Summary:
A young man discovers a severed human ear which leads him on an investigation that could uncover a dark underworld that dwells beneath the seemingly perfect streets of Lumberton.
My Thoughts:
I think any cinephile who is a fan of bizarre films has a special place in their heart for David Lynch (“Eraserhead”, “The Elephant Man”); I know I certainly do. I find Lynch’s most popular films to be wonderfully meditative waltzes through the metaphysical. We might not understand what it is exactly Lynch is trying to say with every frame (because sometimes the things he’s trying to define the undefinable), but we get the overall point he’s trying to make, and that’s enough. Lynch tends to deal with huge, universal themes, so as a viewer, once we grasp the point he’s trying to make, we’re often left with much to think on even after the end of the credits. For some viewers, this ambiguity can be frustrating, but for others it’s exactly why we return to Lynch’s movies.
I want to be left with questions; I want films to keep me awake at night and have me running over theories in my head; I want great films to affect me as if I’d lost someone close to me.
“Mulholland Drive” and “Eraserhead” were certainly some of those movies for me. “Mulholland Drive” is fairly simple to understand, but I’m sure there are dozens of ways to interpret it, and, if I’m being honest, it’s probably my favorite Lynch film. “Eraserhead” is a film that, despite the fact I’m not 100% sure what actually happens at the end, I absolutely love it, mostly because of the fact that it’s disquieting and confusing. I’ve thought about scenes from “Eraserhead” from multiple angels; I’ve had discussions with more than five people who all have different theories as to what certain things mean, but no one has ever been able to completely convince me of their theories… “Eraserhead” and “Mulholland Drive” are some of the weirdest, greatest, and most intriguing films ever made, and this film, “Blue Velvet” is just ‘good’ when compared to the others.
“It’s a Strange World”
After his father winds up in the hospital, college student Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan, “Dune (1984)”) comes home to visit. When he’s walking in a field he stumbles upon a severed human ear and takes it to the police department where he meets Detective Williams (George Dickerson, “Psycho II”). In trying to learn more about the case, Jeffrey visits Detective Williams’ home and, while he’s there, he meets Sandy Williams (Laura Dern, “Jurassic Park”). Though Detective Williams refuses to let Jeffrey in on the case, Sandy overheard some of the details from her bedroom, and gives Jeffrey a lead. Soon Jeffrey finds himself mixed up in the underbelly of Lumberton, dealing with people like Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini, “Incredibles 2”) and Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper, “Easy Rider”).
As I said above, “Blue Velvet” is, in my opinion, a good film, but it didn’t have the effect as “Mulholland” and “Eraserhead”. I feel like this film is Lynchian-lite; there are moments when Lynch’s weirdness really shines through, but for the most part, this feels remarkably tame compared to what I’m used to seeing from him.
I did really enjoy the overall story. “Velvet” feels like a noir thriller from the 40s or 50s; even Lumberton itself feels like those picturesque 50s postcards we see with nuclear families, beaming brightly as if to broadcast to the world that “Nothing could ever go wrong in the rural small towns of America!” I would say feels more similar in style to “Mulholland Drive” than it does many of Lynch’s other films. It has the same amateur-noir plotline; a pair of would-be lovers find themselves wrapped up in a weird and dark underworld, and as they pull one loose thread the whole world around them starts to unravel. This film feels deals with a bit more sexual content than “Mulholland”, and the overall content is a bit more sinister and uncomfortable (though, strangely, the atmosphere in “Mulholland” is far more foreboding- my guess is because the elderly couple and the homeless person behind Winkie’s were a far more vague and ominous threat- their characters could be ascribed more meaning).
Lynch did receive a Best Director Oscar nod for this film, and even though this is not my favorite of his films, I believe that nomination is earned in this picture. He is able to weave deeper meaning through recurring motifs (primarily bugs, grass, trees, and robins). Without saying anything explicitly, Lynch crafts an world that feels as if everything is perfect on the surface (at times represented by lush green grass or the canopy in the trees), but hiding just beneath the surface of the seemingly perfect world is a whole host of revoltingly evil things (represented by beetles and Frank Booth and his cronies). (Mild Spoilers Follow) As the story continues, robins are introduced as a symbol of love, so the final shot- a robin holding a beetle in its mouth- is meant to represent that love can conquer that evil that dwells beneath the surface. I do have to say that this theme feels a touch cheesy, especially considering some of the truly disgusting things we’ve witnessed from Frank and his friends, but the ending does sort of feel earned. Love might conquer evil, but evil puts up one heck of a fight.
I think my biggest thing about this Lynch film in particular was that it really didn’t leave me much to think on; he had made most of the conclusions for me. When I come to the end of “Mulholland” or “Eraserhead”, I find myself still searching for answers and pondering certain scenes. In “Blue Velvet” the story has pretty much been told in full. As the great Russian director Andrey Tarkovsky said in his book Sculpting in Time; “When less than everything has been said about a subject, you can still think on further. The alternative is for the audience to be presented with a final deduction, for no effort of their part, and that is not what they need. What can it mean to them when they have not shared with the author the misery and joy of bringing an image into being?”
Verdict:
I did enjoy this film, and I think for people who are just getting into Lynch, this might be a good place to start. If I had seen this film before “Mulholland Drive” or “Eraserhead” I probably would’ve liked it a lot more, but as it stands, I think this is just a good addition to Lynch’s oeuvre; it’s by no means the pique of his career.
Review Written By: