Glad to report that David Lynch is still circling planet earth
in a spaceship with his mind located several galaxies
beyond. This is delightfully bonkers; an eerie and edgy
outpouring that makes Twin Peaks look like Moonlighting.
After a pulsating Bowie song - accompanied by a moronic cruise
down a (presumably lost) highway, there is a disconcerting 20
minute overture. Pullman as Fred Madison puts in a splendidly
foul-stenched performance opposite a high voltage Arquette
(playing his wife Renee) - clad in the best wig and super sexy
clothes since Uma T. in Pulp Fiction.
Things go pear-shaped when each morning, mysterious videos
are left outside their house, the contents of which become more
disturbing each day. Pullman starts hallucinating witchlike images
of his wife. He kills her but doesn't remember doing it, is
imprisoned, dies and comes back as car mechanic Pete Dayton
(Getty) who is working at a garage under the supervision of
Arnie (Richard Pryor).
Meanwhile, Arquette returns as a blonde siren (called Alice
Wakefield) who is stepping out with mob man Mr. Eddy (Robert
Loggia). She has an affair with Dayton and in search of a fast
buck tries to get him to commit murder. But will she
double-cross and kill him? And so the dream becomes - as things
are wont to do on Planet Lynch - a nightmare, signposted by the
recurring presence of a Dracula-type Mystery Man (Robert
Blake) who will try to destroy them all. There's also numerous
other oddities including a cameo by visceral US rocker Marilyn
Manson as a porn star. And much disturbance later, we're back
for a laconic drive down the highway.
Confused? Oh well, go with it. Interested? You should be.
Director: David Lynch
Cast: Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Gary Busey
Details: 2 hrs. 14 mins. Cert. 18 USA
Released: August 22 (selected UK cinemas)