Inland Empire

Pleasant Sunday. Something of a lie in. Then chatting with Sarah who introduced me to the delights of Hawaii's own Don Ho amongst other things. And looked at Hawaii recipes for pork "butt". Apparently standard US nomenclature. I learn lots of odd things from Sarah.

Spoke to Mum who is finalising her website. I will have a link here as soon as it is up and running. Pottered about for a bit in the afternoon, with an eye to the Chelsea v Spurs FA cup match on TV, with the noble Chelsea recovering from a poor start to force a replay with the upstarts. Also applied for some ISBN numbers.

Took myself off to see Inland Empire the new David Lynch film, at the Duke of York's Picturehouse in Brighton. Excellent venue, grand and slightly shabby. They seemed to have pumped all the oxygen from the cinema however, which made me almost nod off at one point. The film however was stunning, gruelling and mystifying all at the same time.

It features Laura Dern as an actress who becomes involved in a remake of a movie which was never completed as the two leads died. The film is like falling through a series of trapdoors, and half of it Dern seems to be walking down sinister corridors into increasingly dark and mysterious rooms. Time seems to completely fragment, and there are moments when she seems to be glimpsing herself at earlier and later times. You are not sure either if the action is part of the film she is making or happening to her, or is all a dream. It is all so layered it is frankly difficult to say what on earth is happening. And not to mention the segments that are a bit like a sitcom, scripted by Samuel Beckett, with people wearing rabbit costumes. Or the Polish subplot. Confusing, but fabulous. I want to see it again. Laura Dern is brilliant in it.

Felt a bit creeped out and disturbed walking home. Back to an odd supper of cold chicken and crumpets and then chatted more to Sarah, with Cabal the dog whistling piteously in the background, before bed.

Comments

badgerdaddy said…
I haven't seen much of Lynch's recent stuff. My favourite of his is still the stunning and beautiful Wild At Heart, which trumps Blue Velvet for me.

And if you haven't read the book it's from, check out Barry Gifford's The Wild Life of Sailor and Lula, which is the collected six novellas featuring the movie's fab characters. It's completely brilliant, IMO.
Peter Kenny said…
Howdy Badgerdaddy... Yes just ordered Wild at Heart from Amazon. The Lynch craze must continue! Not heard of Gifford...will investigate.