It sounds like an odd question, but consider for a moment the fact that in
order for something to be weird, there has to be something “normal” to define
it against. Society decides what aspects of its culture are good and right and “normal”,
and in contrast it does the same thing with those things we consider “weird”.
I bring this up because Eraserhead
is an incredibly weird film. So much so that its weirdness practically comes to
define it and in turn what we take away from the movie.
It’s purposefully weird though. David Lynch has always had a
flare for the bizarre and abnormal; it’s inherent in all his works. He’s also
not one to shy away from upsetting “polite society".
In fact, many of Lynch’s films take on American exceptional
notions of culture and identity, forcing us to reconsider why we hold such
values. His seminal television series Twin
Peaks is set in a small, rustic town that has an abundance of dark secrets.
Blue Velvet delves into the
underbelly of a white-picket fenced suburban town.
Eraserhead isn’t as keen on tackling this subject matter, but it’s there for those willing to
look. Henry Spencer (Jack Nance) gets Mary X (Charlotte Stewart) pregnant with
an abnormal, horrific baby, and the remainder of the film is a surreal
deconstruction of his feelings towards the child, his hatred and ill ease for
childcare and domestic life, and the decay of industrial society.
The film creates an uncomfortable, claustrophobic atmosphere
through its imagery and its sound design. The surreal, unnerving images
combined with the mechanical, dark, incessant background noises make the film wholly
bizarre. Widely overlooked upon its initial release, it grew in reputation
through midnight movie
showings to become one of cult cinemas most recognized movies.
Grade: B
No comments:
Post a Comment