The Lost Highway 04.27.06: Blue Velvet

Posted by Mary Markham on 04.27.2006

"The candy-colored clown they call the Sandman."

I have many memories attached to "Blue Velvet". I was a freshman in high school when it opened to shocked audiences all over the world. I remember the poster and being intrigued even at a young age. Need I remind my readers that I have been connected to the darker side of life since birth? Anyways my parents had gone to see it being the independent minded persons that they are. I don't recall conversations about the film but I do know it caused quite a stir at that time. Now "Blue Velvet" seems almost benign in our over stimulated, shock value society but let me tell you it still holds its own where depravity is concerned.



I have seen this film more times than I can count. It is the one film of Lynch's that I run to if I'm feeling melancholy, artistically challenged, spiritually bankrupt or isolated from what we call humanity. I find comfort in its imagery. The quiet neighborhood where Jeffrey and Sandy live feels like home. The pretty houses and tree-lined streets with the feeling of security and safeness are open arms to my psyche. Leave it to David Lynch to create an alternate reality that anyone born before the mid 80's can relate to. Kids still played outside. People took walks at night. Families had dinner together and most importantly neighborhoods were community. But underneath the Boy Scout, goody two-shoes surface of this, lives the uglier side of humans. Such is the case in most of his films. The over dramatized and a bit too bright goodness can't gloss over the murky underbelly of suburbia.




This film plays a bit like noir. At heart it is a detective story. It's just that the detective is a 19 year old boy who stumbles upon a human ear in an open field. We all know the story. (and like I said in my previous column if you haven't seen this film then you won't be reading my column!) Once again the performances in the film are perfection. Laura Dern's first film with Lynch and Kyle MacLachlan's second: "Dune" being the first. Also Lynch virgins, Isabella Rossellini and Dennis Hopper as the unforgettable Dorothy Valens and Frank Booth. And of course Dean Stockwell's unforgettable performance as Ben. It's always amazing to me as I've said before, Lynch's uncanny ability not only to find incredibly gifted actors but then the blossoming of their own careers after. Most of his actors are unknowns in his films who go on to be A-listers. Of course he uses veteran actors in all his films as well. I've seen many interviews and documentaries on his films and his actors are always gushing about working with him. They seem to have all shared a very similarly special experience that they can't ever quite forget or describe.







"Blue Velvet" really set the tone for how David Lynch would make films. "Eraserhead" was his baby and also an incredible piece of art leaving behind its legacy as a cult film. It also got him his first "real" job in the industry. Studio genius, Mel Brooks chose David to direct "The Elephant Man" after seeing "Eraserhead". But it is "Blue Velvet" that introduces us to Lynch-ville and every movie to follow will continue along a similar path. Although all his films are very different from each other, they all share similar qualities of human nature. It seems thematic in his films and almost overstated the dark verses the light. His women are either brunettes or blondes and either color can represent dark or light. There also seems to be elements of denial in all his films. Whether displayed by the protagonist or antagonist is neither her nor there. But most important is the beautiful web of surrealism he wraps around his viewers, trapping them gently in his world for a few hours.