Blue Velvet

To me, 1986's BLUE VELVET remains writer/director David Lynch's masterpiece, his most dramatically realized and comprehensive motion picture.  It was the first film in his oeuvre to truly establish him as a mainstream artist with a most unique point of view, as a singular voice.  At the time of BLUE VELVET's initial release, ERASERHEAD was still essentially a "midnight" movie while THE ELEPHANT MAN and DUNE were seeming bids for Hollywood success.   Especially in the 1980s, where independent (and independent minded films) were not celebrated outside of the big cities.  A film that repelled many, including yours truly, in its early years.  Not at all what audiences were accustomed to seeing, particularly within a story set in Small Town, USA. 

The film steadily (after that amazing opening) establishes the duality of its brainchild, an unassuming Midwesterner who nonetheless creates an unspeakable arena of oddity.  On my most recent viewing, I began seeing each of the main characters as part (or parts) of Lynch's distinctive personas as a filmmaker, if not necessarily his true life self.

1. Jeffery Beaumont, played by frequent Lynch collaborator Kyle MacLachlan.  A clean cut young man returning home from college.  He's painted as a decent, polite, caring soul...but with a yearn for danger, a taste for the "other side of town".  He even dares to favor Heineken over PBR.

  

2. Sandy Williams, played by another frequent collaborator, Laura Dern.  An entirely innocent, trusting, and forgiving young high schooler who is also the prototypical symbol of female submissiveness.

3. Dorothy Vallens, played by Isabella Rossellini.   A troubled artist, a torch singer at the local club, suffering a huge family dilemma.  A woman with a wide, dark streak of raw sexuality and proclivity for violence, perhaps driven by her circumstances, yet still indicating a beating heart somewhere underneath.

4. Frank Booth, played by Dennis Hopper.  An angry, dangerous character who seems to operate purely on his lowest impulses.  Lynch's id?

Jeffrey and Dorothy seem to represent different shades of our artist at different times.  Sandy and Frank represent the two extremes of him all of the time.

Surface analyses, yes.  Lynch exorcising his demons through his art, of course.  Another fever dream laid bare yet always cloaked in a tantalizing elusiveness.  This X-ray of  backwater darkness under the smiling facade gradually and confidently reveals its underbelly moment by moment, inching on the lost highway when Dorothy discovers Jeffrey hiding in her closet and hitting the accelerator when Frank arrives, leading to scenes of weirdness that I am sure caused certain theater goers to bolt.  Hugely unpleasant (yet often hilarious) scenes that would prove to be iconic and meme-worthy in later years. And put Hopper back on the map.

While the statute of limitations on spoilers has long expired, I haven't detailed the plotline on purpose, as knowing as little as possible ahead of time is in your favor, invisible audience.  Know that some viewers found the film's treatment of women (especially Rossellini's character) to be misogynistic.  I disagree, never feeling that Lynch is exploiting her merely for kicks.  I will additionally say that the film always surprised me with its rather literal and hopeful wrap-up, one that some viewers might find positively reactionary.  They may in fact feel that way about the entire film.  

P.S. - Mr. Lynch left this troubled world two days ago.  A crushing loss for mankind.  Not just the art and entertainment realms.  His work has meant enough to me to desire to compose a separate essay, hopefully to come. 

May you bypass the Black Lodge, sir.