Wild at Heart and Weird on Top: A Tribute to David Lynch

I discovered that if one looks a little closer at this beautiful world, there are always red ants underneath. —David Lynch

Writer-director Lynch confronts the concept of suburban Americana through the wholesome Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) and his unwitting descent into the nocturnal underworld of nightclubs, unspeakable violence, and seedy criminals. Dennis Hopper reignited his career with his turn as psychopath Frank Booth, whose twisted relationship with lounge singer Dorothy Vallens—a captivating Isabella Rossellini, playing against type—becomes an obsession for Jeffrey, to the distress of his chaste girlfriend, Sandy Williams (Laura Dern). A profound and disturbing opus—Lynch’s fourth feature, for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Director—reveals society's seamy side, a topic that fascinated Lynch throughout his career.

When jazz saxophonist Fred Madison (Bill Pullman) and his wife, Renee (Patricia Arquette), begin receiving unsettling VHS tapes delivered to their doorstep, the mystery of the tapes’ origins and contents distort the foundation of their relationship. While developing the script with cowriter Barry Gifford, Lynch wanted to tell a story of psychogenic fugue, an experience so traumatic that victims forget parts of their identity. Lynch once said that “it takes a lot longer to appreciate LA than a lot of cities because it’s so spread out and every area has its own mood.” This first film in the director’s unofficial Los Angeles trilogy brilliantly illustrates the city’s intrinsic enigmas.

Spirited ingénue Betty Elms (Naomi Watts) sets off to Hollywood with dreams of stardom. When she arrives, she comes upon a mysterious woman, Rita (Laura Elena Harring), overcome with amnesia following a car accident. As they investigate Rita’s identity, they discover the dark underbelly of the film industry. Lynch was inspired to pay tribute to the titular drive, saying that one can feel the city’s history driving through the winding road that stretches from the Hollywood Hills to the Santa Monica Mountains. For his skillful orchestration of the film’s complex plot and distinct tone, Lynch was nominated for Directing at the 74th Oscars.

Lynch’s final feature-length project is also his most ambitious, self-referential, and hands-on project since his debut film, Eraserhead. Shot on a Sony digital camera operated by Lynch, edited at his home on Final Cut Pro, and with additional contributions to the film’s sound design, mixing, and sets, Inland Empire also represents a remarkable collaboration between the filmmaker and Laura Dern, with whom he worked closely to achieve her raw, harrowing performance. Lynch described the film as one about “a woman in trouble,” a phrase both simple and evocative of a deeper danger and mystery, hinting at all women’s experiences of navigating a terrifying world.  

Lynch said most of his movies were inspired by The Wizard of Oz, but he references the classic film most intentionally in this adaptation of Barry Gifford’s novel, working in visual nods to the ruby-red slippers, the Witch of the East’s black pointed shoes, and even dialogue about the yellow brick road. The writer-director’s homage to L. Frank Baum’s fantastical story follows Lula Fortune (Laura Dern) and Sailor Ripley (Nicolas Cage), two lovers reunited after Sailor serves time for manslaughter. On a California road trip that breaks Sailor’s parole, the couple encounters obstacles and characters who interfere with destiny—a journey Lynch described as “finding love in Hell.”