Plot: What’s it about?
Director David Lynch has been known to be somewhat of a mysterious man. His films reflect what most would consider "weird" and are certainly not the norm. Especially when it comes to Hollywood movies. It’s with Twin Peaks that David Lynch really came to be as close to what can be considered "mainstream". The original show aired in the Spring of 1990 and only ran two seasons. Developing a cult following in a rather short period of time, Lynch immediately started work on the movie (Fire Walk With Me) after he learned of the show’s cancellation. Fire Walk With Me was originally meant to be a television movie of Twin Peaks (one of them anyway), but the show was cancelled and this became the feature-length motion picture instead. I’m not too familiar with the television show, I have only had the chance to review the first season and wasn’t a loyal viewer when the show was originally on. I do know that a number of the characters from the show are in the movie, though some are not. For those casual viewers like myself, I will also add that the movie is a prequel to the TV show; as the show was about investigating the death of Laura Palmer and the movie has her as the star. But enough history, I’ll try my darndest to explain what exactly the images you’ll see on the screen are doing. This won’t be easy!
There are several stories within the confines of Fire Walk With Me. The timeline is consistent throughout, but we have to remember that this movie came out the year after the series was cancelled (but took place before it even started). Those who are big fans of Kyle MaClachlan’s famed Agent Cooper might be in for some sort of disappointment, as he was investigating Laura’s murder and as this takes place before the whole thing happened, it seems that he was tossed in the movie just so people would have a recognizable face. It should also be noted that MaClachlan didn’t want to appear in the movie, as he didn’t want to be typecast as Agent Cooper for life. He initially backed out, but then decided to take part. We start out as two FBI agents played by Chris Isaac and Kiefer Sutherland are investigating the murder of one Teresa Banks (Pamela Gidley). Banks was a local young, promiscuous woman who worked at a diner and had a habit of doing cocaine and sleeping around. The agents banter around and use their federal muscle to uncover some clues as to her murder and just as soon as a mysterious ring is found, we flash forward to "one year later" and see nothing of Sutherland and Isaac for the remainder of the movie.
I did just write one paragraph to describe about twenty minutes of this 135 minute movie. Fortunately, this first sequence is the part that makes the most since. The plot is somewhat linear and easy to follow, but as we are now in the "present", the imagery takes over and prepare to really take note of every last detail. Eventually we do get to meet Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). Though she looks the part of an ordinary high school sweetheart, we quickly find out that she is certainly no angel. She smokes, she does a little cocaine in the bathroom stall at school and sleeps around with plenty of men to get what she wants. Her friend, Donna (played her by Moria Kelly, but in the television show her part was played by Lara Flynn Boyle) is a bit more innocent, but sees that her friend is doing some experimenting and wants to do some of her own. It’s only through the strange relationship between Laura and her father (Ray Wise) that we sense that things might be really wrong.
As Laura’s life slowly starts to spiral downhill through the use of drugs and after she has prostituted herself around enough, we see that an end might be in sight. Even casual viewers of the film will most certainly know that she must be murdered at the end, but we don’t know who does it. And I’m not telling. We don’t know what to think of Laura, Donna or Laura’s father. We don’t know what to think of most of the cast, their identities are hardly explored and in summary, the town can be summed up as just plain weird. The only seemingly normal fellow is James (James Marshall) who is one of Laura’s boyfriends (but who truly believes that he loves her and her him). Dressed in black and riding a motorcycle throughout, James was a part of the television series, but he’s not really used that much here.
I don’t really know if I can call this movie "bad" or "good" per se, but it’s an interesting watch. The movie creeps along at a snail’s pace so get comfortable for a long journey. The original cut of the movie was nearly four hours long, but this has been hacked down to 135 minutes, who knows how different the original version was. Several of the stories within the main feature are stopped short or never fully explained and we’re left to draw our own conclusions. I personally don’t know if this was Lynchs’ way of doing things or not. He is known for his eccentricity! The cast is full of stars from the past and present, up to and including McClachlan, Moria Kelly, James Marshall, Frances Bay, Kiefer Sutherland, Harry Dean Stanton, Heather Graham, Chris Issac and David Bowie (who does nothing more than walk down a hall and sit in a chair). I suppose my biggest problem was the acting of Sheryl Lee. I just don’t think she’s that good of an actress, or maybe this part wasn’t right for her. In any case, it was a bit distracting to me as she spends most of the movie high, crying or laughing uncontrollably. In any case, fans of the television series will not want to pass this up as New Line claims that this is their most requested catalog title of all time. Who am I to argue? Judge for yourself, I’ll probably have to watch this one a few more times before I can make up my mind. It’s an interesting journey though…
Video: How does it look?
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic image. I was a bit taken back by this as most all of the films of David Lynch utilize the 2.35:1 ratio. Quite simply, it didn’t feel like a David Lynch movie. Maybe this was to make it comparable to the television show, I don’t know. The new hi-definition transfer was supervised by Lynch himself, but it still has a share of problems. Detail is excellent, some scenes look crystal clear and it’s a testament to DVD that something can look this good. As with the Twin Peaks TV series, a lot of the inner portions are a brown, which never fares well on screen. There are several scenes which have some artifacting and edge enhancement seems to be a bit of a problem in a few scenes. For the most part, however, the black levels are right on target and as muted as this color palette is, the overall result tends to be very good. I can complain about the storyline all day, but I have to say that the picture is very good indeed.
Audio: How does it sound?
Now this I do not understand. The disc features a Dolby Digital 5.1 track as well as a DTS mix (just like the recent Season One set). I chose the DTS mix and was surprisingly disappointed by the lack of volume. I even had to take the disc out and put in another disc just to make sure my speakers were connected properly. Indeed they were. I had to crank up the volume a few notches just to make out what the actors were saying. This is not taking full advantage of the 5.1 tracks! I never saw the movie in theaters, so I don’t know if it was supposed to sound like or not. I have encountered this problem before with movies like Your Friends and Neighbors and Nurse Betty (both Neil LaBute films). The Dolby Digital suffered from the same problem. At times, the music did really kick in and make the speakers come alive, but I was highly disappointed by the way this film sounded. Lynch is known for his use of sound as well (as evidenced by Eraserhead). I suppose the disc was faulty, but I don’t think so. Be prepared to really pay attention to the actors mouths, or turn the subtitles on (they are on intermittently throughout the movie anyway). If it’s sound you’re after, this isn’t a movie that will satisfy anyone. Update: It has been brought to my attention that Lynch has the volume purposely low on Twin Peaks to enhance the mood of the movie (and series). However, casual viewers like myself do not know this and it might be a good idea for them to put a disclaimer on the disc, like they do with his chapter stops (there are none). Still, who am I to argue with a choice of David Lynch, but I personally found the volume issue more confusing than mood-setting.
Supplements: What are the extras?
A rarity for New Line, who consistently puts out some of the best DVD’s on the market. This disc features the film’s original theatrical trailer presented in anamorphic widescreen and a 30 minute documentary in anamorphic widescreen as well. Even the documentary entitled "Reflections on the Phenomenon of Twin Peaks" (a retrospective documentary filmed between May and August of 2000) is cut very strangely and has interviews with a lot of the film’s minor stars (but MaClachlan is in there if that makes a difference). Though informative, it features a number of the actors telling us why they find it hard to get work anymore and some who have even turned to community theater. In the included press release, New Line tells us of their efforts to retain the rights to the deleted scenes that the film has, but they were unable to get them for this DVD. There are also some DVD-ROM supplements as well. Perhaps in time we’ll be treated to them, but as of right now…it isn’t happening. A rather interesting film, a cult classic for sure, and a rather featureless DVD will either make your day or not. I can’t really call this one. Fans of the show will not hesitate to pick it up, while I would suggest a rental for all the other "maybes" out there.
