It's a strange world...
BLUE VELVET is a 1986 film starring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini and Dennis Hopper, as well as being written and directed by David Lynch. This film follows Kyle MacLachlan as Jeffrey Beaumont, a curious young soul who discovers a seedy underbelly to his small town when he discovers a severed human ear in a field after visiting is sick father in hospital. The less you know the better.
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Blue Velvet is yet another one of my personal favourites, it is simply the quintessential small town mystery.
Kyle MacLachlan takes the starring role of Jeffrey Beaumont, the aforementioned small town teenager. This role sees MacLachlan in quite possibly what is the biggest opposite possible when compared to Dune, David Lynch's prior work, it is easily MacLachlan's best performance alongside his famed character Special Agent Dale Cooper in the simply wonderful Twin Peaks. Jeffrey is played as an unassuming and mostly naive character by MacLachlan as he dives into the underworld of his small town of Lumberton. You really do feel for Jeffrey throughout his oddly perilous journey, even though his journey is as a result of his curious nature. However, this is a situation that most can associate with, especially when at a young age, wanting to experience new and dangerous things just to see what its like. Taking any opportunity. MacLachlan's soft-spoken manner and brittle physique compliment the character of Jeffrey nicely, that he is a curiously fragile character who only returns back to his home town after his father suffers an almost fatal stroke. It is quite amazing how such an understated performance can have a lasting impression that sticks with you, even seeing the film with repeated viewings.
Isabella Rossellini takes the secondary role as Jeffrey's somewhat love interest, a mysterious woman which is the cause of Jeffrey's intrigue and eventual trouble. Similar to MacLachlan's character is that Dorothy Vallens is involved with the wrong people, of how she got there is never explained. She is left to struggle as she is controlled by the underworld that she entered presumably long ago. Another stand-out performance in a film chock full of stand-out performances, the initially elegant Dorothy is found to be a very vulnerable and lonely woman as the film progresses and those layers to her character is what makes the performance ever so special. She is tortured and is struggling as she is used by the underworld and Jeffrey is seen to be her way out of it.
Dennis Hopper is Frank Booth, the film's main antagonist and what is seen to be the leader of the town's criminal underbelly as Jeffrey uncovers his criminal actions ranging from drug abuse to horrible feats of sexual violence and murder. Hopper is truly unnerving in this film, his unstable look and dark presence making any scene involving his character feel uneasy and often beyond disturbing. How his character arrived at this sorry state is up for debate, but what isn't up for debate is that this exceptional performance essentially revived Hopper's career after previously reaching his peak with films like Easy Rider and a supporting role in Apocalypse Now. This film demonstrates how perfectly versatile Hopper as an actor was, prior to passing away recently. It is definitely a performance to be remembered by.
Finally, fellow Lynch collaborator, Laura Dern takes the other innocent actual love interest of Jeffrey, Sandy Williams. Dern is no stranger to the surrealist mind of David Lynch with this being her very first performance with Lynch, effectively leading her into his world as with her character. Her performance is by no means weak, but her character falls into a similar situation that Jeffrey subjectively benefits from, that some may consider a con, that her acting is subdued in order to what I feel is to project your image onto their characters and follow their experience as it is your own.
Isabella Rossellini takes the secondary role as Jeffrey's somewhat love interest, a mysterious woman which is the cause of Jeffrey's intrigue and eventual trouble. Similar to MacLachlan's character is that Dorothy Vallens is involved with the wrong people, of how she got there is never explained. She is left to struggle as she is controlled by the underworld that she entered presumably long ago. Another stand-out performance in a film chock full of stand-out performances, the initially elegant Dorothy is found to be a very vulnerable and lonely woman as the film progresses and those layers to her character is what makes the performance ever so special. She is tortured and is struggling as she is used by the underworld and Jeffrey is seen to be her way out of it.
Dennis Hopper is Frank Booth, the film's main antagonist and what is seen to be the leader of the town's criminal underbelly as Jeffrey uncovers his criminal actions ranging from drug abuse to horrible feats of sexual violence and murder. Hopper is truly unnerving in this film, his unstable look and dark presence making any scene involving his character feel uneasy and often beyond disturbing. How his character arrived at this sorry state is up for debate, but what isn't up for debate is that this exceptional performance essentially revived Hopper's career after previously reaching his peak with films like Easy Rider and a supporting role in Apocalypse Now. This film demonstrates how perfectly versatile Hopper as an actor was, prior to passing away recently. It is definitely a performance to be remembered by.
Finally, fellow Lynch collaborator, Laura Dern takes the other innocent actual love interest of Jeffrey, Sandy Williams. Dern is no stranger to the surrealist mind of David Lynch with this being her very first performance with Lynch, effectively leading her into his world as with her character. Her performance is by no means weak, but her character falls into a similar situation that Jeffrey subjectively benefits from, that some may consider a con, that her acting is subdued in order to what I feel is to project your image onto their characters and follow their experience as it is your own.
The other fellow cast members including Dean Stockwell are to be equally lauded, all of the characters within this film are well performed, it's difficult to find a bad performance in any of Lynch's work.
The cinematography by another previous Lynch collaborator, Frederick Elmes stands as sweet yet haunting after it's initial ruse of a perfect suburbia with a less than perfect dark side. Elmes serves his purpose with some distinctive camera work, such as the shot of Jeffrey hiding in the closet from Frank in the trailer seen above, the shadows cast upon his face. Meticulously done. A final note is the contrast between the neighbourhood scenes and the noir-esque scenes whilst in the criminal underbelly is outstanding.
The writing and directing seen by David Lynch in this film is amongst his best work. As much as I love the pure unadulterated Lynch seen in his films like Eraserhead, I feel that I enjoy Lynch's films that slight bit more when some of his mannerisms are restrained as they can become self-indulgent to a degree. Blue Velvet benefits from the human element of Jeffrey, something that even more general audiences can easily connect to and grasp a hold of. In retrospect also, the idea of a small town mystery has became a well-trodden setting since Blue Velvet's release, giving it a sense of familiarity to those who may have seen works inspired by this very film and then go back to watch and see the resemblance. That aside, the writing injects Lynch's trademark surrealist style and adds a twist of film noir, with the tortured femme fatale that is Rossellini's character, not only leaving it at that but adding the erotic elements seen within the film also.The symbolic nature of this film in how it is written is also of note, with the ear that Jeffrey enters and eventually leaves by the film's climax serving a note as his character entering and leaving the criminal underbelly. It takes a now conventional plot and puts it on it's head. His direction is as always incredible, always having a knack for it, giving his actors a surreal world to move around in, with distinct character movements and actions. He knows exactly how to gather the best performance for what the film demands, nailing it to a tee.
The score by the legendary Angelo Badalamenti is his best, with the film's ending track "Mysteries of Love" featuring Julee Cruise being the perfect way to end the film, with the ambient and surreal tracks throughout highlighting the nightmarish scenes that Jeffrey finds himself going through. The score is a mix of a classical style with timeless pop songs such as Bobby Vinton's "Blue Velvet" or Roy Orbison's "In Dreams", reflecting the David Lynch's attempt at a timeless setting as well as serving to flesh out the tone of the film, being neo-noir. The juxtaposition between the classical score and licensed music adds to the unsettling aspects of Blue Velvet. It is an incredibly memorable score. You'll have the line: "She wore blue velvet..." drilled into your head before the film is over and sticking with even after it is over.
Overall, Blue Velvet is a classic within American cinema and stands as my favourite David Lynch film, tied with Mulholland Drive. It combines so many different elements and creates a subversive and unquestionably surreal story that enthrals you until the end, whilst it may be confusing or too disturbing for some, fans of Lynch such as myself, those who are looking for an entry point to Lynch's filmography or are just wanting to see something ever so different, I would definitely recommend Blue Velvet. It's too good to pass up.
 |
| "Blue velvet..." |
The cinematography by another previous Lynch collaborator, Frederick Elmes stands as sweet yet haunting after it's initial ruse of a perfect suburbia with a less than perfect dark side. Elmes serves his purpose with some distinctive camera work, such as the shot of Jeffrey hiding in the closet from Frank in the trailer seen above, the shadows cast upon his face. Meticulously done. A final note is the contrast between the neighbourhood scenes and the noir-esque scenes whilst in the criminal underbelly is outstanding.
The writing and directing seen by David Lynch in this film is amongst his best work. As much as I love the pure unadulterated Lynch seen in his films like Eraserhead, I feel that I enjoy Lynch's films that slight bit more when some of his mannerisms are restrained as they can become self-indulgent to a degree. Blue Velvet benefits from the human element of Jeffrey, something that even more general audiences can easily connect to and grasp a hold of. In retrospect also, the idea of a small town mystery has became a well-trodden setting since Blue Velvet's release, giving it a sense of familiarity to those who may have seen works inspired by this very film and then go back to watch and see the resemblance. That aside, the writing injects Lynch's trademark surrealist style and adds a twist of film noir, with the tortured femme fatale that is Rossellini's character, not only leaving it at that but adding the erotic elements seen within the film also.The symbolic nature of this film in how it is written is also of note, with the ear that Jeffrey enters and eventually leaves by the film's climax serving a note as his character entering and leaving the criminal underbelly. It takes a now conventional plot and puts it on it's head. His direction is as always incredible, always having a knack for it, giving his actors a surreal world to move around in, with distinct character movements and actions. He knows exactly how to gather the best performance for what the film demands, nailing it to a tee.
 |
| "And I still can see blue velvet..." |
The score by the legendary Angelo Badalamenti is his best, with the film's ending track "Mysteries of Love" featuring Julee Cruise being the perfect way to end the film, with the ambient and surreal tracks throughout highlighting the nightmarish scenes that Jeffrey finds himself going through. The score is a mix of a classical style with timeless pop songs such as Bobby Vinton's "Blue Velvet" or Roy Orbison's "In Dreams", reflecting the David Lynch's attempt at a timeless setting as well as serving to flesh out the tone of the film, being neo-noir. The juxtaposition between the classical score and licensed music adds to the unsettling aspects of Blue Velvet. It is an incredibly memorable score. You'll have the line: "She wore blue velvet..." drilled into your head before the film is over and sticking with even after it is over.
Overall, Blue Velvet is a classic within American cinema and stands as my favourite David Lynch film, tied with Mulholland Drive. It combines so many different elements and creates a subversive and unquestionably surreal story that enthrals you until the end, whilst it may be confusing or too disturbing for some, fans of Lynch such as myself, those who are looking for an entry point to Lynch's filmography or are just wanting to see something ever so different, I would definitely recommend Blue Velvet. It's too good to pass up.
 |
| "...through my tears." |
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