David Lynch's Blue Velvet

"Now it's dark"

David Lynch was born in Missoula Montana in 1946. Lynch studied art during and after high school. Lynch took a trip to Europe to pursue his study of art. According to Lynch Europe was so clean and beautiful that he found no inspiration there. He returned to Philadelphia where he was more inspired by the grime, graffiti, and violence. In the late 60’s and early 70’s Lynch started making short films that combined live action and animation. His first feature film, shot in black and white, was Eraserhead, which premiered in 1977. Eraserhead is a dark, eerie, and somewhat disturbing film.  This film starred Jack Nance, who starred in nearly all of Lynch’s films until his death in 1996. Eraserhead got Lynch enough attention to be considered for his next film The Elephant Man which premiered in 1980. Lynch’s next film was Dune, an expensive disaster at the box office as well as with critics. Lynch’s fourth feature film was Blue Velvet. After Blue Velvet Lynch then created the feature Wild at Heart as well as the critically acclaimed television show Twin Peaks from around 1990 to 1992. Following Twin Peaks were Lost Highway in 1997 and Mulholland Drive in 1999. Lynch’s last feature film to date is Inland Empire in 2006. Showtime has recently picked up a continuation of the Twin Peaks series with Lynch at the helm.

            Blue Velvet stars Kyle MacLachlan, Issabella Rossellini, Laura Dern, and Dennis Hopper. Kyle MacLachlan worked previously with Lynch in Dune and will be one of the primary characters later in the television show Twin Peaks. Blue Velvet is a distinctly small town American film. The movie opens with hyper surreal images of an idealized small town America with rose and tulip lined white picket fences, tree lined neighborhoods, a crossing guard helping school kids cross the street, a fire truck with a waving fireman, complete with a Dalmatian, a suburban home with a man watering the lawn while his wife watches television. It doesn’t take us long to see what we’re in for as the man watering the lawn has a stroke or heart attack and the camera zooms down into the sod of the yard and we see a bunch of insects crawling all over one another, as the music changes from Bobby Vinton’s Blue Velvet to loud abrasive “music.”

            This movie explores a lot of dualism. The first we see of that is the idealized small town America and the hint that we are soon going to witness the more dark and disturbing underbelly of the same small town. There is a dualistic nature to Kyle MacLachlan’s character, Jeffrey, as well. Jeffrey is young and innocent, yet at the same time has a strong curiosity that pulls to the darker side of things as well as voyeuristic tendencies. There are the clear oppositions of good and evil taking place with the characters Jeffrey, Sandy, Sandy’s father the detective, and Dorothy in opposition to Frank Booth and his gang of friends and followers. We also see the dualistic aspects of overly bright saturated colors with bleak darkness throughout the film. There’s the opposing nature of the women in the film. Dorothy with her dark hair symbolizes danger and sexuality to Jeffrey, who generally only interacts with her at night. Sandy has blonde hair and symbolizes innocence and hope for Jeffrey, and he generally interacts with her during the day.

            Blue Velvet is also a love story. The strongest and most obvious is Frank’s love for Dorothy, disturbing and unhealthy as it is. There is also a developing love between Jeffrey and Sandy. Also Jeffery may feel as though he loves Dorothy initially. It ends up just being sexual excitement and the need to try to help her.

            Blue Velvet has enjoyed some critical success. As of this writing Rotten Tomatoes has it at 93% based on 60 reviews. Lynch was nomitated for a best director Oscar, Isabella Rossellini won an Independent Spirit Award for the Best Female Lead, and Dennis Hopper won an award for the best supporting actor from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Roger Ebert is one of the strongest critics opposed to Blue Velvet. His primary problem is that of the strong sexual despair and violence. Ebert sees it as being gratuitous and serving no purpose.