LOST HIGHWAY
October Film presents a CIBY2000 production.
Directed by David Lynch. Produced by Deepak Nayar,
Tom Steenberg, Mary Sweeney.
Director of photography, Peter Deming. Editor, Mary Sweeney.
Music composer and conductor, Angelo Badalamenti.
Additional music by Barry Adamson.
Unit production manager, Deepak Nayar. First assistant director, Scott
Cameron. Second assistant director, Simone Farmer.
Production designer/Costume designer, Patricia Norris.
Production supervisor, Sabrina S. Sutherland.
Set decorator, Leslie Morales. Costumes, Maurizio Bizrari.
Camera operator, Paul Hughen.
Sound design, David Lynch. Supervising sound editor, Frank Gaeta.
Music editor, Marc Varrocur. Additional sound effects
supplied by Ann Kroeber-Splet.
Screenplay by David Lynch and Barry Gifford. 1/97,135 mins, R..
Fred Madison ........................ Bill Pullman
Renee Madison/Alice...............Patricia Arquette
Al............................................John Roselius
Andy .....................................Michael Massee
Mystery Man...........................Robert Blake
Pete Dayton............................Balthazar Getty
Bill Dayton..............................Gary Busey
Arnie.......................................Richard Pryor
Mr. Eddy/Dick Laurent............Robert Loggia
Phil ........................................Jack Nance
Ed .........................................Lou Eppolito
Party Girl................................Jenna Maetlind
by Steve Biodrowski
David Lynch has been America's premier Dark Dreamer for so long that the mantle has become perhaps too familiar. His excursions into the bizarre, at least for awhile, were so identifiable that they were starting to resemble self-parody. His television show TWIN PEAKS did a good job of working this fact to its advantage: coming off the critical success of BLUE VELVET, Lynch (with an assist from collaborator Mark Frost) managed to play around with audience expectation and delivered an excellent combination of the absurdly funny and the strangely weird. Meanwhile, in his feature film work, the dark, subversive humor of BLUE VELVET, which contrasted nicely with the film's more disturbing elements, gave way to what was almost outright camp in WILD AT HEART. By the time of TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME, he seemed to be tired of purveying black comedy. Instead, he chose to rub his audience's noses in the darker aspects of the show; unfortunately, the audience, atuned to expect dark comic relief amidst the horror, turned away.
So, what is there left for Lynch to do, after his brief moment of mass market popularity has faded? Well, quite simply, he has chosen to follow his own muse. There is nothing about LOST HIGHWAY that smacks of commercial calculation or audience consideration. Instead, he has dream d a brilliant new film that forges his signature elements, film noir stylings, and hard-boiled plot motifs. Working from a basic premise ("What if I had a second chance?"), he and Barry Gifford spin out a surreal tale that, while puzzling, follows its own dream logic to a satisfying conclusion. While the obscure elements limit easy audience identification with the characters (especially when they change identities), Lynch's mastery of the craft, both visual and audio, pulls viewers along in its grip. Barry Gifford's explanation of the transformation as a "psycho-genic fugue" is useful for those puzzling out the film after seeing it, but is not necessary to enjoy the actual experience of screening it. nose looking for a film that is challenging, different, and unusual will find much to appreciate.
Page 62
Copyright 1997 Frederick S. Clarke
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