Inland Empire

David Lynch’s movies bear the same creative signature, but each and every one of them is different. With the exception of Inland Empire. This film is just a collage of already seen “Lynchian” things and some tricks to make the story more tangled, escalate it and bring it to a close. It’s basically a longer, club version of Mulholland Drive without beautiful actresses, spicy erotic scenes, a reasonable length and compelling visuals, which are replaced here with abhorrent digital graininess. Inland Empire is a deluge of half-baked material that would look better on a DVD together with a collection of the director’s eccentric shorts. Or am I just too spoiled by his other movies? (04.09.2007)

Lynch's surrealist games appeal to me, and in the case of Mulholland Drive or Lost Highway, I did not hesitate to give those films the highest rating. But this time David unpleasantly surprised me. A film should entertain, make you laugh, cry, or provoke, but it should never bore, and no director has given me such a full plate of boredom for a long time. Lynch's traditional puzzles and games completely got out of hand this time, resulting in something unwatchable with an unnecessarily extended runtime. Inland Empire is one of those films that are remarkable primarily for their ratings and comments. The vast majority of reviewers complain about the film, only to then give it at least three stars. Perhaps it's also about conformism... If it wasn't a cult director, but someone unknown and starting out, the film's rating might have hit rock bottom. Overall impression: 20% for the cast and a few, but really only a few, scenes where you can clearly feel the director's touch from better times. (20.09.2010)

Watching David Lynch's films gradually is hell. When I started watching "Inland Empire" after some time and saw the grotesque digital camera shots, I thought to myself that I simply don't understand what is so admired about this film. The atmosphere? Sure, but his previous films are much better in that regard. Acting performances? Well, they are somewhat expected. The lack of plot and its fragmentation into seemingly unrelated scenes that eventually do not have any connection? Come on, it's Lynch's trademark. Delving into the inner self? In that case, the title becomes just self-serving. Unfortunately, the reality that comes out of all this is that Lynch, intoxicated by his ego and his unique worldview, has created something that no longer makes sense to understand. I love his films, but not the ones he has made in the new millennium. What I appreciate about his films is the mastery of sound, which is simply excellent, but that is the domain of every Lynch film. (24.03.2014)

The film certainly cannot be denied having an atmosphere of apprehension and fear of what is to come. That is the hallmark of almost all David Lynch films. Musically, as usual, there is nothing to fault and Laura Dern's performance is great. It's just that the story is so hard to grasp that I get absolutely lost in it and I don't know if I want to wade through it again to get more into the essence of the idea the director wanted to convey. Even though the ending intrigued me, who knows, maybe sometime in the future, under a more suitable alignment of stars, I'll be able to better understand what has remained forbidden to me so far. (26.07.2020)