Introduction:
In an interview with
director David Lynch he mentioned that 1992 was probably one of his lowest
points of his career. The film he spent so much time and effort on completely
bombed with critics and audiences. It wasn’t that people didn’t like Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. They
HATED it. You read some of the reviews from the time and there is some real
anger in those words. People took the film very personally. They were angry at the man who forced them to look into a very disturbing and
dark place.
Summary:
When a young woman is
murdered in the pacific northwest the FBI sends one of their best agents to
investigate… but it is not who you think. Agent Chester Desmond (Chris Isaak)
and his partner Sam Stanley (Keifer Sutherland) start to investigate the murder
but find that it may be tied to some bizarre happenings that the FBI is already
aware of. Before Desmond can make obtain a solid lead he vanishes and the case
goes cold.
We then jump forward a year
to follow Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) through the final days of her life. Laura
is a troubled girl, popular at school and friendly to everyone in Twin Peaks.
But she is also addicted to cocaine and will often degrades herself sexually. At
home she is being raped by a thing she calls BOB (Frank Silva), who has been
abusing her since she was twelve. Laura feels her life burning out of control,
especially when she makes a horrifying realization about BOB. We know how the story ends, and we
watch as Laura is consumed by darkness leaving only the words Fire Walk with Me behind.
Good Points:
- Creates a wonderful tone of
mystery in the first third and then delves into a dark atmosphere that is
filled with dread
- Two top notch performances
by Sheryl Lee and Ray Wise
- Filled with layers and
themes that build on and enhance the television series
Bad Points:
- Anyone looking for closure
to the television series will be disappointed
- Anyone looking for some of
the fun characters from the series will be disappointed
- This is a deeply tragic and
disturbing film – not a fun time here
Overall:
Judged on its own merits
this is one of David Lynch’s best films. His focus on Laura Palmer and her
final days is a fascinating and yet horrifying journey to take. He infuses the
film with a dread and darkness that goes deeper than many other films because
he uses his surreal imagery in a way that words alone can’t touch. The film is
a masterpiece of using mood and visuals to create those feelings in the viewer.
But it strays far from all the light and fun elements of the television series.
If you don’t know that going in, the movie may feel unfair or unwanted. That
said, it is nightmare journey that you won’t forget, even if you wanted to.
Scores
(out of 5)
Visuals: 5
Sound: 5
Acting: 4
Script: 4
Music: 4
Direction: 5
Entertainment: 4
Total: 4
In Depth Review
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| Laura's final days. |
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is a study of contrasts in nearly all its aspects,
including the reaction it elicits in viewers. It is a film that demands that
you pay attention to all its details and yet will throw you for a complete loop
while you try to make sense of them. It starts one mystery and ends a different
one. It delves into horror and despair but ends with Laura smiling and laughing
with tears in her eyes. It is familiar and alien together. It is pure David
Lynch, but it isn’t what we asked for (even while we were complaining about his
absence during season two of the television series).
I could go on like this, but
you get the idea.
It is a difficult movie to
watch and to examine. But I’m going to give it my best shot and forgive me if I
end up rambling or twisting upon myself on a lost highway somewhere. That kind
of thing happens when you discuss David Lynch.
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| Foreshadowing the fate of Laura. |
Let’s take a look at the first part of the film, the one that may feel the most like Twin Peaks as we understood it from the
television series. The film opens with what looks like a brutal attack and then
cuts to a body floating in a river wrapped in plastic. We are immediately
reminded of the discovery of Laura Palmer’s body wrapped in plastic and washed
up on the shore of a river near Pete Martell’s (Jack Nance) place. But the
titles on the screen tell us that this is Teresa Banks (Pamela Gidley).
Those with a keen memory to
the first episode of the television’s series will remember that the murder of
Teresa Banks was the case that Agent Cooper connected to the murder of Laura
Palmer, leading him to believe this may be the start of a serial killing.
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| Sam is skeptical about his coffee. |
But Fire Walk with Me gives us Agent Chester Desmond and Sam Stanley as
investigators on the case. Desmond seems to be much like Cooper with a more
instinctual approach to investigation. But Stanley seems to be the complete
opposite Albert Rosenfeld (Miguel Ferrer) who’s acerbic and cynical approach in
the television series was a treat. Instead Stanley often seems confused, obsessed
with strange details and even a little slow to catch on to what is happening
around him.
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| David Bowie arrives and it gets weird! |
This twist continues with
the investigation into the murder of Teresa Banks. The town is like a
bizarro-world version of Twin Peaks. The Sheriff and his staff are rude,
mocking and openly resistant to working with the FBI. Hap’s Diner looks run
down and owner is surly compared to the Double R Diner in Twin Peaks, which
always looks immaculate, and Norma (Peggy Lipton) was always helpful and had a
smile for anyone who walked in.
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| A dirty callback to the little man in the dream. |
In fact there is very little
beauty in this first portion of the film. Most of what we see of the small town
looks run down, filled with junk heaps and dirt. The R.V. Park where we meet
the bitter and angry Carl Rodd (Harry Dean Stanton having a good old time in
the part) just looks so damn seedy. It is almost as if Lynch is going out of
his way to make this look as far from Twin
Peaks as possible.
But there is one element
that does fit in the first third of the film, the mystery. Lynch follows
Desmond and Stanley on their investigation giving us strange clues and pouring
on those atmospheric touches that hint at further twisting paths in the depths
of this world. Desmond becomes convinced that a ring that Teresa Banks had in a
photo is a key clue. His search for the ring leads directly to his
disappearance. And that ring plays a key symbolic role in Fire Walk with Me.
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| "Don't know where. Don't know when." |
The first portion concludes
with Agent Cooper discussing a dream with his supervisor Gordon Cole (David
Lynch reprising his amusing character form the television series) and partner
Rosenfeld. Suddenly a missing agent Philip Jeffries (David Bowie in a short
cameo) appears and tells a strange tale that we only hear fragments of.
Jeffries was investigating something that is tied directly to Banks case (and
eventually tied to Laura Palmer’s case as well). Cooper tries to track down
Desmond’s last movements and becomes convinced that the killer will strike
again.
This first third of the film
feels almost like it is coming from another movie or television series focused
entirely on the FBI cases surrounding the supernatural events around Twin Peaks. I really like the way it
plays out, feeling off kilter enough to be tied to the same world, but also
weaving a new mystery and building on a bigger picture. The moods that Lynch
captures here are ones of mystery and the uncanny. Watching it now, I kind of
wish the move continued along these lines, with Agent Cooper attempting to find
out more about these connections and how they play into the mystery of BOB and
his unusual pals who live above the convince store.
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| The lady with the blue rose. |
I’ve read that if Fire Walk with Me was a success that
Lynch wanted to create more films that followed the FBI cases and delved deeper
into these “Blue Rose” cases (what I assume are Agent Coles’ version of the X-files). Sadly the film bombed and
Lynch never got a chance to delve into this aspect of the film. But as it stands,
it makes for an intriguing 30 minutes of viewing.
But it really is a prelude
to the main story: the decay and death of Laura Palmer. That is the black heart
of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and
something that was also at the heart of the show. It is the portion of the film
that remains longest in the memory because of the horror it delves into and the
performances by the main characters in this tragic tale.
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| Can't you just hear the music? |
Visually we are back in Twin
Peaks proper. All the dust and rust of the first third of the film are replaced
by the familiar suburban bliss from the television series. Favorite locales
like the high school, the Double R Diner and the street in front of the Palmer
home all make appearances. We also glimpse the pressure cooker on the inside of
that same home, the foreboding woods outside the town and of course the Red
Room where little men dance and speak backwards. It wouldn’t be Twin Peaks without that.
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| Moira Kelly dopplegangs Donna. |
While the familiar strains
of Badalamenti’s theme for Twin Peaks plays, and reassures us that we are back
in a comfort zone, the film refuses to give us any comfort. The first third of
the film had some of that absurd humor that Lynch loves so much, but even that
was on the subtle side (for Lynch anyway). Once we get to Twin Peaks itself,
the humor is gone. Even when the Log Lady makes an appearance, she is solemn,
almost acting as a priestesses giving Laura some kind of absolution.
It is difficult to talk
about this portion of the film without some major spoilers so I’m warning you
now, going forward I’m going to assume you’ve seen the first two seasons of Twin Peaks and know who killed Laura
Palmer. Ok, you still here? Let’s go.
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| Lounging and daydreaming. |
Lynch has said in interviews
that what drew him to make Fire Walk
with Me was the chance to see Laura Palmer alive, instead of just hearing
about her from friends and family and finding out about her secrets through the
lens of Agent Cooper and Sheriff Truman. The first scenes featuring Laura show
us at her most vibrant, meeting up with Donna (now played by Moira Kelly adding
a strange surreal twist to the film and visually tying to the doppelganger
concept of the final episode of season two) and going to school. In fact almost
all those scenes at school show us the façade of Laura Palmer and the cracks
showing underneath. Lynch doesn’t waste any time delving into the darkness of Laura
as she sneaks into the bathroom for a quick snort of coke.
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| Laura sees the man who is the mask. |
Right there the movie lays
the cards on the table. The mystery of Laura Palmer was going to be revealed,
all of it in unflinching detail. We see her drug addiction, her sexual
debasement, her rape by BOB, and under all of it the young girl who is sinking
under all the darkness within her. This is Sheryl Lee’s performance becomes
crucial. If she didn’t convince us, then the movie falls apart. But Lee goes
all in with her performance. It is hard to watch her at times because the pain
and fear look so real. She’s said that she loved the final result of her
performance, but that making the film was a very difficult experience. It comes
across in this powerful performance, and gets right to the heart of what Lynch
wants to explore in the film.
Matching her is Ray Wise
playing her father Leland Palmer. Wise did a very fine job in the television
series as he took the journey from grieving father, to vengeful killer, to
shattered man and finally to a broken wreck of a human begging for absolution
from Agent Cooper as he dies knowing that he murdered his own daughter.
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| Ray Wise makes this scene very uncomfortable. |
In Fire Walk with Me Wise captures the two sides of Leland Palmer, the
protective but loving father and the predatory beast that controls his house
with fear and oppression. There is a powerful scene where Leland verbally
abuses and intimidates Laura at the dinner table. Wise is disturbing in this
sequence, his eyes burning with a mixture of animal lust and aggression as he
berates Laura and manhandles her in front of his wife. In a scene that follows
we see him in his bedroom with his wife, and that aggression melts away and the
realization of what he did and said comes across his face. The horror and
anguish is palatable as he goes to Laura and apologizes to her. Wise’s
performance is pitch perfect, and just adds to the horror of the situation.
But what is the situation.
You can debate it forever, and Lynch never gives a solid answer. Is Leland
Palmer a mentally unstable man, who descends into rages that cause him to rape
his daughter and drive him to kill? Was this persona of BOB something that
Laura constructed subconsciously so she could deal with the abuse going on at
home? Or is Leland a victim too, controlled by the malevolent force that is BOB
to do these unspeakable acts?
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If a little man from another place offers you a ring...
Do. Not. Take. It! |
Lynch has said that BOB and
many of the characters like him in his other films (the Mystery Man in Lost Highway, the cowboy in Mulholland Drive to name a couple) are
“abstractions”. He doesn’t ever clarify what that means exactly, but I feel
that they are physical manifestations of emotions and thoughts projected out
from the characters. These abstractions seem to feed on and build more of the
same emotions. Are they actual characters in themselves? Hard to say. When it
comes to Twin Peaks, it does seem
like these abstractions have a life of their own and can exist outside of the
human characters.
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| BOB hangs up his mask. |
In the series it is implied
that BOB has attached himself to Leland for many years, and we see that dark
side very clearly in Fire Walk with Me.
It is very possible that BOB saw the potential for these acts in a young Leland
and has been nurturing them over time. But the horror is that you can’t have
one with out the other. Leland is BOB on some level and BOB is a part of
Leland. Yes BOB rapes and murders Laura, but so does Leland. It is up to the
viewer to decide if they want to absolve Leland for his actions and blame it
all on BOB.
The other piece of the
puzzle that comes across several times in the dialogue is that BOB wants to
take Laura as his next host. He’s grown tired or indulging Leland’s dark side
and he want to taste that darkness as Laura. What we see of Laura in this film
we understand how that darkness manifests within her. If BOB was to take and
augment that further… I shudder to think.
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| Last Log Lady Rites. |
Laura fears this above
everything else. That fear is what drives her in most of the film. It is why
she struggles so violently in her life. She tries to do good deeds, like work
on the Meals on Wheels project. She’s a model citizen in Twin Peaks and
everyone loves her. But in her mind that mask is slipping and once her defenses
break she will become BOB’s new toy.
The real sadness of the film
is watching her fall further and further into despair. No matter what she does
it only seems to make things worse. She falls further and further into the
darkness and this only make BOB hunger for her more. Self destruction seems to
be the only way to truly escape from all of this.
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| No angel can save Laura now. |
Fire Walk with Me ends as it must, with Laura being brutally murdered by her father/BOB.
She won’t let BOB in, and in his rage he destroys her. Laura is hopeless as she
dies, with the visual motif of guardian angels vanishing from her sight
implying the finality of her fate. It’s a crushing sequence that Lee and Wise
play so well, but as with much of the film, it is difficult to watch such a
bitter and dark climax.
Then there is the epilogue
in the Red Room, with Laura and Agent Cooper talking. She seems to have reached
some kind of acceptance of what happened to her, and at that moment the angel
reappears before her, and she laughs and cries at the same time. You can read
this ending in so many ways, as a final bleak FUCK YOU to Laura or as a bit of
hope that her soul and her life were not wasted. I’m sure if you asked Lynch,
he’d be more interested in your interpretation of the ending then telling you
anything about it himself.
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| Blue Laura laughing in the Red Room. |
I’ve only focused on the
main conflict and relationship in Fire
Walk with Me, but there are plenty of other interesting elements to dive
into. Hell I could write another ten pages or so about the other abstractions
in the film, the interplay between Laura and her peers, the way her mother
relates to the events in the film and how Teresa Banks plays into the whole
thing. I could go into some of the production problems Lynch faced (including
cast members that didn’t want to come back and footage that was shot but never
used). I could also go into how those production issues forced Lynch to make
some very creative and interesting solutions that impact the film overall. But
as interesting as all those rabbit holes are (and their fascinating imagery
too) they serve to support the focus on Laura’s final desperate battle.
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| Your abstractions just arrived. |
I think that Fire Walk with Me represents a major
turning point in David Lynch’s approach to storytelling. In nearly all his
films afterward (with the exception being The
Straight Story) Lynch tells his stories out of narrative order, allowing
the emotions of the characters to dictate the flow of the film and often
manifest as abstractions. We see elements of these in his previous films, but Fire Walk with Me feels like the first
complete manifestation of this approach to storytelling, and it may be his most
approachable of those types of films. It is certainly the least oblique, which
is saying something.
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| "Fire... walk... with... me... ME!" |
But I wouldn’t recommend
this film to a Lynch neophyte. While it is a prequel to Twin Peaks to really appreciate the full impact of the film, you
need to watch the first two seasons of the show. And obviously even those who
have watched the series ended up disliking the film.
I can see why. In many ways
it feels like a harsh slap in the face. The movie is aggressive in its approach
to the darkness of the soul. It is also aggressive in its use of symbolism and
abstractions. It never tells its story simply or in clear terms. It focuses on
mood and atmosphere as much as narrative. It can feel insane, pretentious and
just plain pointless.
Fire Walk with Me is not a fun movie to watch. It is heartbreaking and painful. As you
unwrap its secrets you see more darkness in the core, and yet it is still
beguiling. That is the magic of Lynch’s skill in the filmmaking. If you are in
tune with how he tells stories, then the film is a journey worth taking again
and again. It is fascinating and horrifying all together, just like Laura
Palmer.
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| The angel returns. |
In the scope of the Twin Peaks saga it is an essential
tale, that adds to the world crafted in the television series. If a fan of the
television show can get past the initial slap in the face, they will find
plenty to explore. In the scope of Lynch’s films, this may be one of his best
all around productions. Personally I enjoy the ride along the Lost Highway a bit more, but I can’t
deny that the emotional impact of Fire
Walk with Me may be his most effective.
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| Laura lost. |
