Bastard Out of Carolina

Based on Dorothy Allison’s novel, Bastard Out of Carolina is the story of a young woman’s illegitimate daughter who becomes a victim of the physical and sexual abuse of her stepfather during the 1950s in rural South Carolina. Directed by acclaimed actress Anjelica Huston in her directorial debut with a teleplay by Anne Meredith, the TV-film explores a woman’s struggle to love her husband while dealing with her daughter’s abuse as her family watches in horror. Starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ron Eldard, Glenne Headly, Dermont Mulroney, Grace Zabriskie, Diana Scarwid, Lyle Lovett, Susan Traylor, Michael Rooker, and in film debut, Jena Malone along with narration by Laura Dern. Bastard Out of Carolina is a harrowing and heartbreaking film from Anjelica Huston.

After giving birth to her first baby in a state of unconsciousness, following a car accident, and then losing her first husband (Dermont Mulroney) before the birth of second child. The life of Anney Boatwright (Jennifer Jason Leigh) has been a difficult one as she’s raising two young girls in Reece (Lindley Mayer) and Ruth Anne (Jena Malone), who is also called Bone, while living with her mother (Grace Zabriskie) and surrounded by a close though dysfunctional family. When her brother Earl (Michael Rooker) introduces Anney to Glen Waddell (Ron Eldard), Anney is smitten by Glen as the two start a relationship though Anney’s mother isn’t sure about the relationship while knowing that Glen comes from a very rich family.

After the two wed and Anney is expecting another child, things seem to go well until one night when Glen is waiting in the car with Reece and Bone as he wakes Bone up and molests her. Bone becomes confused over what happened as the child Anney gave birth to died stillborn as she and Glen move to various places as Glen struggles to hold down a job. During a visit to the home of Glen’s father (Pat Hingle) where things go wrong, Glen later takes out all of his frustrations on Bone as she would have to endure countless abuse until a doctor asks Anney about what’s going on. Bone, Reece, and Anney stay temporarily with Anney’s sister Alma (Susan Traylor) and her husband Wade (Lyle Lovett) until Glen asks Anney to come home.

When Anney’s older sister Ruth (Glenne Headly) falls ill, Bone is asked to help take care of her, Ruth wants to know what is going on with Glen as she asks Bone about what he’s been doing to her. Bone couldn’t muster up the courage to tell as she returns home to endure another beating as Earl and her aunt Raylene (Diana Scarwid) find out what Glen did to Bone. Earl and Raylene let Bone stay at Raylene’s river home as another family crisis involving Alma brings the family together. When Bone tells her mother that she won’t come because of Glen, Anney finds herself torn between her love for both Glen and Bone.

Films about child abuse can often lead to sentimental and very overwrought ideas but this film is not about child abuse. Instead, it’s about a woman torn between the devotion of her new husband who loves and cares for her though he also has a temper and acts like a grown child. The other thing that this woman loves is her eldest yet illegitimate daughter as she had grown up without a real father figure though she was able to be loved by a man who was later killed in an accident. For this woman, she is desperate to have a man in her life away from her mother and her rural background. Yet, she also has her daughter whom she loves so much but couldn’t bear to see her be harmed in such a gruesome way.

Anne Meredith’s teleplay definitely goes into depths of what Anney Boatwright is going through as she had someone who loved her but then died right away as she hopes to find someone who can get her out of the environment she lives in. While Anney has a family that does love and care for her, despite being quite dysfunctional, she needs a man to be with her so she wouldn’t have to take care of her tired mother. While Glen isn’t a complete bad man, he is earnest in his love for Anney and Reese while is also a victim of abuse from the way his father treats him. Due to what he’s gone through, Glen is forced to take out all of his anger and yearning to be loved by abusing Bone.

The narration, that is told by Laura Dern as the older Bone, has Bone reflecting on the misfortune of her entire life as due to the confusion of her birth certificate, Bone was certified a bastard from the day she was born. Though Anney wants to do good for Bone, her devotion to Glen makes Bone feel more on the outs as she clings to the people in her extended family such as the spiritual Ruth, the playful Earl, and the hardened but wise Raylene. Since she feels like Glen doesn’t love her at all and going through all of this abuse, Bone becomes a much more weary and grounded child that has lost her innocence. Through all of this, she becomes more confused into why her mother would still be in love with a man that would do a thing to her.

Anne Meredith’s script gives director Anjelica Huston the chance to create a film that doesn’t stray into the conventions of TV movies while allowing herself to get her hands dirty in exploring its subject matter. Huston’s direction has a wonderful sense of intimacy for a lot of the dramatic scenes while some of it is very eerie. Notably the scene where Bone is being molested for the first time as Huston has the camera solely focused on Bone. Huston knows what to do while not making it too graphic as she also keeps some of the scenes simple in the way she presents the film. Overall, it is an impressive directorial debut from Anjelica Huston.

Cinematographer Anthony B. Richmond does an excellent job with the photography as it‘s straightforward though is set in a very gray time as it‘s shot on location in North Carolina. Richmond also creates some amazing shots and shadings to emphasize the dark tone of the film for scenes of Bone dealing with everything around her. Editor Eva Gardos does a wonderful job with the editing to maintain a leisured pace to the film while doing a few rhythmic cuts to play up some of the intense drama and heightened moments in the film.

Production designers Nelson Coates and Van Broughton Ramsey, along with set decorator Burton Rencher, do great work with the art direction to play up the world of rural South Carolina in its poor, working class environment that many of the characters live in. Ramsey’s work on the costume design is superb to play up that poor look with its very casual yet grimy clothing while making some stylish clothes such as Anney‘s waitress dress. Sound editor David Hankins does a nice job with the sound to play up the sparse intimacy of the homes that Bone goes to as well as a few scenes to liven things up for its large ensemble cast.

The film’s score by Van Dyke Parks is pretty good for its haunting yet dramatic orchestral score to play up some of the harrowing moments of the film. The music soundtrack that is supervised by Robin Urdang features an array of old-school 1950s gospel and country music that features pieces from Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, the Carter Family, George Jones, Wanda Jackson, and Blind Willie Johnson as the music pieces selected for the film is a major highlight.

The casting of John Brace and Linda Lowy is brilliant as they created what is truly an amazing ensemble cast. Small but notable appearances include Dermont Mulroney as Anney’s kind first husband Lyle, Richard Todd Sullivan as Ruth’s husband Travis, Christina Ricci as Ruth’s teenage daughter Dee Dee, and Pat Hingle as Glen’s spiteful father. Other notable small but memorable roles include Lindley Mayer as Bone’s younger sister Reece, Lyle Lovett as Bone’s uncle Wade, Susan Traylor as the no-nonsense Alma, and Grace Zabriskie as Anney’s tough and suspicious mother who has mixed feelings about Glen early on.

Glenne Headly is very good as Bone’s saintly yet lively aunt Ruth who tries to get everyone to feel good while becoming very concerned about Bone during her illness. Diana Scarwid is excellent as aunt Raylene, a wise yet grounded woman who takes Bone in while trying to make understanding of everything Bone has gone through. Michael Rooker is wonderful as Bone’s uncle Earl who is a fun guy that loves his niece while being the only true male protector she has when dealing with Glen. Ron Eldard is great in a terrifying performance as Glen, an immature man who truly loves Anney yet harbors great resentment towards Bone as Eldard truly brings a complexity to a man that hates this young girl for making Anney choose between him and her.

Jennifer Jason Leigh is superb as Anney, a woman that has experienced loss and turmoil as she is desperate to hold on to the man that loves while being tormented by the fact that he abuses her daughter. Leigh’s performance is definitely harrowing for the fact that this woman is in complete conflict while she doesn’t make Anney a character to despise for the decisions that she makes. Finally, there’s Jena Malone in her feature-film debut as it is truly one of the most outstanding debut performances for any actress. Malone brings a wide range ideas into her role as someone who can be very charming and witty in light-hearted scenes while showing that she’s capable of being very engaging in darker scenes. Though she was only 10 when she did the film, it is truly a performance for the ages for the way she exudes all of the anguish and emotional turmoil that Bone goes through as it’s a mesmerizing yet heartbreaking performance from Jena Malone.

Bastard Out of Carolina is a marvelous though unsettling TV-film from Anjelica Huston that features a great ensemble cast led by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jena Malone. It’s not an easy film to watch due to its subject matter and the fact that Huston doesn’t hold things back in terms of its dark themes. Bastard Out of Carolina is a sensational yet eerie film from Anjelica Huston.

© thevoid99 2011

My Own Private Idaho (Expanded Criterion DVD Review)

Originally Written and Composed at Epinions.com on 1/28/05 w/ Additional Edits, New Content, & a New Conclusion.

After the success of his 1989 breakthrough film Drugstore Cowboy, Gus Van Sant was becoming one of most promising filmmakers in American Independent Cinema. The success of Drugstore Cowboy led to Van Sant to re-release his 1985 debut film Mala Noche as he was ready to work on his next project. With the emergence of New Queer Cinema that included such future indie film icons like Gregg Araki and Todd Haynes, Van Sant decided to put his hand into the scene with a story inspired by a song by the B-52s and some of the work of William Shakespeare's Henry IV for surreal, melancholic road film My Own Private Idaho.

Written and directed by Van Sant with some text inspired by Shakespeare's Henry IV, the film is about a rebellious heir who slums himself into the seedy gay hustling scene in Portland as he meets a moody, narcoleptic hustler who is trying to find love and the mother he hadn't seen for years. After hanging around with fellow hustlers and a homeless guru, the two young men wonder about their own homosexual feelings while going to Idaho and then to Italy to find one of the young men's mother only to find something else. Starring the late River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, James Russo, William Richert, Udo Kier, Rodney Harvey, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, Grace Zabriskie, and Chiara Caselli, My Own Private Idaho is a brilliant, heartbreaking film of alienation and youth.

For the young narcoleptic hustler Mike Waters (River Phoenix), hustling for money as a male, homosexual hooker hasn’t been easy, especially with the stress of his life leads him to fall into deep sleeps. One day in Seattle, he is approached by a rich woman named Alena (Grace Zabriskie) to come to her house for sexual matters with two other hustlers including Gary (Rodney Harvey) and Scott Favor (Keanu Reeves). After falling a sleep on the job, Scott takes Mike outside of the house where he will be waited the next morning by their German friend Hans (Udo Kier). Mike knows Scott since Scott is the mayor's son who is about to collect a large inheritance at the age of 21. Scott chooses to rebel against his upper-class upbringing to find more meaning in the life of gay-hustling.

After catching up with Mike in Portland, Scott and Gary wait for their friend and spiritual leader Bob (William Richert) who is accompanied by his hysterical sidekick Budd (Flea). Bob is hoping for Scott to get his inheritance to help them out of their homeless, dreary lifestyle as a whole gang of hustlers live in an abandoned hotel. After a bust on some men that was later pulled as a joke by Mike and Scott, the two stolen a motorcycle where Mike talks about the mother he hadn't seen in years. After meeting his father (Tom Troupe) on the discussion of his inheritance, Scott decides to kill time to help Mike find his mother. They go to Idaho where they meet Mike's older brother Richard (James Russo) who not only reveals a dark family secret but also the strange whereabouts of their mother. During their trip to see Richard, Mike falls for Scott but Scott isn't sure if men are supposed to be in love with each other

Mike and Scott drive to a hotel where Mike's mother last worked where the hotel manager tells them that she left for Italy as they bump into Hans. After a night that involved one of Hans' old records and sex, Scott sells the motorcycle to Hans as they use the money to go to Rome to find Mike's mother. Arriving at Rome where they go to the Italian countryside, Scott meets and falls for a young Italian woman named Carmella (Chiara Caselli) who reveals that Mike's mother had already left some time ago back to America. Heartbroken with not finding his mother and Scott's newfound love for Carmella, Mike leaves to Rome while Scott returns to America. After Mike returns to Portland, he learns of Scott's true intentions of the inheritance and his own livelihood in his disintegrating state through drug addiction.

While My Own Private Idaho was intended to be a film about homosexuality and its alienation, Van Sant found something that a straight audience even the disaffected youth of the early 90s can relate to. Using Shakespeare's Henry IV as a reference, some of the film's dialogue is very Shakespearean in its tone, notably the character of Bob as he talks with Scott about the inheritance. The film also has elements of a road film and a buddy comedy while it sexuality isn't really about gays in particular but also the view point of how a straight man would feel about homosexuality and its desire for love. Van Sant's screenplay is very potent and filled with some heartbreaking moments, notably the third act where we see the emotional disintegration of Mike. The directing style that Van Sant puts out is very diverse and there's definitely an element of Fellini in some of the dream sequences that Mike has as he sees a house falling down or him staring at the road. The ideas that Van Sant puts out are very surreal yet very powerful images.

Many of the film's dreamy images are done by the work of cinematographers John J. Campbell and Eric Alan Edwards where both men give specific looks and images in many of the film's road scenes. The American sequences are spectacular in its dreamy scales while the sequences in Italy have a different tone and look where the movie is given a broad outlook. The production design of work of David Brisbin and Ken Hardy also shows contrast into Scott's social upbringing and the downtrodden look of Portland while having some weird colors and lighting in the hotel scene with Udo Kier along with the costumes of Beatrix Aruna Pasztor. The film is nicely-paced thanks Curtiss Clayton's editing that includes a few jump-cut sequences in some of the love scenes. The film's music includes a diverse style of cuts from pop songs like Madonna and Elton John to some Euro-pop cuts from Udo Kier, a track by the Pogues and River Phoenix's band Aleka's Attic, and some country stuff by Bruce K. Buskirk and "Cattle Call" by Eddy Arnold.

The film's wonderfully diverse cast is filled with some stand out performances like the late Rodney Harvey as one of Mike and Scott's hustling companions and Flea as Bob's hysterically funny sidekick. Grace Zabriskie also stands out in the film as the kinky, motherly client that pursues Mike while Udo Kier is the film's big standout with his European demeanor and performance art charm. Chiara Caselli is wonderful in the role of Scott's would-be lover Carmella with her underlying innocence and beauty. James Russo is excellent as Mike's older brother who tries to help Mike away from drugs and his own narcolepsy while William Richert brings a great supporting performance as the spiritual guru Bob with his Shakespearean dialogue and tone that gives the movie a sense of idiosyncrasy and originality.

While many have often criticized and made fun of Keanu Reeves as a wooden actor, Reeves actually gives his best performance as the role of Scott Favor. For those who remember Reeves in films like River's Edge and Permanent Record know that Reeves had the ability to be a wonderful dramatic actor and in My Own Private Idaho, he fulfills that easily. Reeves gives a sense of compassion and charm early in the film as he cares for River Phoenix in many scenes that are heartwarming with the two carrying on with great chemistry. Then as the film progresses and once we see his intentions, we see a restraint in him in the Shakespearean tone he talks in during his scenes with Richert which is why Kenneth Branagh wanted him for his 1993 film adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Though Reeves has become a very bland actor in recent years thanks to the widely overrated Matrix films, it's very easy to forget that he had the potential to be really good and My Own Private Idaho shows it.

The film's most soulful and probably now, the most saddest performance goes to River Phoenix as Mike Waters. Phoenix brings in a very complex and versatile performance that can almost be described as iconic yet very troubled. Phoenix delivers a vulnerability and compassion into a role that is almost heroic with his motivation to find love and a family but often succumbs to his own flaws and his desire for drugs that leads to the downfall of his character and only increasing his narcolepsy. There are moments now in that film that is more troubling, even as it progresses where we see early on, the innocent dreamer and by the end, he's not that anymore. It's Phoenix's best performance of his career as it was something the 1991 Venice Film Festival noticed when they gave him the Volpi Cup for Best Actor.

***Additional DVD Content Written from 8/6/11-8/14/11***

The 2005 2-disc Region 1 DVD from the Criterion Collection is a massive set that is approved by Gus Van Sant for the film. The film is presented in a 1:78:1 theatrical aspect ratio that is enhanced for 16x9 widescreen televisions plus Dolby Digital 5.1 Stereo Surround sound. The first disc of the DVD is the film restored in a new high-definition presentation that includes English subtitles for the hearing impaired. The look of the film is truly mesmerizing as the look as Van Sant help maintains the rich tone of the film. The only special feature on the first disc is the film’s theatrical trailer.

The second disc of the DVD is filled with a large array of special features relating to the film. The first big special feature is an audio interview with Gus Van Sant by fellow filmmaker Todd Haynes. The audio interview that lasts for over two hours as Van Sant talking about the film with Haynes. The conversation has the two directors talk about the film where Van Sant talks largely about the production, the inspiration, and the performances of Keanu Reeves and the late River Phoenix. While there’s a lot of interesting conversations about the production, the fact it’s not a commentary track makes it a bit dull at times despite the content that both Van Sant and Haynes talk about including the fact that some of the dialogue in the famed campfire scene was written by River Phoenix. Still, it is a very good audio feature that hardcore fans will enjoy.

The 42-minute making-of documentary featuring interview with cinematographers Eric Alan Edwards and John Campbell, editor Curtiss Clayton, and production designer David Brisbin about the making of the film. The men talk about the production of the film and Van Sant’s approach as he wanted to shoot it entirely in Portland since he feels like it’s a city that could be its own character. Brisbin discusses Portland as a world that Van Sant wanted while Edwards and Campbell reveal the different shooting styles of the film where it’s a mixture of a loose hand-held style to more technical-driven stuff like cranes and dollies. Brisbin, Edwards, and Campbell also talk about River Phoenix’s contributions as he was instrumental in making sure he would help Van Sant with his vision. It’s an overall amazing documentary about the film’s production with some great insight into how Van Sant chooses to present his film.

The Kings of the Road featurette is a 44-minute interview with film scholar Paul Arthur about the film and the resources Van Sant used to make this film. Arthur believes that the film is part of a new wave of revisionist road movies of the early 1990s like David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise, and Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers. Arthur also believes that Van Sant’s real true resource is Orson Welles’ 1965 film Chimes at Midnight about the famed Shakespeare character Sir John Falstaff of Henry IV in the form of Bob. Arthur reveals that there’s a lot of elements of Falstaff in the story in relation to Scott Favor’s own transformation and eventual acceptance into the role he was set to play. Arthur believes that some of the film was a shot-for-shot remake of Chimes at Midnight along with the idea that the film is about Van Sant’s own dueling ideologies of doing Hollywood films and experimental films as it’s a truly engaging featurette overall.

The 20-minute video conversation with producer Laurie Parker and Rain Phoenix, the younger sister of River who also starred in Van Sant’s Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, discuss the film and River Phoenix’s performance. Parker and Phoenix talk about River’s process of trying to create a performance and be a collaborator to Van Sant. Phoenix talked about the fact that it was River who suggested her to be in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. Parker recalls a lot of the things in production that were fun while the stuff in Italy was more intimate because the crew was smaller at the time. Rain and Parker both recall the casting of William Reichert as Bob largely because River suggested it proving how much of a collaborator he was to Van Sant as it’s a great conversation piece between the two women.

The 53-minute audio conversation between The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things novelist JT LeRoy and filmmaker Jonathan Caouette of the film Tarnation. The audio track is essentially LeRoy and Caouette talking about the film via phone conversation. A lot of it is quite humorous while they even get Gus Van Sant to pop in for a large portion of the conversation. Caouette discusses that the film came out at the right time in his life when he felt that there weren’t a lot of films about gays of his generation at the time that was very accessible. LeRoy talks to Caouette and Van Sant about the difference between Seattle and Portland as far as people are concerned that is very weird though intriguing. Overall, it’s a fun more engaging audio piece from two fans of the film.

The deleted scenes section includes twelve minutes of six deleted scenes that was cut from the film plus the original barn crash scene that included a scratch in the middle of the frame. The scenes are preceded with a note that the film features some missing sound and images that weren’t un-restored for the DVD. The first scene is a wonderful scene of Bob displaying an impromptu theatrical performance with Scott as an old lady and fellow friends watch while cops try to break in. The second scene is where Mike asks a couple of his friends including Gary for some food as they all work in food stands. The third scene is actually an alternate ending of who actually picks up Mike at the end of the film. The next scene involves Mike in the road waiting for a ride as he recalls old memories. The next has Mike at a hospital where he talks to a nurse while the last is Scott and Mike howling at the sky during a campfire.

The DVD set which includes a gorgeous yet lavish packaging also includes a 64-page booklet that features two essays, an article by Lance Loud, and two reprinted interviews with Gus Van Sant, River Phoenix, and Keanu Reeves. The first essay is from Amy Taubin entitled Private Places where Taubin talks about the film and how it daring it was at the time it came out in 1991. Taubin talks about the fragility of Mike and Scott’s own conflict into the two worlds he’s in as it’s a compelling essay from Taubin. The second essay called Boise on the Side by J.T. LeRoy where LeRoy writes about his love for My Own Private Idaho with its director Gus Van Sant. It’s a very witty discussion about the film where LeRoy picks out favorite scenes and dialogue to emphasize what he loves about the film. The third essay by Lance Loud called Shakespeare in Black Leather is an article about the film that was written for American Film magazine. The article has Loud go inside the production of the film as well as Van Sant’s career and his advice to steal from the classics when in need of an idea as the overall article is truly a superb read.

The next two articles are different interviews from Interview magazine. The first is an interview with Gus Van Sant conducted by River Phoenix entitled My Director and I for the March 1991 issue. Van Sant and Phoenix discuss the production as well as Van Sant’s methods into directing as well as Van Sant’s own background into his own life. It’s a wonderfully engaging interview as it both Van Sant and Phoenix seemed relaxed into the conversation they’re having. The second article from the November issue of Interview is an interview with River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves by Gini Sikes and Paige Powell. The interview had Phoenix and Reeves discuss the film as well as their characters. Both reveal a lot about what goes on in production while providing some humorous anecdotes about what they do sometimes. They also talk about working with Van Sant and how much they enjoyed it as it’s a fun yet compelling interview.

The Criterion set for My Own Private Idaho is truly one of the company’s best in terms of packaging and presentation. It’s also a must-have for fans of the film as well as anyone that wants to know what great 1990s American cinema is.

***End of DVD Tidbits***

My Own Private Idaho is without a doubt Gus Van Sant’s best film in his truly revered film career. Featuring an iconic performance by River Phoenix as well as a brilliant performance from Keanu Reeves, it is truly one of the best films ever made for its blend of gay drama, Americana, and the road film. Anyone that wants to seek out the films of Gus Van Sant will see this as the perfect place to start of how daring and how accessible he can be. In the end, My Own Private Idaho is an outstanding film from Gus Van Sant.

Gus Van Sant Films: Mala Noche - Drugstore Cowboy - Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - To Die For - Good Will Hunting - Psycho (1998 film) - Finding Forrester - Gerry - Elephant - Last Days - Paranoid Park - Milk - Restless - Promised Land

The Shorts & Videos of Gus Van Sant - Auteurs #4: Gus Van Sant

(C) thevoid99 2011

Drugstore Cowboy

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 11/15/05 w/ Extensive Revisions.

1980s independent American cinema helped open doors for films of all subject matters. One of them was drug abuse were many independent filmmakers took a more realistic, documentary-like perspective into the drug culture. One director in the late 80s went full-on for a dramatic approach in his exploration on drugs and his name was Gus Van Sant. After helming his 1985 debut feature Mala Noche, Van Sant had been hailed as a new visionary yet wasn't ready to move into the Hollywood circuits as he wanted to remain independent in his vision. No matter what subject he wanted tackle, even after a brief stint with Universal that failed. Van Sant moved to Portland, Oregon to create his tale of the drug world with 1989's Drugstore Cowboy.

Based on an unpublished novel by James Fogle, Drugstore Cowboy is a chronicle about four young drug addicts in 1971 Portland who scam their way into stealing pharmaceuticals at drugstores to feed their addiction. While evading a cop and staying at an apartment to plan their next heist, tragedy emerges as their leader tries to stay clean despite his wife's continuing addiction and the world he tries to leave behind. Adapted into a script by Van Sant and Dan Yost, the approach is more cathartic tale of four young, dysfunctional people living as a family while dealing with their addictions. Starring Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James LeGros, Heather Graham, James Remar, Grace Zabriskie, Max Perlich, and Naked Lunch novelist William S. Burroughs. Drugstore Cowboy is a gritty, off-the-wall masterpiece from Gus Van Sant.

Longtime drug addict Bob (Matt Dillon) has made a career stealing and using pharmaceutical and prescription drugs with help from his wife Diane (Kelly Lynch). With help from a couple of young addicts in Rick (James LeGros) and Nadine (Heather Graham), they have been successful as Nadine fake seizures while the rest steal. Using these drugs for themselves, Bob also tries to deal with a fellow dealer named David (Max Perlich) who is trying to rise up in the game. Bob is also trying to avoid a cop named Gentry (James Remar) who often checks for any of the drugs Bob and his gang has stolen. During a visit to see his mother (Grace Zabriskie), Bob and Diane ponder their own future as they also try to find a new home.

When Nadine asks Bob about getting a dog, Diane reminds her about the superstitions that Bob has where he believes that a dog or a hat on a bed would curse them for some time. After a prank on Gentry during a police assignment, Bob and the gang leave Portland where another heist is foiled by Nadine's clumsiness. Forced to hide out again, Bob finds a drug he had stolen as he makes another attempt at a hospital that was almost successful. The jinx that Bob claims is happening finally hits someone forcing Bob and Diane to leave only to be trapped by a nearby sheriff's convention prompting Bob to go straight.

Returning to Portland, Bob goes into treatment as a counselor (Beah Richards) takes him in where he befriends a former priest named Tom (William S. Burroughs) whom bob knew as a kid. Tom's wisdom prompts Bob to lead a straight life as he gets some unexpected help from Gentry. Yet, Bob's past would come to haunt him as Diane makes a chilling return along with some old adversaries.

Most films about drugs would either glorify or just attack the culture yet in Van Sant's approach, the film is not really about drugs. From his view, it's really about a family and their dysfunctions while feeding their habits in stealing from drug stores. It's also a story about a man who lives a certain lifestyle only that he realizes that it's not cracked up to be only to try and straighten up. The script Van Sant and Dan Yost come up with is excellent for its realism as well as surrealism in Van Sant's direction that includes fantasy backgrounds in whenever Bob is getting high or is feeling elated about something. While the film has a sense of doom in the second act, the third act is where the story shifts into a story where Bob finds himself in a room full of addicts. The conversation is about drugs yet there's no judgement towards them since Van Sant is really viewing them as human beings.

Everything that Van Sant comes up with is very well, even with the ending where in Bob's narration, it has a sense of irony. The narration really brings a perspective in what Van Sant wants to say, especially since it's from the words of James Fogle, the story's original novelist. The narration is unique while the film starts and ends in the same place and same time. The structure is pretty original in how it builds up a story, especially in the death scene where the emotions are mixed on how Bob and his team react. A lot of the credit goes for Van Sant for not glossing anything or being exploitive at the same time.

Helping Van Sant with his outlook and arty visual style is cinematographer Robert Yeomen who brings a dreamy yet gritty look of the film in the exterior scenes in Portland while in the interiors, brings a wonderful intimacy with his lighting and camera work. Production designer David Brisbin and art director Eve Cauley also bring an authenticity to the look of the hotels and homes since the film is set in 1971 along with Beatrix Aruna Pasztor on the costume design, particularly for the clothing of Kelly Lynch and Heather Graham. With wonderful layers of cinematic visuals done by editor Curtiss Clayton, the film has a nice, multi-dimensional look in the dream backgrounds of Bob while it's nicely paced throughout the film. Composer Elliot Goldenthal brings a wonderful score to the film for its dramatic moments and dreamy sequences while the film features a nice soundtrack of late 60s/early 70s music.

Then there's the film's wonderful cast that is filled with realistic and powerful performances including memorable ones from Max Perlich as the naive drug dealer David who gets caught up in his power, Grace Zabriskie as Bob's strict but loving mother, and Beah Richards as a wise drug counselor. The most eerie performance of the entire film is late Beat novelist William S. Burroughs who gained notoriety for his drug novel Naked Lunch. Burroughs gives a mesmerizing and disturbing performance as a former priest who continues to use drugs while providing some strange insight into its culture and roots. James LeGros is excellent in his performance as the doltish but resourceful Rick who manages to find his way and help out Bob while being the only real supporter for his young, naive girlfriend Nadine. James Remar is also brilliant in his role as Gentry, a cop who is willing to do anything to bust Bob. Remar might seem like a villain but he brings a lot more sympathy for Bob in trying to help him straighten out and when Bob does go straight, Remar becomes an unlikely supporter.

The film's most surprising performance goes to a young Heather Graham as the naive, innocent Nadine. With her winning smile and naive behavior, Graham makes herself into a believable character who is new to the game while learning and after a series of screw-ups, Graham takes her character to new dramatic heights as her performance is the film's real breakthrough. Kelly Lynch is also great in her role as Diane, a veteran junkie who is aware of the traps of the game but remains very upbeat on all levels, even as Bob leaves to go straight. There's never a moment in which Lynch gives a dull performance as she graces the screen with her amazing beauty and intelligence.

Then there's Matt Dillon who gives probably the best performance of his career, especially at the time when he had fallen off the radar for a while after his great moment in the early 80s. Dillon brings a lot of complexity and charm to his role as an addict who seems to know everything. Even when it comes to superstitions and how to create a perfect scam and heist. When Dillon goes straight, we see him trying to struggle with his upcoming role only to become content right till the end. This is truly one of the best performances of the decade and a real reason in why Matt Dillon is one great actor.

Drugstore Cowboy is a wonderful yet provocative film from Gus Van Sant that features a great cast and superb imagery. While Van Sant's best work is yet to come with the gay road drama My Own Private Idaho, it's this film that put him into the map of the independent film movement. While more mainstream fans will find this interesting, it's more likely they'll enjoy To Die For and Good Will Hunting more though fans of his recent work will definitely love Drugstore Cowboy. For a film with a lot of grit, surrealism, great performances, and a wonderful style, Drugstore Cowboy is the film to see.

Gus Van Sant Films: Mala Noche - My Own Private Idaho - Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - To Die For - Good Will Hunting - Psycho (1998 film) - Finding Forrester - Gerry - Elephant - Last Days - Paranoid Park - Milk - Restless - Promised Land

The Shorts & Videos of Gus Van Sant - Auteurs #4: Gus Van Sant

(C) thevoid99 2011

INLAND EMPIRE

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 10/13/07.

2001's Mulholland Drive brought David Lynch his most acclaimed and successful film to date that included Best Director nomination at the Oscars and sharing the Best Director prize at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival with Joel Coen for The Man Who Wasn't There. Following the film's success, Lynch took a break to work on various, experimental side projects, supervising the releases of his films on DVD, and other ventures. During this time as digital filmmaking was the new thing, Lynch took notice as his he used digital video for a few of short, experimental projects. The result of the experiments gave Lynch the idea for his next feature-film which was a return to his love of experimental films in the 2006 film INLAND EMPIRE.

Written, directed, produced, shot, edited, and sound designed by David Lynch, INLAND EMPIRE is a three-hour experimental film that emphasizes Lynch's love for the unconventional while doing the film entirely on digital video. Yet, the film Lynch describes is that it's about a woman who is in trouble. The main plot though is about an actress who is working on a film in Europe whose perception of reality is altered into a different world. Shot in parts in Los Angeles to culminate a film trilogy that began with 1997's Lost Highway and 2001's Mulholland Drive, the film conveys the eerie world of Los Angeles, which has become Lynch's adopted home. The film also marks a long-awaited reunion between Lynch and actress Laura Dern who starred in 1986's Blue Velvet and 1990's Wild at Heart as she plays the film's leading role.

With an all-star cast that includes Lynch regulars Justin Theroux, Grace Zabriskie, Harry Dean Stanton, Laura Harring, Diane Ladd, and the voices of Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, and Scott Coffey from Lynch's Rabbits project. The cast also includes appearances from William H. Macy, Julia Ormond, Nastassjia Kinski, Jordan Ladd, Ben Harper, and Jeremy Irons. INLAND EMPIRE is a strange, surreal, eerie film from David Lynch.

When a neighbor (Grace Zabriskie) decides to meet with actress Nikki Grace (Laura Dern), Grace reluctantly invites her where the neighbor says some strange, cryptic things that would haunt Grace. After years of not getting big projects or any material that she would love to work on, Grace finally gets a big film part working with a guy named Devon (Justin Theroux) and under the direction of a man named Kingsley (Jeremy Irons). Though Nikki and Devon managed to be great friends, Devon receives warning to not embark on an affair, particularly due to Nikki's Polish husband. When rehearsals for their new film begins, Kingsley along with his assistant Freddy (Harry Dean Stanton) reveal that the film they're making is a remake of an unfinished film.

Rehearsals go fine until Nikki sees someone as she and Devon eventually learn about mysterious things concerning the original, unfinished film. Things start to go well during rehearsal as Nikki plays a woman named Sue and Devon plays a man named Billy. Yet, as filming progressed, the world of reality and fiction start to blur where Nikki begins an affair with Devon but in the name of their characters. Suddenly, Nikki notices that she starts to see things in her character Sue. Then one day when Nikki goes grocery shopping, she finds a symbol and enters a door where she's taken to a strange, dark reality. Suddenly, she's Sue as she finds herself in parts of Poland and another part of Los Angeles where she's now living in an apartment with prostitutes.

Sitting in the apartment, she also finds herself having conversations with a man named Mr. K (Erik Crary) as the conversations get stranger and stranger. Eventually, living with the hookers start to take its toll as they often break into choreographed dance numbers where she finds herself stuck in the world. Finally, she finds Billy and have a confrontation with his wife (Julia Ormond) as the world starts to get stranger. Now a hooker, Sue tries to find out about the young woman (Karolina Gruszka) who is watching her from the TV where suddenly, Nikki would return to enter strange worlds including a sitcom called Rabbits while trying to save the life of this young woman.

The film's plot line is simple which is about a woman in trouble. Yet, the plot line isn't simple as it seems. Even from a mind as surreal and loose as David Lynch. The film starts off with a black-and-white shot of record playing and a crying young woman watching Lynch's 2002 online sitcom Rabbits. A lot of these things plus subplots involving Eastern European crime world are thrown in to break from the film's main plot. Yet, the result is Lynch definitely rallying against convention. Whether's it's a traditional film narrative, satire, or anything that's traditional with any kind of films. Lynch is basically throwing away all of these ideas.

Serving as the writer, director, producer, editor, cinematographer, sound designer, and music composer along with cues by Krzysztof Penderecki. The film is definitely Lynch taking control of everything with additional contribution from cinematographer Peter Deming on lighting cues and George Koran on digital coloring. More importantly, Lynch abandons the idea of shooting on film and replacing it with digital video. A lot of the interiors Lynch shoots is almost in a Dogme 95-like fashion where it's all hand-held and in natural lighting most of the time. It's also very stylized through his eerie direction. While the look does have a grainy film on the film's exterior sequences, they work to convey the atmosphere Lynch is conveying. Even as he's improvising along the way since he did the film without a completed script and things are made up along the way.

That sense of improvisation and spontaneity really adds a fresh style to the film though it's Lynch experimenting. Not everything Lynch does work as the pacing at times tends to lag. Even in a film that is three hours where it tests the audience patience. Things get repetitive and meanders a bit. Yet, it's part of what Lynch is trying to do with the film because of his themes of reality versus fiction. In many ways, Lynch is going back further to the days of his debut film Eraserhead 30 years before to return to his love of experimentation. Even through its grainy, digital photography and stylized, ominous editing, and eerie sound design with help from sound editor Ronald Eng. Lynch is definitely trying to create new things that audiences who want to see something new will enjoy.

Despite these experiments and Lynch being unconventional, the film still has a story and the story about a woman in trouble is definitely told. Though the narrative is told in an unconventional manner, the main story of Nikki/Sue entering into a strange world to understand. Yet, the audience is also being played on whether she's in a film within a film or is she in a different reality. It will confuse people but the elements of horror and mystery manages to make the whole experience into an incredible yet strange journey.

The film also has a parallel story of this young Polish woman in trouble as she is held by Polish crime lords while forced to watch things like the Rabbits sitcom and is playing what may be the observer. A lot of things Lynch is saying isn't easy to interpret and is definitely a mind-bender. Yet, the result of what Lynch is trying to do and how to present things through his loose script and eerie, surreal direction proves that he's still got something to say and is managing to challenge himself as a storyteller.

Helping Lynch with his presentation is set decorator Melanie Rein and a team of art directors to bring different looks of Los Angeles from the posh world that Nikki lives to the decayed world that Sue lives in. Costume designers Karen Baird and Heidi Bivens brings a unique look from the varied clothes of the hookers to the posh-like clothing of Nikki/Sue. Lynch's score is mostly electronic driven to convey the sense of horror and suspense. The music of Krzysztof Penderecki also adds some suspense with his orchestral score that also features music from Nina Simone, Little Eva, and Etta James to add quirkiness to the film's soundtrack.

The film's cast is very unique and diverse with several cameo appearances from Lynch regulars like Diane Ladd as a talk-show host, Grace Zabriskie as a neighbor, Harry Dean Stanton as Kingsley's assistant Freddy, Laura Harring, Scott Coffey, and Naomi Watts appearing as voices in the Rabbits sitcom with Harring appearing at the end of the film. Other cameos include William H. Macy as an announcer, Mary Steenburgen as a visitor, Terry Crews as a homeless man, Ben Harper as a musician, Nastassjia Kinski as a friend at the end of the film, and Jordan Ladd as one of the hookers who does a dance routine in front of Sue. Karolina Gruszka is great as a crying young woman who is in trouble while Polish actors Jan Hencz and Krzysztof Majchrzak are great as Polish mob members with Peter J. Lucas as Nikki's troublesome husband. Julia Ormond is great as Billy's troubled wife Doris, Cameron Daddo as Devon’s manager, and Erik Crary as the eerie Mr. K.

Jeremy Irons is great as film director Kingsley Stewart, a director who hopes to do a remake justice while trying not to be cursed. Irons is perfect in the role of the director as he tries to make sure Nikki is in acting mode where as if she's fully in character. It's a great performance from Irons who rarely gives a bad performance. Lynch regular Justin Theroux is in excellent form as Devon Berk, an actor who is very friendly with Nikki and wants to maintain his professionalism. In the role of Billy Side, Theroux sports a Southern accent and acts like a man in love and is very desperate about his love for both Sue and Doris.

Laura Dern gives what has to be one of her greatest performances to date. Dern manages to be very charming and likeable in the role while delving into darker material. When she's Nikki, she carries the sense of optimism as an actress who's been out of the spotlight for a while and is given a chance to shine again. In the role of Sue, she has to dig deeper into figuring out what world she's in while wondering if everything she's seeing is real. Dern has to delve into other acting genres for the performance and it works in every level whether it's mystery or horror. It's a very complex, superb performance from Laura Dern who is being overlooked nowadays among her acting peers.

While INLAND EMPIRE isn't a great film that one would expect from David Lynch. The film is still an experience that is unparalleled with most feature films. Fans of Lynch's more experimental side will no doubt enjoy his new feature film as well as his attempts to break the rules. Fans of Laura Dern will also enjoy this for her brave, complex performance. Anyone who wants to be challenged by unconventional filmmaking should see this film. Yet, for a mainstream audience, this film is not for them. With its three-hour running time, pacing issues, and such, it's a film that they won't necessarily enjoy. In the end, INLAND EMPIRE is a surreal yet provocative film from David Lynch and company.

David Lynch Films: Eraserhead - The Elephant Man - Dune - Blue Velvet - Wild at Heart - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me - Lost Highway - The Straight Story - Mulholland Dr.

The Short Films of David Lynch Pt. 1 - The Short Films of David Lynch Pt. 2 - The Music Videos of David Lynch

The Auteurs #50: David Lynch: Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2011

Wild at Heart

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 10/8/07.

1986's Blue Velvet helped broke David Lynch into the mainstream as he won accolades as well as detractors. After years of trying to attain full creative control and freedom while working with major distributors, Lynch was finally able to do what he wanted. In 1989, Lynch helped create one of the most popular TV shows of the late 80s and early 90s called Twin Peaks that helped him attain more mainstream attention. When Twin Peaks reached a peak in 1990, so was anticipation for Lynch's fifth feature film that was based on Barry Gifford's novel about an ex-con and his girlfriend try to evade her mother while going on a journey leading them into a dark underworld. The film, from that novel, was called Wild at Heart.

Written for the screen and directed by David Lynch, Wild at Heart is an evocative, strange love story that pushes a couple, head over heels, into extremes that would shake their love life. Part road film, part suspense, part drama, and part romance, the film typified the surreal, dark style that David Lynch is known for while delving into new territory that pushed his cinematic style. Starring Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, Crispin Glover, Diane Ladd, Isabella Rossellini, and Harry Dean Stanton. Wild at Heart is a dreamy, harrowing, and surreal film from David Lynch.

After killing a man in self-defense, Sailor Ripley (Nicolas Cage) is released after 22 months in prison as his beloved Lula Fortune (Laura Dern) waits for him. Not happy about Sailor's release is Lula's mother Marietta (Diane Ladd) who was hoping to rid of the man. Hiring a private detective named Johnnie Farragut (Harry Dean Stanton), she hopes that Johnnie will find Lula. Unfortunately, Marietta has another plan that involves Sailor's former employer named Santos (J.E. Freeman), who wants to put a hit on Sailor on the condition that a hit on Johnnie is in the works as well.

On their destination towards California, they stop at a heavy metal club while staying in motels as they talk about their demons and various confessions. Sailor understands why the man who tried to kill him wanted him dead. He is also aware of Marietta's motives that involved the death of Lula’s father. During a stop to New Orleans, Lula talks about her cousin Dell (Crispin Glover) and his own quirky faults while Sailor talks about a woman he'd been with during his days working for Santos. Realizing the danger that Johnnie is in, Marietta flies to New Orleans to try and give him a warning. Unfortunately, she doesn't as Santos sends a message to Mr. Reindeer (William Shepard Morgan) who sends one of his famed hit people including Juana Durango (Grace Zabriskie) on the job.

After leaving New Orleans, Sailor and Lula continue on their journey as Lula feels haunted in seeing her mother as a witch where their blissful yet strange journey takes a dark encounter. After seeing wrecked cars and a woman (Sherilyn Fenn) walking around in her own blood, things start to fall apart. With Santos still working towards Sailor, the couple make a stop in a small town in Texas. Sailor meets Perdita Durango (Isabella Rossellini) about knowledge on a possible hit which she denied. Stopping at a nearby motel to give their car a rest, Lula finds herself ill. Sailor meets with a man named Bobby Peru (Willem Dafoe) who helps the two as he learns about Lula's illness. Realizing that he's short on cash, Sailor becomes tempted by Peru about a job, that would eventually cost him everything he holds dear.

While the film is essentially a love story, in reality. It is a love story set in a world of escapism. It's about this couple who are deeply in love with each other that everything seems to start out fine despite whatever demons they're carrying. Then when the journey starts to hit a bump, reality starts to set in and the two basically couldn't deal with it. While there's several subplots that involve the crazed mind of Marietta, the mob, Santos, and other assorted characters. Fortunately for Lynch's approach to Barry Gifford's novel, the adaptation works for Lynch's unique vision.

The direction that is filled with surreal imagery, evocative shots, images of fire, and dreamy compositions is pure Lynch. The images of fire including matches being struck are wonderful symbols to convey the passion that burns inside Sailor and Lula. The film also contains numerous references to The Wizard of Oz that included witch-like characters, mentions of the yellow brick robe, and an orb that one of the witches looks into. Overall, Lynch creates a film that's almost dreamy yet eerie where something is about to happen and it ain't going to be good. Despite all of these wonderful ideas, not everything works where at times, some of those ideas is used repeatedly that it eventually wears out. Still, Lynch's approach to storytelling, even in a love story as strange as this works in almost every level.

Cinematographer Frederick Elmes brings some amazing camera work from the color palettes and sheer imagery in the sex scenes to wonderful, dreamy exterior shots in one daytime scene along with dark, colorful lighting in the nighttime scenes. Elmes' camera work is very sharp and jaw-dropping with every image and shot that's captured on film. Editor Duwayne Dunham brings a wonderful, stylized approach to the film's pacing and scene shifting to convey the sense of horror and excitement that surrounds the film's central characters. Sound designer Randy Thom use of sound ranging from the spark of matches to the atmosphere of the road is evocative with the film's dark tone.

Production designer Patricia Norris creates a wonderful look for the film with use of real locations, hotels, and such while decorating things that aren't usually seen in a motel room or a bank. Costume designer Amy Stofsky creates a wonderful look for the costumes whether it's the array of clothes that Diane Ladd wear, the skinny dresses of Laura Dern, or the black clothes that some of the men wear. The snakeskin jacket (don't insult the jacket) was actually Nicolas Cage's until he gave it to Laura Dern at the end of shooting. Hair stylist Frida Aradottir and make-up artist Michelle Buhler also do great work for a few characters whether it's the array of hair style for Diane Ladd to the strange, dirty, gold blond hair that both Grace Zabriskie and Isabella Rossellini wear as well as their looks in make-up.

The film's music and soundtrack features a wonderful, sweeping film score from longtime Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti. The operatic-like orchestral score works to convey the dream-like, fantasy tone of the film while also bringing in some suspenseful music to convey its horror. Also from Badalamenti is elements of jazz to set the mood for some sequences in New Orleans. The rest of the soundtrack is diverse that includes a thrash metal accompaniment from the band Powermad, jazz singer Koko Taylor, old-school rock classics from Gene Vincent and Them, and some dreamy, seductive cuts from Chris Issak that included the hit song Wicked Games. The soundtrack and score is one of the film's greatest highlights that included Nicolas Cage doing some great rendition of a couple of classic songs by Elvis Presley.

The film's cast is wonderfully diverse filled with an array of characters that can almost be described as Fellini-esque or rather, Lynchian. Featuring appearances from John Lurie, Pruitt Vince Taylor, and Lynch regular Jack Nance in Texas trailer park scene along with Marvin Kaplan as Lula's Uncle Pooch, Frances Bay as Reindeer’s top madam, Calvin Lockhart as Juana's lover, and Gregg Dandridge as Bob Ray Lemon, the man who is killed in the film's opening scene by Sailor. Twin Peaks stars Sherilyn Fenn and Sheryl Lee make memorable, great appearances in the film with Fenn as an important plot point and Lee as a good witch. William Morgan Sheppard is great as the crime boss Mr. Reindeer who surrounds himself with topless women and such.

J.E. Freeman is wonderful as the crazed Santos who is a great organizer and charmer as he’s one of those bad guys who that people will love to hate. Grace Zabriskie is great in her brief appearance as Juana Durango that is just a shock to watch as her appearance is both funny and scary. Harry Dean Stanton is perfect in his role as Johnnie Farragut, a detective who loves Marietta but tries to do what is right for everyone. Though his role is brief, Crispin Glover is amazing as the crazy Cousin Dell who loves to press on torn-up sandwiches, being afraid of black gloves, and wearing cockroach-surrounded underwear.

Isabella Rossellini is wonderful in her brief appearance as Perdita Durango, sporting a dirty, blond look and a black dress, Rossellini's performance is a joy to watch as she even likes to get a little dirty. Willem Dafoe also makes a great appearance as Bobby Peru sporting some god awful teeth, saying some funny jokes, and just has this malicious grin that is fun to watch. Dafoe is truly one of the most diverse actors as he proves he can be very bad and extremely funny. Diane Ladd is brilliant in an over-the-top performance as the witch-like Marietta. Ladd's performance is wonderful to watch as if she's having a lot of fun acting with real-life daughter Laura Dern, smear lipstick all over her face, and just go overly-dramatic. It's a fantastic performance from the veteran actress.

Laura Dern is amazing in her role as Lula, this exotic sex-pot who has a wild imagination while hiding her own childhood pain. Dern brings a complexity to the character as she sports a Southern accent while grounding her beloved Sailor. Nicolas Cage is equally as great as the Elvis-like Sailor in a character that's fun to watch. Here's a guy who has swagger, charm, and is also dangerous. He loves his jacket (don't insult the jacket) and he loves his woman. Yet, he's also flawed since he doesn't make the right decisions or try to do what's right for her. The two actors have great chemistry as they exude sexuality and excitement as well as pain that's hurting them inside.

Prior to its premiere at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival, the film was getting into troubled during some poor reception at some test screenings. Then when the film premiered, in competition, at the Cannes Film Festival. It immediately received a divided response from audiences and critics and it only got worse when it surprisingly won the Palme D'or that a mix of cheers and boos happened. When it was officially released in August of that year, mixed reviews happened all over again while Lynch's notorious detractor Roger Ebert gave him another bad review.

Despite recouping its $10 million budget, the film only did OK at the box office as Lynch-mania was now starting to wain. It was also at this time that the second season of Twin Peaks started and everything went to hell as Lynch's career was starting to get into a freefall despite some acclaim for Wild at Heart and an Oscar nomination for Diane Ladd.

While not an entirely perfect film, Wild at Heart is still a wonderful, surreal, and seductive film from David Lynch and company. With a great cast led by Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, Diane Ladd, Isabella Rossellini, Crispin Glover, Harry Dean Stanton, and J.E. Freeman. It's a film that has all of the touches that David Lynch is known for as well as his diverse group of actors. Those new to the actor should see this after watching Blue Velvet to get familiar with his filmmaking style. For anyone that wants to see a crazy road film that is filled with passion, excitement, and over-the-top scenery, Wild at Heart is the film to go see.

David Lynch Films: Eraserhead - The Elephant Man - Dune - Blue Velvet - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me - Lost Highway - The Straight Story - Mulholland Dr. - INLAND EMPIRE

The Short Films of David Lynch Pt. 1 - The Short Films of David Lynch Pt. 2 - The Music Videos of David Lynch

The Auteurs #50: David Lynch: Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2011