Inland Empire (2006)

As an actress starts to adopt the persona of her character in a film, her world starts to become nightmarish and surreal.

Director:

David Lynch

Writer:

David Lynch

Stars:

Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, Justin Theroux

3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Laura Dern	...	Nikki Grace / Susan Blue
Jeremy Irons	...	Kingsley Stewart
Justin Theroux	...	Devon Berk / Billy Side
Karolina Gruszka	...	Lost Girl
Jan Hencz	...	Janek (as Jan Hench)
Krzysztof Majchrzak	...	Phantom
Grace Zabriskie	...	Visitor #1
Ian Abercrombie	...	Henry the Butler
Karen Baird	...	Servant
Bellina Logan	...	Linda
Amanda Foreman	...	Tracy
Peter J. Lucas	...	Piotrek Król
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Freddie Howard
Cameron Daddo	...	Devon Berk's Manager
Jerry Stahl	...	Devon Berk's Agent

Storyline

A blonde actress is preparing for her biggest role yet, but when she finds herself falling for her co-star, 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.

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Plot Keywords:

actress | polish | shooting | blonde | confusion | 

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Taglines:

A Woman In Trouble

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some violence and sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Bim Distribuzione [it] Official site

Country:

France Poland USA

Language:

English Polish

Release Date:

7 February 2007 (France)

Also Known As:

Inland Empire: A Woman in Trouble

Filming Locations:

Poland

Company Credits

Production Co:

StudioCanal, Fundacja Kultury, Camerimage Festival

Technical Specs

Runtime:

180 min 197 min (Camerimage Film Fest)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview with Joe Huang at the AFI Dallas Film Festival, David Lynch stated that "Inland Empire" wasn't originally intended to be a feature film. He would simply come up with an idea and - utilizing the versatility and ease of using DV cameras - would film it, creating a series of seemingly unrelated scenes; the first scene filmed was Laura Dern's monologue to the silent psychiatrist. As time progressed, he began to see how the stories were connected, and continued filming scenes for it until he had what we see now. Rumors that Lynch began filming without a script are more or less incorrect, as he would write a short scene and film it, without having the intention of making feature length film.

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Quotes

Nikki: Who was it?
Devon Berk: Disappeared where it's hard to disappear.

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Connections

References Mommie Dearest (1981)

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Soundtracks

"The Loco-Motion"
Written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King
Performed by Little Eva
Published by Screen Gems-EMI Music, Inc. (BMI)
Courtesy of Rhino Entertainment Company
By Arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

You were expecting another "Mulholland Drive?"

Let me start by saying I've admired every single Lynch film to date, and I've seen all his feature films—not only all the original work, but also the non-auteur stuff (like "Elephant man," "Straight Story," and "Dune") as well.

Moreover, "Mulholland Drive" is on my short list for best movie of all time—a hands down perfect piece of art. And I really liked "Lost Highway" and even found "Eraserhead" engaging.

However, I must say the first 90 minutes of "Inland Empire" ranks as some of the most boring and pretentious film making in the short history of the art. I can't speak for the rest of the movie--as 90 minutes of unrelieved murky shots of Laura Dern looking distressed, while the dialogue-obscuring sound track of a B-movie organ drone desperately tries to create some kind of suspense--was all I could stand.

Lynch's images have always been arresting, sometimes even pretty. But he seems to want to play against that here, creating choppy, grainy, bad-home-video-style visuals that just beat down the viewer trying to let them flow. Hey! art should require its audience to work for its pleasure and meaning; but the effort required here is just too much for me.

I think film should tell a story with pictures—hopefully a complex story with emotionally and intellectually engaging pictures. But this film is just ugly chaos.