David Lynch’s most recent feature film challenges and expands the understandings of cinema and its artistic context far beyond anything he made before to the point where a mere attempt to ‘review’ or ‘critique’ what happens is more than futile but downright irrelevant. Lynch’s purposes behind this experiment, to the degree that they are understandable, cannot merely be put into words and certainly not fit in a simple blog post. Indeed, one of the most challenging aspects of Inland Empire is Lynch’s use of a Sony Digital Camcorder instead of conventional film stock, which causes many of the images to seem distorted, shaky and otherwise unpolished for what is generally considered a movie. As the visual elements are put to Lynch’s surrealist tests, the narrative becomes as twisted and self-reflexive as any work of surrealism, although a number of reviewers have compared its unusual structure to a series of hyperlinks with one seemingly random scene disjointedly connected to another. This is an interesting way to approach the movie given that Lynch shot it completely on digital format, free from any and all restrictions of studios and distribution, allowing him to follow a stream-of-conscious style that in many ways reflects the nature of the Internet and its constant building and layering of information although to make sense of it is not always possible.

At the time he was making Inland Empire, Lynch had begun expanding his creative powers into the still-burgeoning Internet, starting with trivial side projects like his daily weather report but also web series like Rabbits, a surreal parody of sitcoms featuring three anthropomorphic rabbits having cryptic discussions interspersed with a studio laugh-track. Rabbits is featured prominently in Inland Empire, and this is one indication that if nothing else, Inland Empire reflects Lynch’s increasing fascination with the Internet as a creative outlet; one that would not interfere with artistic freedom but also allow for the innumerable methods of invention that inspire and contribute to particular works. In this sense, Inland Empire prefigures the streaming, on-demand movies and TV shows that dominate the industry today and showcases Lynch’s ability to string together various scenes in a juxtaposed manner that still causes some to be enchanted and perplexed.

To summarize the ‘story’ of the movie, Inland Empire focuses on an actress named Nikki Grace (Laura Dern) who lands a role in a movie that she believes will resurrect her career but also could put her life in serious jeopardy. She is quickly seduced by the leading man (Justin Theroux), and their chemistry mirrors the relationship between their characters, although the line between reality and fantasy is soon blurred beyond comprehension. With the lines blurred, Nikki loses sense of her own identity and, seemingly, her grasp on reality itself. As a result, the movie continuously cuts to different characters and sequences that are merely alluded to or symbolized through Nikki’s viewpoint though Lynch makes it clear that Nikki’s own persona has become fractured to the point where the audience is not sure who is watching whom. Indeed, this may be the central theme of the picture. The opening shot is a sliver of light penetrating the darkness, revealing not only the title but also the lightsource, a film projector which comes to symbolize the nature of the story. Characters watching themselves on television and superimposed images of faces and objects only intensify the mixed meaning as to what is understood as a construct of the character’s imagination and what is not.

As mentioned before, the visual style implemented here by Lynch showcases a breakthrough in his own career regarding the possibilities and definition of ‘cinema,’ ‘movie’ or ‘film.’ All of these descriptors play some role in Inland Empire although the context makes each one necessary at some points and superfluous at others. Given his increasing presence online, it is clear that Lynch was testing the limits of his abilities with the new technology now at his disposal. The flexible themes of women falling prey to abusive men, identity crises and the dual nature of reality and Being itself continue to provide opportunities for his mind to explore and observe. It would be difficult, at least on one viewing, to point to any definitive purpose or overarching meaning behind the story. What Lynch appears to have accomplished is taking his most unusual and unique perspective regarding Hollywood and its often cruel impact on innocent women as far as any surrealist imgaination could. Dern, in her third role under Lynch’s guidance, puts herself completely at his disposal and once again demonstrates her remarkable range and depth as a woman who at first seems unprepared for what is coming and then, perhaps, unable to resist what she has fallen into. To say one likes or doesn’t like this movie is to ultimately miss the point. On one level, it seems clear that Lynch made this to satisfy his own idiosyncratic views and push the limits in ways no one else in American cinema has or could. It is probably unfair to say he made this for himself but this thought at least allows one to view Inland Empire as the workings of a creative genius bursting at the seams with newfound technology. In the years since its release, many a hardcore Lynch fan has taken to the internet to divulge the picture’s secrets and explore the multitude of layers gifted to the bold and brave viewer. Like Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, multiple views may never be enough to fully grasp what is there. But, given that Lynch’s roots are in painting, it makes sense that he simply wants one to look and stare, contemplate and then go back again and again and again…