“I always say, the film is the thing. The film is the thing. You work so hard to get this thing built, all the elements to feel correct, the whole to feel correct, in this beautiful language called cinema.” — David Lynch
Filmmaker David Lynch passed away at his daughter’s Los Angeles home on Jan. 15 at the age of 78, leaving behind an illustrious and idiosyncratic career that irrevocably changed the boundaries of cinema.
The term “Lynchian” soars beyond just being an adjective — the Oxford English Dictionary describes it as “noted for juxtaposing surreal or sinister elements with mundane, everyday environments, and for using compelling visual images to emphasize a dreamlike quality of mystery or menace.” As overused as this word is, the popularity of the term signifies its indelible impact. Where mainstream media usually lingers in conformity, Lynch stretched the boundaries of narrative, and many, like myself, found comfort and beauty in this distorted dark reality.
Lynch often used American suburbia as a vessel to meld paradoxical themes of the uncanny and surreal that lurked underneath the usual doldrums of everyday life. Comfort materialized in the settings of diners with black coffee and cherry pie and shows like “Blue Velvet” and “Twin Peaks” symbolize modern interpretations of American life — until the narrative is thrust into the trappings of sadism and secrecy. Lynch held a reverence for the reality of America — how beneath its cookie-cutter shape, oddities and eerie, fantastical narratives lurked.
“I discovered that if one looks a little closer at this beautiful world, there are always red ants underneath,” Lynch said in an interview with fellow filmmaker Chris Rodley.
Even with his nonfigurative and surrealist ideas, Lynch stressed one binding theme in the world: love. Actress Laura Dern, who played Sandy Williams in “Blue Velvet,” speaks poetically, saying “I had a dream. In fact, it was the night I met you… And it seemed like that love would be the only thing that would make any difference. And it did. So, I guess it means there is trouble ’til the robins come.”
Dreams also define Lynch’s mindset: At some points in his work, the lines between dreams and reality are completely blurred — with no explanation. Lynch, the fiercest defender and most devoted lover of Los Angeles, embodied the dreams both built and crushed in the city for every aspiring creative. His unofficial LA trilogy of films offers shifting perspectives on the gilded city. They detail actors and their experiences as they fall from grace into psychological torment, like Dern in “Inland Empire,” or experience a dream-like meteoric rise to fame, like Naomi Watts’ character in “Mulholland Drive.” Lynch brought dreams and nightmares to life in his work, stemming from his admiration for LA and his devotion to its streams of self-indulgence.
Famed film critic Roger Ebert described “Mulholland Drive” as “a movie you surrender yourself to,” one that “Lynch had been working toward… all of his career.” Although Lynch may be seen as a misguided artistic madman by most of blockbuster Hollywood, the film symbolized his critical breakthrough into the mainstream, and he won the Cannes Film Festival award for Best Director, with an Academy Award nomination for the same category. Through the winding, frenetic shots of the titular road around the Hollywood Hills, one can find the love he holds for cinema, Los Angeles, America and the unique identities hidden under every ordinary person.
In his first feature, “Eraserhead,” the lady in the radiator sings “in heaven everything is fine,” and that we know for sure. Thank you for the films, David Lynch, and the legacy you’ve left behind for all creatives.
Contact Maggie Turner at [email protected].
