David Lynch - A Career Overview

03 October 07

For more than 40 years David Lynch has remained on the artistic cutting edge of filmmaking, establishing a cinematic language of his own that famously combines an ambiguous narrative style with unsettling imagery.

After a series of shorts in the late 60s, his film school feature Eraserhead (1977) enjoyed cult success, bringing Lynch to the attention of Mel Brooks, who was exec-producing The Elephant Man (1980). His spare direction shaped a hauntingly memorable film which earned him BAFTA nominations as director and co-screenwriter. By 1984, his reputation prompted an invitation from George Lucas to direct Return Of The Jedi although – perhaps wisely – Lynch declined the opportunity.

He has rarely relished the role of director for hire, proving instead to be a provocative auteur, a commentator on the darker psychologies within us. Typically he shakes up the complacent imagery of picture perfect Americana, subverting suburban normality in Blue Velvet (1986) by introducing darker elements (the memorable severed ear on

the lawn, for example). The equally enthralling Wild At Heart (1990), a fevered love story, picked up the Palme d’Or at Cannes, confirming Lynch as a director at the height of his powers.

Translating this movie success to a mainstream television audience seemed a risky venture, but Twin Peaks (1990-91) proved a cultural phenomenon both at home and abroad. A murder mystery populated by a compelling roster of characters, it led to a big screen prequel, subtitled Fire Walk With Me (1992). More TV work followed, including comedy series On The Air (1992) and mini-series Hotel Room (1993) before a triumphal return to the big screen with the psychological noir Lost Highway in 1997, and the surprisingly heart-warming pleasures of The Straight Story two years later.

“That was maybe my most experimental film,” he remarks. “When I read the script I was thinking ‘This is a beautiful feeling, how do you capture that?’. A lot of times you see people crying on the screen but you don’t feel like crying. But when you have something that brings a real emotion in there, that’s the power of cinema.”

He has rarely relished the role of director for hire, proving instead to be a provocative auteur, a commentator on the darker psychologies within us.

And that has been David Lynch’s quest throughout his career, challenging audiences to feel, to participate rather than passively accept what is presented on screen. Amnesiac mystery Mulholland Drive (2001) saw a return to enigmatic form for Lynch. Praised by one critic for its "extraordinary atmosphere and lush visual invention," it earned Lynch his fourth Oscar nomination. With its modest tagline, ‘A Woman in Trouble’, his latest feature, INLAND EMPIRE (2007), is arguably his most challenging yet. Shot entirely on digital video, it explores the fragmented personalities of a Hollywood actress via dancing prostitutes, a cursed Polish folk tale and a sitcom of talking rabbits; evidence surely that the maverick filmmaker, now 61, is not about to settle down or sell out.

Anwar Brett

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