Movie Notes: Blue Velvet

January 3rd, 2009

= 5 stars

Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper
Directed by David Lynch

Synopsis

In an idyllic town, Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) discovers a severed ear in an empty lot, leading him to a dark underworld of despair, sexual deviation, and violence.

The Good

• Lynch displays an obvious love for film noir and classic movie conventions, but through his own askew filter. The introduction of Sandy (Laura Dern) is a mix of homage and satire. The odd visual style jumps from microscopic to the symbolic (we zoom into an ear, close-ups of light bulbs and fire). The twisted visuals grant the soundtrack of innocent songs given new, dark, uncomfortable feelings.
• Some top-notch, must-see performances: Dennis Hopper as the unhinged, vulgar and out of control Frank. Classic lines fly from his mouth like napalm — beer recommendations (“Pabst Blue Ribbon!”), enough F-bombs to inspire Tarantino, and his darkly comic sexual deviancy with that oxygen mask. Rosselini is superb as the femme fatale Dorothy with her helpless flailing in the darkness, and I won’t soon forget Dean Stockwell’s bizarre gay lounge lizard type, who does a smashing lip synch job of Roy Orbison’s In Dreams, lit from beneath with a hand-held light for no clear reason other than it looks creepy.
• Laundry list of early Twin Peaks ideas — murder, a logging town, blondes and brunettes, cops, the balance between light and dark, and vouyerism.
• Disturbing, gross stuff, not for public consumption, taking place in tiny rooms, recalling Eraserhead. But in true Lynchian style, that “stuff” gets stranger when Frank introduces Jeffrey to other lowlifes, and we move into psychological torture when poor Sandy finds out what Frank has been up to.

The Bad

• Some off-putting violence, although a lot of this stuff has lost its shock value over time.

Conclusion

Despite sometimes feeling like a rough draft for Twin Peaks, overall, Blue Velvet is a masterwork depiction of a small, idyllic town with twisted evil lurking just beneath the surface. It’s unquestionably successful at communicating the director’s intent — I still believe it’s David Lynch’s masterpiece.

IMDB: Blue Velvet
Wikipedia: Blue Velvet
Rotten Tomatoes: Blue Velvet 90%