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A Thrilling Joyride

Blue Velvet (1986) by David Lynch
 
Other films by David Lynch: Eraserhead (1977), The Elephant Man (1980), Mulholland Dr. (2001)
 
 
My second David Lynch film, and it’s another weird and artistic depiction of storytelling that you can either laugh at and enjoy or just plainly get annoyed at. I’ve heard countless times about Lynch’s reputation of being a mysterious and thrilling director, though having watched Mulholland Dr. actually disappointed me in a great level, Blue Velvet gave me a different impression which is also pretty good since I was already heavy of biases. To sum it up, it’s a coming of age type of film. Most young adults would get a good connection and relation to it, also having been produced at an interesting time setting may also have influenced a lot of great and visionary thinkers and people of his time and generation.


COMMENTS

Directing: You can easily tell it’s a David Lynch films by the curious scenes that seemed either surrealistic or out of place. You are made waiting for what’s to happen and when it does, usually it doesn’t make obvious sense, you have to re-think about it and analyze its meaning. That kind of method honestly becomes problematic because every interpretation can always be stretched in a way that makes it pseudo-science. However, I really admire Lynch’s creativity with his characters and maximizing the scenes of the more unusual ones. I’m talking about scenes with Frank and how normal and immediately twisted you can feel his character undressing.

The first quick scene definitely felt scattered, and if they were done so as a red herring, then it was clearly obvious. The random takes and insertions of short quick scenes were really irrelevant and they destroyed, in my opinion, the credibility of the film’s cinematography.

The chicken-walk was an interesting and hilarious icebreaker. And the breaking in the apartment plan was actually thrilling and convincing; something that a lot of young, wild, and adventurous adults may actually want to try and do.

So far Lynch has written cool and interesting plots, his way of directing driving scenes, from the bright morning and afternoons which showcased tranquillity and exploration, to a thrilling and frightening joyride is an incredible addition to his resume. Classic Lynch.

The undressing scene was a little to rushed; it would have been more suspenseful if it were shot slower. Although it may be done so in a way to give a realistic effect, since if we were put in such situation we won’t even have time to think over our internal thoughts on what to decide to do. Though my opinion remains, it would have brought the audience more intimate with the character’s perspectives.

The apartment scene just felt a little too scattered and unorganized for me, even it could have been intentionally done that way to give a deeper realistic theme to the film. Although shockingly unique and interesting, it was a bit strange and experimental. The characters were very well crafted too.

Plot: The plot revolves around curiosity and the unveiling of mysterious events that are further forked into mysterious and strange personalities and lives that have been concealed from a normal spectator’s perspective. It makes you wonder that if you dedicate a span of time spying a person without his/her knowledge; can you imagine what you may find out? What if there’s a huge mystery hidden inside the person, of course you don’t stop yet nor do you give it away.

There’s something about voyeurism of the human soul that gets overlooked often due to the erotic sensation that such act releases. You may take reference Dorothy’s yearn for affection after the tragic even of losing her own child and having her husband tortured, Frank’s twisted way of escaping the world and harming other innocent and fragile people, Jeffrey’s thirst and curiosity for life and mystery, and Sandy’s ordinary perspective. If we put such experience under a microscopic thought, then we may realize how voyeurism is actually very personal and revealing. Much more than the sharing of feelings, or psychotherapeutic conversations, or even the introspective dialogues of one’s self.

Jeffrey’s discoveries are so appealing and intriguing that you can imagine experiencing them yourself. A mystery is such a dangerous and tempting realm to fall unto.

Characters/Acting: Dennis Hopper’s acting is frightening and extremely phenomenal. Most played their role pretty well and took their respective roles into good taste. For some reason, you can tell Lynch was in control of the characters, meaning there didn’t seem like a chance or a hint that the actors themselves revised or moulded the characters they wore. They were instead controlled by them.

Score: Occasionally matches the more significant and thrilling scenes which I just really admired. There were some scenes that begged the ambience to be happy go lucky, or unusual, but obviously it was a choice on Lynch’s part.
 


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