Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

Since the first line of TP:FWWM is "Get me Agent Chester Desmond in Fargo, North Dakota," some might argue that I am biased in my praise for one of Lynch's most underrated motion pictures. The truth is, my life has never been the same since the fateful midnight in high school when I experienced Eraserhead for the first time. TP:FWWM was savaged by most critics, who are unlikely ever to laud the unconventional Lynch again (unless he makes another film that connects like Blue Velvet). Few other filmmakers have had the ability to depict so tangibly the intangibility of our dreams and the worlds contained therein. Couple this with Lynch's corner on the "uncanny" market, and you have TP:FWWM, a film impossible to confuse with any other. My only complaint concerns the absence of Ben and Audrey Horne, who were such interesting and engaging characters on the television series.

David Lynch's prequel to his TV Show 'Twin Peaks' drowns the viewer into the psyche of Laura Palmer, who was a crucial enigma of the series (but then again, 'Twin Peaks' is full of enigmas and riddles). The darkness of the human mind has been a consistent theme in many of Lynch's works. Other more recent examples include 'Mulholland Drive' and 'Inland Empire'. 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me' is brutal, stark, graphic and horrifyingly disturbing.

'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me' may not be as technically 'polished' as Lynch's other films and the low budget shows (but is not bothersome at all). Yet, the closeups have a very strong effect as it provides some evidence of fine acting. Sheryl Lee is at the centre of the film and she is astonishingly superb. Someone should give this actress more roles. Ray Wise, Moira Kelly, Kyle Mclachlan and the rest of the supporting cast are of note. The visuals, even though this is during the pre-CGI boom, are mesmerizing. And of course, what would a Lynch film be without symbolism. They are plentiful but I won't give my interpretation as they are best discovered first hand.

Many feel that the story is inconsistent but to me it all fits well together. Towards the end it is depressing, as the viewer has witnessed all the layers of Laura's agony in detail. It is not a comfortable film to watch. After all, she was just a normal American teenager who has experienced the worst of life and this movie grips the viewer and shows her life breaking into irreparable pieces. Yet, given the heavy theme 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me' is a film worth experiencing, especially for fans of the series and Lynch's other works.

This was one of the most critically panned movies of the decade, but only because the world's film critics are too full of their own self-importance to bother watching a masterful TV series like Twin Peaks. All Twin Peaks fans know that this movie is monumental enough to transcend criticism, sure it makes no sense to those who have never seen the TV series, but those people have never lived anyway. Twin Peaks: FWWM, brings a genuine sense of tragic martyrdom to the death of Laura Palmer, as well as being one of the scariest, most surreal and atmospheric movies ever made. Never seen Twin Peaks? Watch the TV series on video first, and then see this incredible prequel.

Not Lynch at his best(that would be Blue Velvet, though personal favourite is The Elephant Man), it is a very good film and should please fans of the TV series, even if darker in tone and lacking the show's humour. Lynch's films may be strange, unconventional and not always easy to understand for some, but all of them are visually striking, dynamically scored and with great performances, atmosphere and direction as well as working amazingly as mood pieces and being among the most unique films in existence- the only film of his that I didn't care for was Dune, was mixed on Inland Empire too but that still had a lot of the above components.

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me may not be as good as the TV series but did not deserve the negative reception it got at the time. The few flaws it has has nothing to do with being darker and lacking the show's humour, they are not even flaws. David Bowie did stick out like a sore thumb and to me was embarrassingly bad(though a lot of it was to do with how his character was written) but the film's biggest flaw was that you could tell that it was originally written as a much longer film, with so much truncated there were parts where things felt under-explained and incomplete, a longer length would have helped(personal opinion of course and not one other people will share).

Coming onto however what was good about Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, the film does everything else right. As said before, Lynch's films are always visually great, and to say that Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me looks great visually is not enough. The film in fact has wonderfully moody cinematography and lovingly designed sets, while the surreal imagery looks so mesmerising that regardless of whether the story confuses you you cannot possibly look away. Lynch's direction as ever is impeccable, his style unmistakable and the haunting soundtrack draws you in effortlessly. The story won't be everyone's cup of tea, I did find myself completely engrossed and found it along with Sophie Scholl: The Final Days one of the most powerful films personally seen in a while. Sure, it did feel under-explained and incomplete in parts but it never bored me and like every other Lynch film as a mood piece it's amazing. Parts were incredibly intense and shocking(the most intense parts making for one of the most disturbing films there is) but others were genuinely emotional as well. Regarding individual scenes in a film where one hypnotic scene follows another, the strobe-lit disco degradation stuck out in particular.

Apart from Bowie, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is very well-acted, Sheryl Lee is superb and at times heart-breaking as an easy-to-root-for character while Ray Wise is just terrifying as one of the scariest father figures on film. Harry Dean Stanton, Kiefer Sutherland and Kyle MacLauchlan are on fun form too. In conclusion, a very under-appreciated film and undeservedly so. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Whilst the film is by no means a masterpiece, it has some great moments. The first 30 minutes, in which special agent Chet Desmond (Chris Isaak) and partner (Kiefer Surherland) investigate the murder of the first victim, Theresa Banks, are irrelevant to the rest of the film as that plot thread completely disappears. I believe the intention was to creare a series of films but as that didn't go ahead, skip the first 30 minutes (which are the closest to the tone of Twin Peaks in that they are surreal, some offbeat humour as well as the horror of the murder). David Bowie's cameo is miniscule.

The film really centres on the last week of Laura Palmer's life. Although the plot points aren't new to anyone who's watched Twin Peaks- they might even be used as flashbacks in the TV show were the content turned down- it is interesting to explore Laura's life through her eyes. In Twin Peaks the series, Laura is seen through different people's eyes so that they each have their 'version' of her, but here we get to see the nightmare, even darker than the show and the same level of surrealness. It's very Lynchian- i.e. Dreamlike/nightmarish with more nudity and violence than could ever have been shown on the TV show.

Moira Kelly is a good recast as Donna and it was great to see their friendship, perhaps the only real light in Laura's life.

As for Kyle MacLachlan as Dale Cooper, he's in it for a small amount in the first 30 minutes and then the final shot, so really the main draw is whether you want to see Laura's experience depicted on screen. Sheryl Lee as Laura gives a powerful performance that reflects the magnetic power Laura held over Twin Peaks residents.

Do not watch this film if you haven't watched the TV show as major plot points are revealed; if you have already watched the show, you won't get any more clues as to meaning. It's just a very powerful character study with some shocking moments even though we know who the killer is, and a woozy nightclub scene which feels dreamlike and nightmarish.