A bizarre, beautiful and bewildering blend of psychosexual shifting and neo-noir nightmare. Feel it, puzzle over it but no need to understand it.
Dark, moody and a distinctly unsettling mystery crime film with huge horror overtones this is quintessential David Lynch at his most enigmatic. The story follows Fred Madison, a nightclub jazz musician, who suspects his wife Renée is having an affair and the finding of videotapes left on their porch increases his obsessive suspicions. Convicted of her murder he is sentenced to death and awaits execution on death row when something very bizarre and strange happens. On first viewing the film may well leave you baffled and even frustrated because Lynch never bothers to unravel his narrative plot twists for you but on further viewings the clues to what is happening are clearly laid out. The main theme here is psychotic dreams and nightmares, an area Lynch has been drawn to in many of his other films. Whatever you think about the narrative style you cannot but be drawn into Lynch's dark vision, his nightmarish world where things are never what they seem. A film that begs questions and yet you'll realise you've seen something unique and quite special. Superb cast of Bill Pullman as Madison, Patricia Arquette as Renée, Balthazar Getty, Robert Blake (in his last film appearance) and Robert Loggia. If you're a fan of Twin Peaks or David Lynch in general then this is a must see, a magnificent piece of film art.
Not really a straight thiller as it has a weird surreal element. Very slow and odd to start with but we stuck with it because it seemed to have promise. Half way through the story changes with no explanation but we stuck with the hope that the link between the stories would be revealed in the end. No such luck a very odd film. Agree with the other review - don't expect to understand.
(very amusing short scene where the hoodlum expesses his displeasure of tailgaiting.)