TNMC

This site’s design is only visible in a graphical browser that supports web standards, but its content is accessible to any browser or Internet device.

Finding the Lost Highway

Hollyfeld, here, and welcome to the first edition of Look Closer..., a column devoted solely to taking a closer look at the various films that Hollywood (and beyond) has to offer. This is a column that is devoted entirely to film recommendations (and in some cases, degradations). This is for the misunderstood classics, the unknown back of the shelf pleasures, and occasionally those films that win a bunch of awards, but actually suck. And just for variety, I will also use this column to introduce less avid moviegoers to the works of the greatest luminaries of the genre, and also for other writers and critics to voice their opinions of their favorite (or least favorite) movies. Over the first few columns I will go through all or most of these categories in order to give you, my readers, a feel for what lies in store. I would like to take a quick moment to thank John Shea for his willingness to give me a chance with a column (my first), and one of my best buddies Deadpool, for giving me a break in this business. All my advance reviews and any other special coverage (a la my Blair Witch 2 report) will still appear in his Untitled Deadpool Column. Thanks a lot guys.

For the first column of Look Closer..., I could think of no better starting point than my favorite film of all time – one that is still considered one of its director's worst efforts. In an effort to garner business at the time of its premier, the advertisements even went to the lengths of putting "Two Thumbs Down, Siskel and Ebert. Two more reasons to see (this movie)!" But it is one that I find brilliant in every way, and spend an average of five to ten minutes a week thinking about. I am speaking of David Lynch's Lost Highway. I find that most people haven't seen this movie, either because they haven't heard of it, or because they just heard that it sucked. (And unfortunately the majority of those who have seen it didn't understand it at all.) For those of you that are unfamiliar with it, here's an introduction for you.

Lost Highway stars Bill Pullman as Fred Madison, Balthazar Getty as Pete Dayton, and Patricia Arquette as Renee Madison and Alice Wakefield. At the beginning of the film, Fred and Renee are married, but not particularly happily. Fred begins to become worried that Renee is having an affair - she isn't interested in sex, his jazz performances, or anything else to do with him. One day, they receive a package on their front doorstep. No return address, no note, just a videotape showing the front of their house. As Fred's suspicions rise, more tapes arrive - tapes which begin to show the inside of their house... even Fred and Renee sleeping. Finally, while at a party, Fred meets the Mystery Man (Robert Blake), and the two characters have one of the odder conversations in film history. In it Fred discovers that the Mystery Man is not only there talking to him now, but is also in his house at that very moment. Panicked, Fred grabs Renee and drives back to his home. He instructs her to stay in their car while he inspects the house. Inside, he finds Renee's mutilated corpse, and a video tape of himself murdering her. He is promptly arrested and sent to Death Row.

Don't worry, I haven't ruined a moment of the film for you... it's just getting started. You see, during Fred's incarceration he begins to get very sick. His time in the exercise yard is spent huddled by the wall. Then one night he has some form of psychotic episode, and in the morning and gone – Pete Dayton is in his cell. No one understands exactly how it happened, including Pete, who has no memory of the events of the night before – only a large lump on his head and his parents' cryptic comments about "that night." Pete takes a day off and then returns to his job – an automobile mechanic, and the favorite of mobster Mr. Eddy, also known as Dick Laurent (played by Robert Loggia). Problems eventually arise when Pete falls in love and has an affair with Mr. Eddy's girlfriend, Alice Wakefield, and that's all that you get to know. Watch the film.

The problem that most people had with this film is that it asks a lot of questions (What is the relationship between Fred and Pete? Are Renee and Alice the same person? Who really killed Alice? et al) and never directly answers them. But that is not to say that they are unanswerable. David Lynch (the visionary director of Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and Twin Peaks) has stated (paraphrasing) that Lost Highway is a mystery with all of the biggest clues taken away. It was made to be speculated upon, and not clean cut. Unfortunately this, what I consider to be its very strength, is almost certainly the reason that it failed to find its audience. But imagine a few other "trick" movies without their key clue scenes: The Usual Suspects without ever finding out who Keyser Soze is, or Fight Club without ever fully revealing the relationship between Jack and Tyler Durden (seriously, imagine that movie in exactly the same way, except without that scene – that would be weird, wouldn't it?). These movies wouldn't so much be bad without those scenes, they just would have just required more work on the part of the audience. It is easy, however, to say that about those two movies, because we know their twist endings before we attempt that exercise – we cannot say the same for Lost Highway.

The interesting thing is that even the actors themselves were left in the dark as to the true nature of the film. Patricia Arquette indicated that initially she believed the main arch of the film was that Fred, in jail and about to die, imagined himself a new world in which he was younger and was the one having the affair with her character. The problem would then arise from Fred's demented psyche, which cannot allow him to have the perfect existence even in his dreams. Later on, however, she became more convinced that the events of the second act indeed actually occurred. (Although it should be noted that this information was compiled from an interview that occurred at the release of this film – I have no idea what her opinion is now.)

When I stated that I spend an average of five to ten minutes a week thinking about this film, I meant it, because every once in a while I come up with a new theory as to how this film was initially conceived. A few of my ideas, most of which take for granted that Fred becomes Pete Dayton (and thusly admitting the existence of supernatural forces, much like in Lynch's metaphysical murder mystery Twin Peaks): The film only occurs within the space of its existence (that is, nothing has occurred before the before the first scene chronologically, or after the last one), and that Fred becomes Pete in order to discover what happens to his wife – see the ending to understand what I'm talking about; the Mystery Man is behind the whole thing, and uses whatever abilities he may have to help out Fred; The Mystery Man is Fred – his second transformation; or that half of the scenario IS a fantasy, but the fantasy is Pete's, not Fred's. (The latter of which would be a clever way of hiding the biggest clue in the film.)

Which one of these theories is correct? Unfortunately, we may never know. David Lynch has expressed his lack of interest in letting the secret out, preferring to let those who are interested in the film leave it to their imaginations. In the end, perhaps this is best. The reality of Lost Highway may not be able to live up to the possibilities cooked up in our minds (or at least mine). Regardless, it is a fascinating exercise in filmmaking and story structure for those who are willing to give it a chance, and was unjustifiably ignored at the time of its release. Lost Highway is currently available on video, and also has a remarkable soundtrack produced by Trent Reznor, featuring his single "The Perfect Drug." (The soundtrack is also notable for being the first major American appearance of the German heavy metal band Rammstein.) No DVD right now, but if you're interested in extras the published script includes numerous scenes excised from the completed film and an in-depth interview with the director, both of which shed new light on the mysteries of Lost Highway, my all-time favorite movie.

As always I can be reached at hollyfeld_@hotmail.com for any comments, questions or suggestions.

Next Time On Look Closer... Made For Cable Madness!

As always, Hollyfeld can be reached at hollyfeld_@hotmail.com

You there! You think you could do this job better than I can? Well, you might be right! Look Closer… is always looking for guest columnists, and you might as well be one of them. Just write a review of reasonable length for a movie that you think is under-rated, over-rated, no one knows, etc., and if it makes the grade we will print it in an edition of this column! Those whose reviews are published will also receive a free piece of (slightly cheesy and really inexpensive) promotional merchandise from a movie, to be sent when their review is published, courtesy of me. Just send any and all reviews to the above address. Thank you for reading and participating in the site!

Lazlo Hollyfeld is the pseudonym of an aspiring writer/actor/director located in Southern California. With one screenplay under his (collaborative) belt and more to come, he is sure to work his way up in the world with the help of his talented and close-knit group of friends, co-workers, and penguins. Yes, you heard me, penguins. A film student since before he can remember, he has devoted much of his life to the study of the silver screen and its related art forms.