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LOST HIGHWAY
1/2
Joshua Wan
Directed by: David Lynch
Written by: David Lynch & Barry Gifford
Produced by: Asymmetrical / CiBy 2000 / Lost Highway Productions
Cast: Bill Pullman (Fred Madison), Patricia Arquette (Renee Madison/Alice Wakefield), Balthazar Getty (Pete Dayton), Natasha Wagner (Sheila), Richard Pryor (Arnie), Robert Loggia (Mr. Eddy-Dick)
Run Time: Approx. 135 Minutes
Rating: ***1/2 out of *****
LOST HIGHWAY is a surreal trip into the realm of the disturbed, a tour guided by prominent citizen of the bizarre David Lynch. With no lack of weird crimes, freakish characters, lots of unease and paranoia, and lots (believe me..) of sex, the journey is a surprisingly easy one to take and definitely lots of fun. A strong ensemble cast- Bill Pulman, Rosanna Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Robert Loggia, Richard Pryor (seriously), make the whole thing very watchable but make no mistake, the real star is Lynch and his art of cult filmmaking.
The narrative strategies of Lynch and co-screenwriter Barry Gilford (who wrote the novel 'Wild At Heart' which Lynch adapted for his 1990 film), combine with key casting and a mysterious plot with no obvious answers to make this cult film material. Set in an LA-esque city, LOST HIGHWAY revolves around two illogically intertwined plots. The first centers on the life of jazz musician Fred Madison (Bill Pullman) and his mysterious and sensual wife, Renee Madison (Patricia Arquette). Obsessively paranoid over his wife's fidelity, somehow at sometime, he apparently murders her. No one, not even the alleged-murderer, knows or remembers how it happened. Anyhow, Fred is sentenced to the electric chair.
Then without warning, the film takes off in a different direction. Fred disappears and a young man called Pete Dayton (Balthazar Getty) is found sitting in Fred's cell. The life of Pete is presented vis-a-vis Fred's; Pete is a blue-collar worker living in row-houses in the valley while Fred is a successful musician with a bungalow up in the hills. Yet a common thread ties the two (or one, depending on how you choose to interpret the film) lives together; Arquette appears in Pete's life as Alice Wakefield, girlfriend of gangster boss Mr Eddy (Loggia). In a reverse of the first plot, the cuckold (Fred) 'becomes' the guilty adulterer (Pete). In classic femme fatale style, Alice leads Pete astray with sex, deception and misguided opportunity until an eerie nocturnal confrontation at a cabin in a desert brings the film's two plots a full circle.
The film draws from the classic film noir notions of desperate men, faithless women, expensive cars and cheap motels. Its dialogue is skillfully sparse and enigmatic, and Lynch has very precise delivery in mind. Dramatically the 135-minute film borders on the lethargic at times, but spurts of sharp violence and unexpected plot twists keep you riveted. Stylistically there is no mistaking LOST HIGHWAY for the work of any other director. This is classic Lynch- dark, crass, enigmatic, heck..there's even a gnome-like man... Lynch's visionary, impressionistic approach to the deep and vile recesses of the human psyche is boldly on display as is his talent for putting memorable images on the big screen in concert with extraordinary and often, seemingly inappropriate music. The soundtrack combines the talents of longtime collaborater Angelo Badalamenti and contributions from David Bowie and Brian Eno, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins and others.
LOST HIGHWAY is to be viewed as a whole like a piece of art (Lynch himself is an avid painter), the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. Clues abound, 'I prefer to remember things the way I see them and not how they actually happened....' , the mysterious photographs, the enigma of the gnome-like man, but in the end the audience is left to decide for itself.
Is LOST HIGHWAY too deliberately obscure in meaning to be entirely satisfying? Not at all. Compared to earlier Lynch films like ERASERHEAD and BLUE VELVET, it's a walk in the park (then again,compared to Eraserhead...). LH is sufficiently intriguing and startling to bring many of Lynch's old fans back on board. But it's not hard core. Maybe Lynch is mellowing out, or maybe he's just tired of getting mail from puzzled fans demanding plot explanations and interpretations. Either way, its a must-see for Lynch heads as well as a great intro for first timers to the world of Lynch. JW plays bass in a bar surrounded by drunken angmohs.
The Flying Inkpot Rating System:
* Wait for the TV2 broadcast.
** A little creaky, but still better than staying at home with Gotcha!
*** Pretty good, bring a friend.
**** Amazing, potent stuff.
***** Perfection. See it twice.
Joshua Wan plays jazz piano and watches a minimum of 6 hrs of tv a day.Read other movie reviews at the Inkpot
Other film reviews by this writer can be obtained from the InkVault by doing a key word search with this writer's name.Other film reviews by other writers can also be obtained from the InkVault through key word searches.
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