Lost Highway

1997 psychological nightmare

Rating: 15/20

Plot: A jealous guy meets a creepy pale guy at a party and then either murders his wife or doesn't murder his wife. He probably does. While in jail for the crime, he transforms into a mechanic and makes a series of decisions that are probably going to get him into some trouble. There's the creepy pale guy again. Cue backward explosion! Marilyn Manson! And cut.

I think David Lynch's last three movies were made as some sort of test. This, Inland Empire, Mulholland Drive. I've not really had the urge to see any of them again unlike Eraserhead which I could watch once a week. These three are a test on the senses, perplexing and frustrating riddles, clumsy nightmares. Thinking about any of those three movies--a trilogy? They are linked thematically, right?--kind of gives me a headache actually. They're so dark, so dismal and hopeless. The non-linear approach is fine, but Lost Highway seems to almost break its own rules, and Lynch creates this world that very few people will want to enter and fewer will want to stick around in. Neo-psycho-noir, blacker than black. It's not always entertaining even though there are some things you kind of want to laugh at and other things that you'll never forget (that conversation with the creepy pale guy at the party is as terrifying as dialogue gets). This starts with Scott Walker, by the way, so that's cool. And Richard Pryor's in it, only he doesn't look so good. His best moment: "There are nine people down here. I'll let you ask seven of them, and if you can get that price from one of them, I'll let you ask the other two." My very favorite moment though is probably getting to watch Mr. Eddy's road rage. Ultimately, I think this a movie about movies, but I'm not completely sure, and I wouldn't feel comfortable talking about this movie in a bar. It's as fascinating a two-plus hours as you'll get with a feature film, but I can't say it's entirely pleasurable. Either something is wrong with David Lynch or something is wrong with the human mind in general. I'm guessing it's the latter.