The Ongoing Complete-Films-of-David-Lynch Project
For this installment in our ongoing presentation of the complete filmography of David Lynch, we tackle two of Lynch’s less-appreciated efforts, both of which did poorly on their release and received critical dismissals, but which, over time, have come to be seen as essential pieces of the Lynch catalog. After this installment, we will have screened eight of Lynch’s 10 feature films, with the final pair coming soon.
In the town of Twin Peaks, everybody has their secrets—but no one more than Laura Palmer.
In this prequel to his groundbreaking 1990s television series, David Lynch resurrects the teenager wrapped in plastic, following her through the last week of her life and teasing out the enigmas that surround her murder. Homecoming queen by day and drug-addicted thrill seeker by night, Laura leads a double life that pulls her deeper and deeper into horror as she pieces together the identity of the assailant who has been terrorizing her for years.
Nightmarish in its vision of an innocent torn apart by unfathomable forces, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is nevertheless one of Lynch’s most humane films, aching with compassion for its tortured heroine—a character as enthralling in life as she was in death. Please note, though: the depiction of sexual assault in this film can be unnerving.
Much darker in tone than the TV series, Fire Walk With Me did its best to confound expectations. It refused to address any of TV shows loose ends, and minimized many longtime characters, including even Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), though it did make room for a confusing but striking cameo from David Bowie.
The film was allegedly booed at Cannes and proceeded to bomb spectacularly in America. Critics savaged it—Roger Ebert called it “shockingly bad,” while The New York Times’ Vincent Canby raged that the film “induced a state of simulated brain death.”
As happens with the work of genius filmmakers, time has been kind, and the film is now seen as one of Lynch’s best. Sight & Sound’s 2022 Poll ranks the film as the 211th best of all time, tied with Raiders of the Lost Ark and Brief Encounter. The British Film Institute ranked it as the fourth-best film of the 1990s, while NME (another British publication) dubbed Angelo Badalamenti’s score “The Greatest Soundtrack Ever.” Its reappraisal cleared the way for Lynch to complete his 18-episode show, Twin Peaks: The Return, which tied the story up (sorta… but not really).