinvigorate the Lynch-ian symbolic order is ambitious, not to mention visually arresting. The director's archetypes recognizable from previous movies once again construct the film's inherent logic, but with a new twist. Sets vibrate between the contemporary and a 1950s alternate universe crammed with dim lamps, long hallways, mysterious doors, sparsely furnished rooms and, this time, a vortex/apartment/sitcom set where rabbit-masked humans dwell, and a Polish town where women are abused and killed. Instead of speaking backwards, mystic soothsayers and criminals speak Polish. Filmed on video, the film's look has the sinister, frightening feel of a Mark Savage film or a bootlegged snuff movie. Constant close-ups, both in and out of focus, make Inland Empire feel as if a stalker covertly filmed it. A straightforward, hokey plot unravels during the first third of Inland Empire to ground the viewer before a dive off the deep end. Actor Nikki Grace (Laura Dern) is cast as Susan Blue, an adulterous white trash Southerner, in a film that mimics too closely her actual life with an overbearingly jealous and dangerous husband. When Nikki and co-star Devon (Justin Theroux) learn that the cursed film project was earlier abandoned when its stars were murdered, the pair lose their grasp of reality. Nikki suffers a schizophrenic identity switch to Sue that lasts until nearly the film's end. Suspense builds as Nikki's alter ego sleuths her way through surreal situations to discover her killer, culminating in Sue's gnarly death on set. Sue's actions drag on because any sign of a narrative thread disappears due to idiosyncratic editing. Non-sensical scenes still captivate, however, such as when Sue stumbles onto the soundstage where she finds Nikki (herself) rehearsing for Sue's part. In this meta-film about identity slippage, Dern's multiple characters remind one of how a victim can become the hunter in their fight for survival. Lynch's portrayal of Nikki/Sue's increasing paranoia is, in its own confusion, utterly realistic. Laura Dern has created her own Lady Macbeth, undone by her guilt over infidelity. Even though Inland Empire is too long and too random, Laura Dern's performance coupled with Lynch's video experiments make it magical. --Trinie Dalton More Films from David Lynch Wild At Heart Mulholland Drive Blue Velvet Stills from Inland Empire (click for larger image)

Inland Empire and Life - Open Your Eyes and Mind:
You will have your eyes wide open from start to finish. You will enjoy the rich, texturized experience, unless you are shallow and need all the answers, right here, right now. Really, do you need all the answers? This a beautiful film, and thus a piece of artwork. Lynch is a painter, and here again we see his art. He refuses to do "commentaries" because he believes you should be able to understand a film in your own way. This film has so much, that it can be difficult to watch. You can see yourself, and also your other self that may have been, or perhaps in another universe. There is more to our world that what our small philosophies can imagine. Time and space are not handed to you on a silver platter with a clock and a ruler in this film; Lynch's mind works differently, thank goodness, and we can move beyond the straight lines and dumb plotlines of TV and other movies that have become blockbusters (the rabbits in Inland Empire seem to epitomize this mentality). I enjoyed this film much more the second time I watched it, and I am looking forward to seeing it again, for I see something new and amazing in it, that stirs me every time I see it.

No pleasure to watch, but still lingers in the mind:
Watching "Mulholland drive" had given me hope that, eventually, all the loose ends would tidy up and make sense. Instead it went the other way. I had the opposite experience from watching "Inland empire". From the beginning, it seemed that none of it was going to make sense at all, and it was only near the end that I had hope that I would be able to make sense of the story. But of course that didn't happen. This isn't a pleasurable movie to watch. It feels like Lynch is having a private joke at your expense. The only part I truly enjoyed watching was the ending credits, and I don't mean that in a cynical way, they were fun to watch (basically a "Sinnerman" video a la Lynch). That being said, once it's over, the movie lingers in your mind. So if your pleasure lies in thinking about a movie once it's over, this is for you. If you prefer being entertained while watching a movie, this isn't for you.

Lynch-an addled over-rated egomaniac:
Torturously long, ridiculously inconsistent, a film only a film student could say they loved. The Nina Simone song during the closing credits is fantastic but do yourself a favour and buy one of Simone's CDs.

Ingrown Empire Needs Lancing:
I am inspired by your teaser to write. That someone would call this film "magical", is a stretch. If by "magical", you mean you can make it disappear, then yes, it was magical. Please make it go away, was what I wanted to say as I struggled to watch this; I ended up fast forwarding through the film as the throbbing of my headache became worse. It was a type of torture that I would not recommend to anyone. By using digital video, Lynch may have saved enough money to afford a cinematographer next time. The stills look interesting, but it helps to have a little bit of light when making a film. Otherwise it is a radio play. David Lynch has made many brilliant movies, but this is like an ingrown hair. Lance it before flesh eating disease ensues.

"Three hours of befuddling abstraction" is 100% correct.:
I just finished watching this tedious film all the time hoping something would eventually come together. Even re-reading "Amazon.ca's Product Description" didn't help much. I've been a fan of David Lynch since 1976's Eraserhead. Fingers crossed his next film will be a keeper. As always Laura Dern's performance was outstanding.