The Grandmother (1970)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

David Lynch

Writer:

David Lynch (writer)

Genre:

Short | Animation

Plot:

A young boy plants some strange seeds and they grow into a grandmother. Short, surreal, and David Lynch's third film. |

Plot Keywords:

Plant | Grandmother | David Lynch | Young Boy | Soil

Cast

Richard White	...	Boy
Dorothy McGinnis	...	Grandmother
Virginia Maitland	...	Mother
Robert Chadwick	...	Father

Runtime:

34 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Certification:

UK:12

Filming Locations:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

American Film Institute (AFI)

Movie Connections:

Featured in Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch (1997) (TV)

Interesting forerunner to Eraserhead

Long-time Lynch collaborator Jack Nance once said that watching The Grandmother was like spending half an hour in the electric chair. Mixing live action (both colour and black & white) with animation, along with a dark & unsettling soundscape created by Alan Splet (still Lynch's sound designer today, three decades later), the film is an intensely disturbing experience.

The Grandmother deals with the story of a boy, abused by his brutal, animal-like parents, who grows himself a kindly grandmother in the attic.

Although it does suffer from a certain 'student film' feeling, this half-hour short is a must-see for all fans of David Lynch, particularly those who admire the stark & surreal world of Eraserhead. One can definitely see the genesis of Lynch's next film within it.