DAVID LYNCH

Bil’s rating (out of 5):   BBB.

France/Poland/USA, 2006.  StudioCanal, Fundacja Kultury, Camerimage Festival, Absurda, Asymmetrical Productions, Inland Empire Productions. Screenplay by David Lynch.  Cinematography by David Lynch.  Produced by David Lynch, Mary Sweeney.  Music by Marek Zebrowski.  Production Design by Christina Ann Wilson.  Costume Design by Karen Baird, Heidi Bivens.  Film Editing by David Lynch.  

David Lynch goes full-on indie with this exploration of the truly bizarre, shooting his three-hour epic drama on grainy handicam and releasing it without the help of any studio backing.  Laura Dern is outstanding as a Hollywood actress who has just been cast in a film co-starring Justin Theroux and directed by Jeremy Irons. The film, as it turns out, is a remake of a Polish production from the past that was halted due to the mysterious murder of its cast members.  Dern soon realizes that she is crossing over from one reality to another as filming progresses, but that’s only the shell of the story:  most of the time you won’t have a clue what’s going on, and if you’re a fan of the director’s, you won’t mind one bit. While there is plentiful imagery that continues to make the auteur so celebrated among his fans, and the film is worth trying just to see how extraordinary Miss Dern is, the lagging running time will be a problem for many.