Inland Empire by David Lynch

vividorca5 said:And why such a headband? Haven't you heard that some people see a color leaning toward purple, while others see brown? What's so strange about that?

The film reminds me of Tarantino's work. Period.

To me, that blaxploitation vibe from the seventies feels a lot like Tarantino's "Jackie Brown".

Papak

Watched it.

There’s this whole school of thought claiming you should just "feel" Lynch's films rather than try to understand them. To me, that feels like the path of least resistance—I think his work has enough narrative structure that you can't just dismiss it as a series of random associations. Personally, I find it much more interesting to deconstruct the cognitive mechanics that allow that mosaic to take shape.

When looking at "Inland Empire," it seems to me the initial impulse behind such a project was the director's attempt to grasp the mental state of the film actress. This fits perfectly with how the plot begins—at the moment filming starts within the movie, the sense of cause and effect breaks down, mirroring the actress's own loss of self as she transforms into a film character. The actual process of filmmaking—which is inherently non-chronological—drives the disjointed nature of "Inland Empire" all the way to that final frame, where the actress has completely lost her identity and the character begins to live its own life.

Hmm.

It's actually a shame the theater screening doesn't start around 9:30 PM and run until after midnight; that would have made the concept feel complete.

northerncrane4 said:Watched it.

There’s this whole school of thought claiming you should just "feel" Lynch's films rather than try to understand them. To me, that feels like the path of least resistance—I think his work has enough narrative structure that you can't just dismiss it as a series of random associations. Personally, I find it much more interesting to deconstruct the cognitive mechanics that allow that mosaic to take shape.

When looking at "Inland Empire," it seems to me the initial impulse behind such a project was the director's attempt to grasp the mental state of the film actress. This fits perfectly with how the plot begins—at the moment filming starts within the movie, the sense of cause and effect breaks down, mirroring the actress's own loss of self as she transforms into a film character. The actual process of filmmaking—which is inherently non-chronological—drives the disjointed nature of "Inland Empire" all the way to that final frame, where the actress has completely lost her identity and the character begins to live its own life.

Hmm.

It's actually a shame the theater screening doesn't start around 9:30 PM and run until after midnight; that would have made the concept feel complete.

Is it tomorrow already? 😬

Anyway, I find that woman at the start of the film—the one watching everything unfold on TV—really fascinating. I'm starting to think the entire story is actually about her own issues and frustrations, which she just projects onto this "normal," "happy" actress. I might dive deeper into that later, but my brain is currently lacking both the time and the focus for it.

ruggedjackal46 said:Is it tomorrow already? 😬

Anyway, I find that woman at the start of the film—the one watching everything unfold on TV—really fascinating. I'm starting to think the entire story is actually about her own issues and frustrations, which she just projects onto this "normal," "happy" actress. I might dive deeper into that later, but my brain is currently lacking both the time and the focus for it.

Not just that—"It feels like it's 9:45 PM, when in reality, it might actually be past midnight." 😁

ruggedjackal46 said:Anyway, I find that woman at the start of the film who watches everything on TV quite interesting. I think the film is about her own problems and frustrations being projected onto the "normal" and "happy" film actress. I’d write more, but I’m short on both time and focus right now.

Exactly—you see it too. The identification of the imaginary viewer with the film actress.

I don't regret watching it, especially since I’d been looking forward to it for months, but honestly, this one felt a bit aimless. That said, Lynch didn't disappoint me. 😕

So, where does Lynch go from here? Are we moving toward full-blown experimental features, or is there some kind of massive pivot coming our way?
I'm dying to see how it all wraps up!

What can I actually say about the film?
If you aren't already a die-hard fan of Lynch's work, I don't think it's worth spending three hours on this.
And once again, we're dealing with themes of the space-time continuum.
I feel like that was more engaging when it was in LH, or even TP, and the whole Hollywood scene vibe actually landed much better for me in MD.
The music is still fantastic, and I still get a kick out of Lynch's weird little habits, like the tongue movements and those specific accents.

I found myself reading so much into everything.
"Oh, this is such an MD moment."
"Ugh, this totally reminds me of TP." —I had so many moments like that.
I even caught myself drifting from thinking about Kafka to wondering about Sleeping Beauty just a few minutes later. 🙄
It almost feels like this movie is a sort of synthesis of Lynch's entire body of work.
Or maybe I've heard that theory somewhere before?

I know I’d love to find a deep-dive study on the 'woman in Lynch's films.'

It falls into that category of his movies that I just don't have the urge to watch again.

My impressions are still a bit scattered since it's all so fresh.

The weakest link here—without question—is that digital video camera. It has its moments of charm, sure, but it looks absolutely pathetic during Lynch's trademark shots moving through narrow hallways. It’s just... ugly and flat. You could try to justify it conceptually, but it still feels lackluster to me. Maybe he only used it for specific sequences, though that would probably lean too heavily into Stone's visual mess of a style.

northerncrane4 said:Not just that—"It feels like it's 9:45 PM, when in reality, it might actually be past midnight." 😁

Exactly—you see it too. The identification of the imaginary viewer with the film actress.

Brrr, it's officially midnight, and that line just popped back into my head again. 😲

Oh, right, there it is. The identification of the imaginary viewer with the film actress.

It’s such a fascinating loop—summoning a film character through a TV character (a screen within a cinema screen) who immerses themselves in the role they're playing, until they identify with the character they're portraying, which eventually circles back to identifying with that very first character. 🙏

I don't know, I've sat through a few of his movies... honestly, you need a massive amount of patience and nerves of steel just to get through one. And even when you finish, you're often left wondering what on earth actually happened (unless you decide to go read some analysis online). I think he really overdoes it with the cryptic nonsense... especially with Mulholland Drive. I mean, seriously? Do I really need to go out and buy some supplemental material just to grasp the plot? Give me a break. Most likely, the guy didn't even know what kind of mess he was filming while he was on set, and then had to scramble later to invent an explanation for it. As for Eraserhead, don't even get me started—it's incredibly overrated. Sure, there might be some clever bits in there, but the whole thing is just excessive.
Personally, I'm more of a Scorsese type. A man stabs another in the neck and that's that. That's life. It isn't about all this pretentious artistic expression over every little thing.

Look, I honestly think Lynch is a director made specifically for true fans—those people who take pride in actually grasping his vision and want to show they get what he's doing.
The reason I love him is that he crafts these twisted fairy tales for adults. You just know that eventually, some gentle, uplifting music will swell, and there'll be some kind of happy ending... in that classic Lynchian way, of course.

Like I mentioned before, this particular film didn't really do much for me, but I have to say, his choice to shoot with a digital camera felt surprisingly fresh. It didn't bother me at all; if anything, watching those tight close-ups on the faces was pretty engaging.
I don't really agree with the idea that those shots—you know, those long, dark hallways—would have worked better with a "traditional" camera. To me, the digital look adds this extra layer of unease.

Oh, I forgot to mention—it feels like his obsession with transcendental meditation is bleeding right through this movie. A couple of times, I found myself trying to imagine what his actual stream of consciousness looks like while he's meditating.
I guess I ended up getting bored then.

Brenda Smith said:Look, I honestly think Lynch is a director made specifically for true fans—those people who take pride in actually grasping his vision and want to show they get what he's doing.
The reason I love him is that he crafts these twisted fairy tales for adults. You just know that eventually, some gentle, uplifting music will swell, and there'll be some kind of happy ending... in that classic Lynchian way, of course.

Like I mentioned before, this particular film didn't really do much for me, but I have to say, his choice to shoot with a digital camera felt surprisingly fresh. It didn't bother me at all; if anything, watching those tight close-ups on the faces was pretty engaging.
I don't really agree with the idea that those shots—you know, those long, dark hallways—would have worked better with a "traditional" camera. To me, the digital look adds this extra layer of unease.

Oh, I forgot to mention—it feels like his obsession with transcendental meditation is bleeding right through this movie. A couple of times, I found myself trying to imagine what his actual stream of consciousness looks like while he's meditating.
I guess I ended up getting bored then.

Haha, 😁 true regarding that... he really did end up becoming a merchant of messages, which is ironic considering how much he used to dread that very fate.

I don't get why he didn't just shoot this in decent HD... then he could've messed with it later and ruined it however he wanted based on what the scene needed. At least the video would be consistent and the image quality could actually look good where it matters. But whatever...

I didn't really notice this many horror vibes in his older stuff. Not saying the whole theme or anything, just those random, super creepy shots tossed in here and there. It wasn't this intense before. Honestly, not sure if I'm feeling it, even if it probably fits this specific film. 😁

As for "deciphering" the movie, I guess I'm just an average viewer. It's obvious there are some core ideas at play and Lynch follows them every now and then—it's not just about soaking up emotions—but that's still a huge part of the experience. To build any solid theories or explanations, I'd need to watch it way more times, and that's just not my thing. 😁 Not to mention the movie drags in spots; it could easily be thirty minutes shorter.

but hey, it's all about "everyone having their own opinion" and "freedom of speech." just wonderful 🙂

totally agree, placidlynx23, couldn't have put it better myself.😘

slyrider16 said:totally agree, placidlynx23, couldn't have put it better myself.😘

I just hope my previous comment came across with the heavy dose of sarcasm I intended. 🙂

placidlynx23 said:I just hope my previous comment came across with the heavy dose of sarcasm I intended. 🙂

Could it have even been taken any other way? 😉 (okay, off-topic rant over)

placidlynx23 said:but hey, it's all about "everyone having their own opinion" and "freedom of speech." just wonderful 🙂

Oh, goodness, placidlynx23, how on earth am I supposed to extract all that cyanide from your mouth? 😛
Why don't you enlighten us with your profound philosophy regarding art? 😘

Forgive me, I'm terribly bored and apparently tasked with saving the world. 😵

Kyle Watson8 said:Oh, goodness, placidlynx23, how on earth am I supposed to extract all that cyanide from your mouth? 😛
Why don't you enlighten us with your profound philosophy regarding art? 😘

Forgive me, I'm terribly bored and apparently tasked with saving the world. 😵

If that was directed at me, back in the day I would've just said, "I'm too allergic to stupidity to even bother reacting—I just ignore it."

Jaaaaaaaaniiiid, is that actually you? Where on earth have you been hiding? 😘

placidlynx23... you didn't grasp anything, and you certainly didn't get Lynch.