Blue Velvet
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Movie Reviews of Blue Velvet
Movie Review: Very close to velvety smooth...
Summary: 4 Stars
Let it be known that David Lynch has a very unique style; a style that is a very acquired taste. You either love him or you hate him; there is rarely an in-between. I personally love his work (most of it), which is what saddens me a bit about `Blue Velvet'. This is one of those films that is lauded above all his other work as being the best of the best, but it struck me a little cold. The script is flawless (I love the ambiguities that lie within Lynch's work) and the direction, pace and mood acquired is effortlessly captivating, but the film falls short in a very central area; the acting.
Don't pelt me with stones just yet.
The film revolves around Jeffrey Beaumont, a young man who returns to his hometown after his father falls ill suddenly. Upon his return he finds a severed ear in a field and his journey then begins. With local high school girl Sandy (whose father happens to be the Detective Jeffrey shows the ear to) Jeffrey decides to try and uncover the mystery behind the ear, and this attempt brings him into the lives of quite a few interesting people. First there is Dorothy Vallens, a beautiful woman who is victim to a strange and violent man named Frank Booth; and sliding into their lives, Jeffrey finds himself in desperate need for help as he watches his life slide further and further towards its end.
Lynch, like I mentioned, has a unique style of direction. If you are familiar with `Eraserhead' or `Mulholland Drive' then you already know how this film is going to progress. He allows the scenes to move at their own pace, manipulating them just slightly. This may come off to some as dry or even stale, but this is Lynch's way of using everything at his disposal to create a mood, an air within each scene.
I have no problem with this.
The script is also brilliantly done. The slow progression of junior detective is effective and consuming as we anticipate how things are going to turn out for Jeffrey. We are interested in his relationship with Dorothy, and especially Sandy. We want to know how these two women are going to affect the outcome of his life, and we are terrified at the revelations about to be revealed by the repulsive Frank Booth.
I adore these aspects of the film.
Like I mentioned, the only fault I have with `Blue Velvet' is the acting, and not as a whole but in parts. I'll start with the good. Isabella Rossellini is a stunning woman who really uses everything within her to create a woman of believable desperation. She is conflicted in every scene, and this is scene marvelously. We can see each fragment of her dissention into chaos. Laura Dern is even more splendid. She delivers such a richly honest performance as young Sandy, fascinated by each new discovery, no matter how terrifying it winds up being for her. But as great as these two actresses are, the film starts to crumble when left up to the men. Dennis Hopper (who actually received praise for his performance) is just one gigantic gimmick. He never really transcends his characters stereotypes. He's a crazy psychopath, nothing more. He delivered (the same year) a wonderfully controlled performance in `Hoosiers' that I am disappointed he wasn't able to control this a little more. That said, he is still much more interesting than Kyle MacLachlan who may very well be the most boring actor since Keanu Reeves. I just really wish that someone, anyone else would have landed this role. MacLachlan just killed the high the film as a whole effectively sets.
All this said, I am fond of this film. It has so much going for it, and Lynch is just such a unique and original director who always stays true to himself. There are very few films like this one, and the ones that come close are also directed by Lynch. This is not a film for everyone, but if you are a fan of Lynch then this is a film you are bound to enjoy.
Movie Review: yummy! =)
Summary: 5 Stars
this movie is a classic mind bender! if you like david lynch's other stuff, like lost highway or wild at heart, you will like this. oh, mommy! ;)Movie Review: Good Movie
Summary: 4 Stars
I had never heard of this movie until I was watching a TV show that was describing the 10 best crime movies. I ordered it new and was pleased with the movie and the prompt delivery from Amazon.Movie Review: The Hardy Boys investigate a real mystery
Summary: 5 Stars
After his father has a stroke, clean-cut college student Jeffery Beaumont (Kyle McLaughlin) returns home to help out in his father's hardware store. While walking in a field one day, he discovers a severed ear which leads him and girlfriend, policeman's daughter, Sandy Williams (Laura Dern), on a Hardy Boys-esque investigation that takes them to the dark underbelly of their perfect American small town existence.
Imagine a 1930's film noir with sex and drugs, and the Hardy Boys as detectives, and you've got a pretty good idea of what this film is about. "Blue Velvet" takes standard crime film elements that you have seen dozens of times before and combines them into one of the most original films you have ever seen in your life. The central theme of this film is the battle between all that is wholesome, or good and that which is corrupt, or evil. The side of good is represented by Jeffery Beaumont, sort of a real-world Frank Hardy and a forerunner to McLaughlin's "Twin Peaks" character, Dale Cooper. Between Jeffery Beaumont and Dale Cooper, to me, McLaughlin is the face of innocence and this film is all about the loss of that innocence and its redemption. On the side of evil is drug-addicted, expletive-spewing Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper), truly the most frightening and disturbing villain ever.
"Blue Velvet" is a very nasty, in-your-face movie that is most certainly not for all tastes (I read on the internet that many people walked out when this film was first shown in cinemas and I can see why). It is also a very weird film (although, by the standards set by David Lynch's other movies, this film is positively normal) and many scenes in it are designed to be endured rather than enjoyed. Yet, unlike many other similarly dark films, I didn't come out of this film feeling dirty (something that I felt after seeing "Sin City"). I felt that, just like Jeffery Beaumont, I had journeyed to the underworld but had returned, and in the course of that return, any evil that I had encountered had been washed away. For this reason, if you do see this film, I recommend that you stay with it until the end. The middle might be bad, but in the end, all is restored.
Movie Review: A controversial and beautiful film from a master
Summary: 5 Stars
"Blue Velvet" is a take on film noir with typical Lynch weirdness, unique atmosphere and breathtaking cinematic work. Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) comes home from college to visit his sick and bed-ridden father who had a tragic accident. Having made a startling discovery (to be more exact, a human ear lying in the grass), out of sheer boredom and driven by passion for adventure Jeffrey decides to proceed with this mystery and gets involved with a night-club singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) living in a shabby apartment building, which is somewhat incongruous to the sleepy suburban paradise of Lumberton.
Dorothy, a queer mixture, of "damsel in distress" and "femme fatale", is in a middle of a life and death situation involving her husband and son. She is subjected to sexual abuse and other forms of violence by a psychopathic man named Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) and his demented associates. Jeffrey's further investigation reveals that one of the police detectives is also involved in the criminal activities of the gang, and that means that he will have to deal with these people using his own resources. He confides in Sandy, a good-natured and sweet blonde, whose father is a hard-working and honest policeman. Sandy is obviously fascinated by Jeffrey's recklessness, but her level-headed nature prevents her from becoming his full-time accomplice and ditching her boy-friend, at least, not until later on.
Stylistically, Blue Velvet is a precursor to Lynch's notorious collaboration with Mark Frost - TV series "Twin Peaks". These creations share a lot of elements including the small town setting, a dangerously attractive brunette, oldies often played under disturbing circumstances, dreamy angel-like singers (remember Julie Cruise in Twin Peaks), flame and even the famous red curtains. Although "Blue Velvet" is just a thriller without any supernatural context, somehow you expect the Dwarf to pop up and start dancing at any time.
The blue velvet is a leitmotif of the film. "Blue Velvet" is a song that Dorothy has to perform in a club every night looking straight in the eyes of her tormentors. Dorothy also wears a blue velvet gown at home, and Frank has a fetish for blue velvet using it in his perverted sexual games. Blue velvet is a symbol of mystery, obsession and hidden passions lurking beneath the exterior of men.
Lynch uses different colors for the scenes taking place in the normal world of American suburbia versus Dorothy's apartment or Ben's house. Lumbertown is depicted as idyllic joyful place with bright yellow tulips against the white fence and bright green grass. Everything involving Dorothy or the criminals is shot either in the darkness or unnaturally striking colors. The director makes an interesting application of the contrast between the two women in protagonist's life. Dangerous and seductive Dorothy is a voluptuous brunette wearing blue or red gowns, whereas Sandy is a slender blonde, your typical American next door cheerleader.
Kyle MacLahlan is cute, adorable and gives an incredibly convincing performance. His love-making scenes with Rossellini are tasteful, beautiful and disturbing at the same time. Rosselini was quite adequate, especially if we take into account the complexity of the character, but I couldn't get rid of this thought in the back of my head that Sherilyn Fenn would have been much more memorable. Perhaps, I am irreparably spoiled by Twin Peaks... However, Rossellini's was Lynch's favorite at the time, so we can understand being a little bit biased here.
Dennis Hopper is way over the top as Frank Booth, being psychotic, violent and pitiful at the same time. His every appearance on the screen is a an avalanche of emotions, swear-words and craziness. He is a dangerous man and Jeffrey who stepped in his way knows that the only way for him to stay alive is to eliminate Frank.
Lynch decided to end this flick on a joyful note. Everything goes back to normal in Lumberton, Jeffrey and Sandy will probably go on to have a long and wholesome life together with children on the way. Dorothy is hugging her son in the final moments of the movie, and the robin as the symbol of good is devouring the bug just as in Sandy's dream. However, despite the obviously happy ending and triumph of the good over the evil, the final scenes have such a dream-like and surreal quality that one cannot help suspecting that something bad is doomed to happen again. With Lynch you never know for sure...