Dir. David Lynch
USA, 1986
To
state that Blue Velvet is one of my favorite films would be an understatement.
Lynch’s authorial stamp, the polarization of the purely innocent and the
grotesquely dark that resides beneath, is perfectly exampled in Blue Velvet.
With an all-star cast including Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rosselini, Laura Dern
and Dennis Hopper as well as a spectacularly written and executed script, this
film covers all the bases.
When
someone tells me they don’t like a David Lynch film I usually come to one of
two conclusions: they didn’t have the attention span to sit through it, or they
don’t understand Lynch’s intentions. The whole concept of each and every Lynch
film is the foiling of the good versus bad paradigm. The characters that
represent innocence and purity are extra innocent and pure, almost to the point
of corny 1950’s stature. On the other hand, the characters that represent the
dark, deranged undertones of the storyline are superbly dark and deranged. By
putting these two opposites next to each other, Lynch is able to amplify the
effect of their polarization.
In
Blue Velvet, this motif is easily recognized. Good guy Jeffrey Beaumont, played
by Kyle MacLachlan, gets roped into an abusive murder mystery when he finds a severed
ear. He runs into several sketchy characters: Dorothy Vallens, beautifully
portrayed by Isabella Rosselini, and her maniac captor Frank Booth, played by
Dennis Hopper. Forced to deal with his newfound insecurity in his own backyard,
Beaumont tries to protect the ones he loves but ends up feeling childish by his
own heroic attempts.
What’s
truly remarkable is the acting in the film. Laura Dern, who plays the innocent
love interest of MacLachlan, has some dialogue that if played by any other
actress would be considered insincere and corny. However, the way Dern plays
the lines, she convinces the audience that her character fully believes in what
she’s saying. There’s no hint of cynicism or an inch of doubt in her acting.
This cements the illusion of the purity of her character. The same can be said
for Rosselini, MacLachlan and Hopper’s dialogue. They commit to the lines
without fear. They trust Lynch as a writer and a director to know the language
of the film.
Blue
Velvet is definitely not for the faint of heart; however, it is worth a look
into the work of one of the best American directors of the twentieth century.