BLUE VELVET (1986) A film review by Nick Schaden Copyright 1997 Nick Schaden
"Blue Velvet" opens with images of the perfect "Beaver Cleaver" town: painted white fences, open blue sky, a friendly waving fireman in slow motion. Nothing could be farther from the truth. That is the underlying theme in David Lynch's "Blue Velvet", one of the most controversial and critically acclaimed movies of the 1980s.
"Blue Velvet" paints the picture of Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan), a young college student returning to his hometown as a result of his father's illness. On a walk through the woods on the way to the hospital where his father resided, Jeffrey finds a human ear in the grass. The human ear is somehow connected to Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini), a singer in a local bar. Jeffery decides to investigate, with help from a high school girl (Laura Dern). Their adventure goes through many twists and turns, eventually meeting one of the most hideous, evil villain in movie history, Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper).
I don't talk more about the actual "adventure" because doing so would reveal the full plot of "Blue Velvet", one of the most disturbing and innovative in film history, in my humble opinion. In sum, while the plot on the surface may seem quite simple, the underlying theme director David Lynch is trying to show is much deeper. Lynch works hard, winking to emphasize the irony of an idyllic American town with perversity and darkness beneath it all.
Now the big question: why is "Blue Velvet" one of my favorite movies? I think the greatest strength of the movie is the art. Director David Lynch pulls into the movie, using visuals and sound unlike any other movie, magnifying the mystery and horror of the movie's nature. Second, it's bold, horrific, and probably the most original (and shocking) drama/mystery I've ever seen. Finally, the theme is deep and thought provoking, with many scenes from "Blue Velvet", imbedded deep into my mind.
With all my praise, I highly recommend this movie with a very serious warning: this movie is VERY disturbing, and not for everybody. It has very graphic portrayals of violence, sex, and other bizarre subjects, let the viewer beware. However, for those who can handle it, it's a wonderful and captivating movie.
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews