Inland Empire

Directed by David Lynch, starring Laura Dern

Reviewed 30 September 2007

Wow. I’m not going to try and sum this movie up or even to get very in depth about the history of my passion for David Lynch movies. Suffice it to say that I feel with this movie Mr Lynch has fulfilled a promise he’s been making for years and years with his more recent films. The confusion of “Mulholland Drive” and “Lost Highway” are mixed with the tenderness of “The Straight Story.”
Laura Dern is so amazing to watch. The more the movie progresses, the more I was amazed at what I saw coming from her. It’s as though she pours forth a whole career in this movie, acting out every conceivable character she might be called upon to play. What’s wonderful is that she has such total conviction that this wacky-ass David Lynch mindfuck has something genuine at its heart. And, in return, Lynch seems to have realized that however much eccentric vision he’s capable of concocting in his mind, it can only be realized if he allows an actor with Dern’s genius to have her own vision, to stand at the heart of the movie and drive it forward with all the heart and soul anyone could possibly ask for.