A Slack Transcript
ME [9:51 AM]
@FRIEND I’m watching Mulholland Drive on Criterion Channel for the first time (I didn’t see it when it came out, never got the dvd), and I ask whether, from your own film-critical perspective (which I think is quite different from mine), whether the film is supposed to be this funny?
FRIEND [9:56 AM]
I don’t think it’s supposed to be entirely funny. But it does have off kilter elements that prompt the viewer to laugh. It was originally made as a pilot for a TV show, that didn’t quite make it to production. So it has, in many ways, a lot of what David Lynch’s mood has in Twin Peaks.
Most obvious comparison is Bergman’s Persona, but it does not quite fit. And I believe it to be funnier than that. It is not meant to be all too serious.
Even Inland Empire has moments of funniness. I think that in that sense it’s part of Lynch’s repertoire, along with some creepiness. However, I’d ask which bits you find to be funny. I know I can laugh a lot in certain scenes, but others have pointed out in the past how some of Lynch’s hilariousness could not be seen as intentional
FRIEND [10:05 AM]
@ME https://youtu.be/QiLza4B6XhA
I mean this is Coen brother’s stuff. There’s certainly some creepiness in MD, but it’s tonality (meaning changes from drama, psychological noir, comedy) are very on par with Lynch’s TV output.
ME [10:07 AM]
I had just watched that scene when I posted, and the Coens were very much on my mind. This is hilariously absurd.
But basically every scene strikes me as funny, even when not being slapstick.
The mannered quality, the ridiculous deadpan.
The scene with Dan Hadaya was hysterical.
FRIEND [10:09 AM]
Yes, I believe you can absolutely read that. Mainly because I take Lynch to be an ambivalent filmmaker. He’s the opposite of shallow reads. You can take his way of directing actors as basically telling them “play it counter to how I am writing it”
So scenes that should be creepy are acted deadpanish. Have the score added on, off-kilter editing, random cuts that interrupt flow of traditional structure.
ME [10:11 AM]
He’s not afraid of artifice. Which is something I see in Coppola, but with less of an absurdist intent.
FRIEND [10:11 AM]
For me, this is most exemplified in his Cowboy and the Frenchman. https://youtu.be/rQsGma4_H1Y
The short films of David Lynch give you more insight on his style than his TV or film output. Mostly because I take his more well known outputs to be expansions of formal experiments he explores in short bursts.
That is to say, to a certain point I like Lynch as an essayist, folding form in and out of itself, to convey styles of traditional structure and express something curiously unique.
ME [10:17 AM]
It’s kind of unfortunate that he’s so willing to discard plot and character in favor of nearly pure style. What’s not funny is kind of boring.
FRIEND [10:17 AM]
[in this sense I also enjoy Godard’s shorts and late output, as I take it to be a more streamlined formal experiment with form and content that what he used to, which was bury his ideas a bit, and try to contort structure to fit them and explore them. I believe Godard’s confusion is more interesting that his lucidity]
@ME I can see that being the case. The boring bits are the parts that get analyzed a lot from a film theoretic point of view. In that sense he can be academic and sadly, the interestingness vary for the viewer.
ME [10:23 AM]
Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart were interesting because they were arresting and novel. This is neither, and requires that you care enough about his subtler formal games to stick with it. Fortunately, the comedic bits (which are basically everything not about the two girls, so far) remain.
FRIEND [10:24 AM]
Considering what you’ve written and your taste, I’d advice to give FX’s Atlanta a go. It’s resolutely lynchean without jeopardising character and plot.
Yes, see. At one point I do believe Lynch enters the formal maneuvering game and exploration rather than following through the craft of narrative. In that sense, I believe Mullholand Drive to be a record of a failed project that changed his direction towards formal experimentation and embrace of audiovisual tics rather than a care for character.
ME [10:28 AM]
Does he use a consistent set decorator/designer?
FRIEND [10:29 AM]
Yes http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/29313/1/meeting-the-man-behind-david-lynch-s-surreal-design
The production designer has known Lynch since school and created the look for films like Carrie, Mulholland Dr. and The Revenant – here he talks about collaborating with the director
ME [10:31 AM]
Yeah, figured.
FRIEND [10:37 AM]
I recommend Berberian Sound Studio for a Lynchean experience.
ME [10:37 AM]
I did see that. Definitely a keeper.
FRIEND [10:38 AM]
The Double by Richard Ayoade is also good in this manner.
ME [10:38 AM]
There was a moment in Berberian that really tickled me, when the engineer has loops of tape running between the tape heads and microphone stands. “Yep, been there.”
FRIEND [10:38 AM]
Oh, and Southland Tales. Which is the most Lynchean experience outside of Lynch. It’s bananas.
There’s a fucking scene there that is so out there I love it.
ME [10:39 AM]
I’ll look these up, thank you. Will have to take them in small doses, as “Lynchean-ness” is not one of my higher-weighted criteria for movie viewing.
FRIEND [10:41 AM]
No problem. The Double is a good film in any case. It’s moody. Which I find to be quite fun and interesting to watch.
ME [10:41 AM]
This is very funny… the two girls are rehearsing a scene for the blonde, and it’s the most “natural” acting in the film so far.
FRIEND [10:41 AM]
And Southland Tales is just so astonishing. You might think it’s the worst movie ever or one of the best things you’ve seen.
Ha. Yes.
I’ve just started using it but I used to do reviews a lot on letterboxd.
ME [10:46 AM]
Cool. Bookmarked. I’ve started a video log myself, but I’m keeping it locally hosted.
FRIEND [10:47 AM]
That’s good. In the old days we all had static html pages with scores. Now letterboxd is a bit of a rule of thumb
ME [10:52 AM]
It’s funny how conditioned I am. The scene with Chad Everett is the one that grabbed me. “Acting!”
ME [11:22 AM]
I feel like Lynch is cheating here. At about 45 minutes left in the film, he suddenly employs his artifice to make me take this a lot more emotionally seriously.
Now I’m wondering what his game is.
FRIEND [11:23 AM]
Finish it off. You’ll see.
It’s one of the great films of the 2000’s.
ME [11:54 AM]
Well. That got dark.
FRIEND [12:00 PM]
Hahaha