this story of magic, madness and metempsychosis will have you feeling like a rabbit trying to puzzle out what exactly is going on as wilder wolves circle and headlights career toward you out of the darkness.
Inland Empire (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:98
Fresh:70
Rotten:28
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: Typical David Lynch fare: fans of the director will find Inland Empire seductive and deep. All others will consider the heady surrealism impenetrable and pointless.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for language, some violence and sexuality/nudity.
Runtime: 2 hrs 59 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:09-03-2007
Synopsis: With INLAND EMPIRE, David Lynch--creator of such mind-bending works as ERASERHEAD and LOST HIGHWAY--delivers his most avant-garde, abstract, and impenetrable vision yet. A three-hour fever... With INLAND EMPIRE, David Lynch--creator of such mind-bending works as ERASERHEAD and LOST HIGHWAY--delivers his most avant-garde, abstract, and impenetrable vision yet. A three-hour fever nightmare of a motion picture, INLAND EMPIRE takes the basic structure of Lynch's 2001 masterpiece, MULHOLLAND DRIVE, and spins it even further out of control. A blonde actress (Laura Dern) is preparing for her biggest role yet, but when she finds herself falling for her co-star (Justin Theroux), she realizes that her life is beginning to mimic the fictional film that they're shooting. Adding to her confusion is the revelation that the current film is a remake of a doomed Polish production, 47, which was never finished due to an unspeakable tragedy. And that's the only the beginning. Soon, a seemingly endless onslaught of indescribably bizarre situations flashes across the screen: a sitcom featuring humans in bunny suits, a parallel story set in a wintry Poland, a houseful of dancing streetwalkers, screwdrivers in stomachs, menacing Polish carnies, and much, much more. By the time the film's electrifying closing-credit sequence arrives, even diehard Lynch fans will be gasping for air. What most glaringly differentiates INLAND EMPIRE from Lynch's previous work is the format on which it was shot. This is the first time that he has chosen to shoot on digital video, as opposed to film, and while the decision is jarring at first, the grainy imagery nonetheless casts a creepy, haunting spell. Laura Dern's multi-fractured performance is downright heroic. She gives the film the human grounding that it so desperately needs. Not for the fragile or timid, INLAND EMPIRE is a full-blown assault to the senses. [More]
Starring: Jeremy Irons, Laura Dern, Justin Theroux, Harry Dean Stanton
Starring: Jeremy Irons, Laura Dern, Justin Theroux, Harry Dean Stanton, Scott Coffey, Ian Abercrombie, Terry Crews, Grace Zabriskie, Julia Ormond, William H. Macy, Naomi Watts, Nastassja Kinski, Diane Ladd, Mary Steenburgen
Director: David Lynch
Director: David Lynch
Screenwriter: David Lynch
Producer: David Lynch, Mary Sweeney
Studio: 518 Media Inc.
Reviews for Inland Empire
A dazzling and exquisitely original riddle as told by an enigma, featuring a superb, multi-layered performance by Laura Dern.
Whether shattering or boring, you’ll still have your eyes wide, wide open from begin to end.
The man's still a genius; he just needs to be more ruthless in the editing suite.
A must-see for Lynch fans, this is unlike anything else you'll see this year and if you can make it through the lengthy running time the rewards are considerable. A masterpiece (probably).
The great eroto-surrealist David Lynch has gone truffling for another imaginary orifice of pleasure, with results that are fascinating, sometimes very unwholesome, and always enjoyable.
As opaque a movie as I've ever seen, yet riveting or hypnotic in a way that makes you feel not that you've seen it, but that you've dreamt it.
David Lynch again deploys his genius in all its infuriating impenetrability.
It's very possibly a work of genius. It could also be the most pretentious pile of garbage ever to make the big screen. But one thing it isn't is unoriginal. If nothing else, the man should be applauded for that.
My advice, in the face of such hallucinatory brilliance, is that you hang on.
A three-hour practical joke without a punchline, at once maddeningly obscure and infinitely boring.
Inland Empire may mesmerize those for whom the helmer can do no wrong, but the unconvinced and the occasional admirer will find it dull as dishwater and equally murky.
My favorite film of the [New York Film Festival] and the year... Lynch's most challenging work since Eraserhead is a viscerally unrivaled love letter to the transformative powers of cinema that can't be controlled nor comprehended.
While the narrative is away with the bunnies, as a mood piece Lynch scores a slam dunk.
Despite its moments of inspired terror and mystery, this isn't a cult hit in the making like Mulholland Drive, or a contrarian critic's delight like Lost Highway. It's an opaque and baffling work, difficult to follow and difficult to like.
... either vastly complex or simply chaotic ... two states that are not always easy to distinguish.... but I enjoyed the movie more the second time through ... always a good sign.
Latest News for Inland Empire
December 12, 2006:
2006 NYFCO Awards Announced!
It's that time of year again: Right before the fancy awards are doled out, all the different critics' groups chime in with their favorite flicks of the year. Here we have the... More...
December 09, 2006:
trailer and trailer review ![]()
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December 07, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Apocalypto" Is Bloody Good; "Blood Diamond" Needs Polish; "Unaccompanied" Is Minor; "Holiday" Is So-So
This week at the movies, we've got declining civilizations ("Apocalypto," directed by Mel Gibson), conflict diamonds ("Blood Diamond," starring Leonardo... More...
November 14, 2006:
RTIndie: A News Wrap-Up, Plus David Lynch's Latest Antics
Faced with "Volver" performing well (again) and "Babel"'s expansion into wide release (big time), "The Queen" lost a bit of box office momentum... More...
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