Inland Empire (2006)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

David Lynch

Writer (WGA):

David Lynch (written by)

Release Date:

7 February 2007 (Belgium)

Genre:

Fantasy | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A Woman In Trouble

Plot:

An actress's perception of reality becomes increasingly distorted as she finds herself falling for her co-star in a remake of an unfinished Polish production that was supposedly cursed.

Plot Keywords:

Actress | Hollywood | Number | Scene During End Credits | Gypsy

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Laura Dern	...	Nikki Grace / Susan Blue
Jeremy Irons	...	Kingsley Stewart
Justin Theroux	...	Devon Berk / Billy Side
Karolina Gruszka	...	Lost Girl
Jan Hencz	...	Janek (as Jan Hench)
Krzysztof Majchrzak	...	Phantom
Grace Zabriskie	...	Visitor #1
Ian Abercrombie	...	Henry the Butler
Karen Baird	...	Servant
Bellina Logan	...	Linda
Amanda Foreman	...	Tracy
Peter J. Lucas	...	Piotrek Król
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Freddie Howard
Cameron Daddo	...	Devon Berk's Manager
Jerry Stahl	...	Devon Berk's Agent

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violence and sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

180 min | Poland:197 min (Camerimage Film Fest)

Country:

France | Poland | USA

Language:

English | Polish

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iran:18+ | UK:15 | Belgium:KNT | France:U | Poland:18 | Italy:T | Ireland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Spain:13 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | Australia:MA | Spain:18 (DVD rating) | Brazil:14 | USA:R (certificate #42975) | New Zealand:R16 | Iceland:14

Filming Locations:

Avalon Hollywood - 1735 Vine Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Studio Canal

Trivia:

Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2007 (#02, tied with "Death Proof" and "Still life")

Quotes:

Neighbor: The Evil was born and followed the boy...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence (2007)

Soundtrack:

The Colors of My Life

As a Lynch fan I was disappointed.

I am a fan of Lynch, I have a book of interviews on him, and a book he wrote about creativity. I thought Mulholland Dr was a masterpiece, and yet INLAND EMPIRE disappointed me.

Its not that INLAND EMPIRE is bad, its just that after all the praise its received I felt that it should have been better. This is basically a Lynch experiment, not a Lynch film. He seems to be utterly fascinated by all the new "gizmos" involved with digital film-making, and thus instead of a story we get a 3 hour film of Lynch having a good time with the new digital era.

For a short while, INLAND EMPIRE almost ALMOST has a plot. Laura Dern plays a washed up actress, Jeremy Irons is a film director, and they set about making a haunted film. I have to wonder, knowing Lynch's style, if this isn't just some joke on his part. Releasing an incomprehensible film and seeing just how many snooty film critics will proclaim it as a masterpiece. Ultimately I can't shake that feeling that this is just Lynch getting sloppy, rather than making a coherent film (which takes work) he instead opts to make an incoherent film (which takes absolutely no work).

Considering I had to wait five years for the next Lynch film it is understandable that I was underwhelmed. Still I think Lynch is very interesting and I will be first in line for his next film, because when he gets it right, he gets it VERY right.