Here's
one of these polarizing movies you either love or hate. I guess I
fit inot the former category, though I must admit Lynch has never
impressed me in the slightest in any other outing. This is one of
those rare exceptions where almost everything seemed to fit into
place without going too far overboard into surreality.
The story revolves around a young man who finds a severed ear in a field. He takes it to the police but his own thirst for knowledge and mystery leads him to take matters into his own hands. He decides to investigate and it leads him into the apartment of a depraved woman whose need to be loved and debased at the same time causes conflicts within him. He wants to help her escape her captor, who has kidnapped her husband and son, but she won't allow him to try. Soon he gets too involved, not only with her, but with his investigation and soon finds himself having to try to save himself.
With a
Hitchcockian theme and Lynch's unabashed mastery of the weird and
perverse, this is a wholly unique and quite entertaining flick from
the bizarro world. Definitely not for all tastes, but for those who
don't mind their tales thoroughly twisted, it's about as fun a
journey as you could hope for. Hopper is phenomenal as is
Rossellini, giving their all in probably the best roles of their
careers. Lynch's direction meshes with his surprisingly adept
screenplay with perfection, and some genuinely funny and genuinely
disturbing moments fill the screen, and often at the same time.
Bold, audacious, and beguiling. It's too bad Lynch spent most of the
next few years trying to outweird himself. Great entertainment (for
some).
Back to
Qwipster's Movie Reviews
<