IE anticipation all over again

For those of you who haven't seen it yet, David Lynch's Inland Empire comes out on DVD tomorrow. I need a second viewing before I can form a clear opinion on this one. It's such an irregular monstrosity; all I could do during my first viewing was soak up the overall tone. I haven't completely decided if it's a masterpiece or an incoherent mess (but I'm obviously leaning toward the former). More important, perhaps, is the question of whether or not Lynch is repeating himself, as there are some uncanny similarities between this and some of his other films.

First there was Lost Highway -- an extremely dark film about infidelity, jealousy, and guilt. Then Mulholland Dr. came into being. It starts out brighter but eventually spirals into blackness with themes of unrequited love, jealousy, and guilt. Now IE arrives. Like its siblings, it is dark, it takes place in LA (the city of dreams), and it uses a very similar identity-swapping device to capture its themes from multiple perspectives. There are also recurring motifs among the three films: red curtains; mysterious women who are distinctly blond or brunette; and sinister, metaphysical beings.

It makes me wonder, is Lynch’s latest release the cap to a trilogy? Is it a summation of all of his prior work (FYI: I once thought the same thing of Mulholland Dr.)? Or is he just running out of ideas? Honestly, I doubt that. Even if you remove all of the elements that IE has in common with the other films, there are still enough unique ideas and images to fill a movie. I believe he packed it full of allusions to his own work (and not just LH and MD) for a purpose. He wants to take everything we think we figured out about the worlds he has previously created and spin it wildly about, splattering it on the walls. Just when you think things couldn't get any weirder, Lynch manages to defy expectations again. He also inserted self-references to reward close watching (and rewatching) by fans. Why is there a man sawing through a log during the closing credits other than to wink at Twin Peaks?

That's not to say this is responsible filmmaking. In fact, it's way overindulgent at times. Lynch was probably given too much freedom on this project. I have begun to appreciate tight editing and restraint in filmmaking. Yet I don’t watch Lynch for what he withholds. When I watch his work, I want as much of it as possible. I care more about atmosphere than logic and reality. Lynch leads with feelings and moods. His movies have all these ideas just floating around in the air. They never quite settle into place; if they did, then there'd be nothing left to discover, nothing to think about while you lay awake in bed (not because you can't sleep but because you don't want to), no reason to buy the DVD when it becomes available.

I may not find the opportunity to watch a three hour movie or the 75 minutes of deleted scenes any time too soon., but I'll be stopping at Best Buy on my way home from work tomorrow because I'm anxious to simply hold it in my hands.