Inland Empire - "Actions do have Consequences"

[tathagata40]

Does anybody know what camera he used?

[Punk13405]

@tathagata40 just your run-of-the-mill DV camera. They aren't really that cheap, but they are WAY cheaper than your average Hollywood camera.

[travisnealtodd70]

That's not "overacting." It's a deliberately mannered performance designed to induce a feeling of dread in the viewer.

[sweetalker79]

Seriously, this woman (Grace) is NOT a good actress, I know Lynch likes her for whatever reason but she is a terrible scene chawer.

[BishopOcelot]

Evil was born...evil was born

[WhiteAbenaki]

@kultofdeth I agree. I return to this clip all the time, as it's remarkably well acted. But when me and my significant other tried watching this one afternoon I was eager to shut it off only about halfway in. Maybe I need to give it another try though. Or maybe I'm just not enamored with Lynch. All the same, this scene is solid.

[bubbagaw]

Lynch has some odd obsession with coffee.

[WhiteAbenaki]

Grace Zabriskie — what a consummate actress.

[joshplayin111]

I like the soft focus DV in this.... it gives it a more intimate feel - less of the big budget, big screen, watch but don't invest feel... I suppose if you watched a bunch of low budget cheesy horror flicks you might have a memory/emotional association that kind of ruins it.... or if you are dissociated by the uber-high-quality virtual world we live around.... I'm going to go read the Upanishads now and maybe understand this a little better....

[jordancloudbuster]

the little boy going through the door and causing a reflection, then evil was born" etc . i always thought this was about Cooper.....

[AgapiEinai]

This is one of the strangest parts of this movie, because so many rules of conversation and society and reason are broken here. It leaves my head spinning. I am filled with dread each time I see this because I know what is coming next in the movie. I love this movie BECAUSE it doesn't make sense on any concrete level. It's a puzzle that I can always muddle over in my mind. I never have to put it away.

Btw, does anyone else think Grace resembles a rabbit? I definitely think this is intentional.

[MANofBernstein]

I have to say that, despite the brevity of her performance in relation to the 3hr long movie as a whole, this Lynch-regular Grace Zabriskie's best work I've ever seen her do. And she's a good, freaky actress too, so that's saying something. When I watched this movie the first time, she just scared the living crap out of me in this scene.

[jimmyjanglin]

sometimes lynch just reminds me of an episode of the hills

[ChoklitBizkit]

BRUTAL FUCKING MURDER.

[1noen1]

Notice the color green is important. Grace's dress is green, the coffee cups have a green filigree motif and later there is the man in the green coat. Also notice that Grace is mocking Nikki at 4:30 "Oh! Where was I?" because she knows what Nikki has chosen to forget, her "past life" as a whore.

The poem relates to David's mythology of dreams, reflections and so on. The figure of a "Palace" has appeared in his other movies and represents enlightenment. "The market place" refers to prostitution.

[rossomeara]

@1noen1 Funny you mention this. I remember a line from the "Rabbits" series where the male rabbit says "It was a man in a green coat..." Of course its a non sequitur in that context but I love how Lynch does that.

[proudnole]

This reminds me of the bathroom scene in The Shining

[MANofBernstein]

Grace Zabriskie, she's amazing. This scene (as did much of the movie) made me so joyously uncomfortable the first time I watched it.

[rkarimov]

Grace Zabriskie is an amazing actress.

[odovicor]

This segment, along with the scene where the street people are comforting Laura's character, is my favorite in the film. Fabulous.

[cerzule]

Grace Zabriskie is fantastic!

[odovicor]

Grace Zabriskie's character, beyond bearing old wives' tale, seems knowing at some deeper level. Is she the murdered lead from the earlier attempts at making the movie Laura will star in? We have people watching a film of people watching a film of...? Whatever, I love the ride: Strange what Lynch does.

[loggeronline]

The butler is Elaine's boss in Seinfeld!

[jwild611]

@loggeronline" The butler is Elaine's boss in Seinfeld!"

And Grace Zabriskie was Susan's mom in Seinfeld!

[Simbabbad]

Amazing acting from Grace Zabriskie. She gives all the punch and undertones and creepiness to the lines of dialogue.

[usbeko]

... evil was born... evil was born...

[JakeSpringhorn]

BRUTAL fahcking murder.

[AgapiEinai]

@JakeSpringhorn I laugh every time. It's so random but perfect.

[gotchacervix]

AS IF HALF BORN

[usbeko]

I want to an old woman talks to me like that

[7lartceps]

Incredible scene, Lynch really knows how to get into the haunted mysterious part of my mind and paint some vivid weirdness.

[guyonweedman87]

why is the camera so bad? i can see its not the clip, its a low quality camera, why is that? i just watched eraserhead and the blue velvet, lynch is amazing, but i did notice that all of lynches characters seem to suffer from some serious opsessive compulsive disorders on a verge to schychophrenia lol

[drcyclps]

Shot on video, not film.

[Punk13405]

This movie was completely independant, unlike some of his other movies. He could really only use a DV camera for this movie. I think it adds another layer of strangeness though, since he puts in some really weird angles.

[jakespick]

@Punk13405 he chose to use the DV camera, and made up/wrote the film as they went along. He simply just describes it as his "most experimental" film.

[Punk13405]

I think it's still a good message as well to independant film makers who might not have more to use than a DV camera and some actors.

[rezzy123]

@Punk13405 i think that dv adds a realism to the film. the people who can't get past the limitations of the medium are missing out, because the honest truth is still in this work, as it is in all of his films.

[ColdSnickersBar]

@guyonweedman87 it's not actually what you think. Most movies are shot at a low framerate, and most home cameras have a higher, more smooth framerate. This has caused a well known effect in the movie industry where low framerates equate to "movie quality" and high to "home video" in people's minds. There's a lot of speculation on why: maybe a psychological training from seeing movies, or maybe the missing frames let you fill the tiny blanks. Inland Empire was shot with a high framerate.

[ColdSnickersBar]

@guyonweedman87 it's not actually what you think. Most movies are shot at a low framerate, and most home cameras have a higher, more smooth framerate. This has caused a well known effect in the movie industry where low framerates equate to "movie quality" and high to "home video" in people's minds. There's a lot of speculation on why: maybe a psychological training from seeing movies, or maybe the missing frames let you fill the tiny blanks. Inland Empire was shot with a high framerate.

[bart92you]

@guyonweedman87 

[stablergirl13]

God, this movie was so creepy. This scene especially. It's awesome.

[jkhgsdhgdhgjklsdhfgj]

"... actions DO have consequences, but yet, there's MAGIC"

YOU CUT IT OUT MAN, the whole meaning of the thing was in the end!

[beirutfan]

This is the creepiest scene EVER! haha so fantastic

[doubled7]

omg! this is the best scene ever in any movie i've seen so far! i wish there was more of this crazy lady in the movie.

[rodaransuscabezas]

I love this scene so mucho, is one of my favourites ever, the way she tells the stories and specially the part when she talks about the murderer, make my heart beats faster...

[globalnywiesniak]

Ja wiem. Czaje, że niby tak naprawdę to chodziło o jezuicką wojnę i to wasze alibi.

(po telefonie do prawdziwej pizzerii)

-masz jakieś jeszcze numery do fastfoodów?

-nie, ale mam do jezuitów.

-dobra, dawaj

-milion pięćset sto dziewięćset...

-dzieńdobry chcialem zamówić pizze

-ale tu raczej takich żeczy nie mamy, to by trzeba do jakiegoś fastfooda.

-to przepraszam, dowidzenia.

[globalnywiesniak]

Nie muszę chyba wspominać, że to czyni mnie totalnie "niepoczytalnym". Nigdy w życiu nie miałem pojęcia o tajnych stoważyszemniach. Jak wlazlem na strone oto ze strony coila, to myślałem, że se wymyślili jakąś sekte/atrape pod kapele.

[globalnywiesniak]

Do tego dochodzi jeszcze jedna ciekawostka. Tak mi się wydaje że został ukarany za to że mnie podpuścił albo coś. Ale jakim cudem, skoro dzwoniłem od niego i się nie przedstawiałem. To chyba on raczej musiał by poinformować kim jestem.

Tak to się zapada.

[globalnywiesniak]

What was the name of the actress?

When I was young, my aunt lost me in a market place in Łabędy (now there is biedronka - fits ideally). That's why City of Lost Children is Łabędy. There is also a market square and a foundry behind it. I think that that's why there was the talk about yesterday, today. Because the phone rang tomorrow, and the story was told yesterday.

[bLUE22dAHLIA]

Grace Zabriskie

[lordloki]

i fucking love grace's accent.

it adds to the weirdness of it all.

[mikebott]

this woman (not laura dern of course) played susan rosses mother on "seinfeld"

[daddysevenpointfiver]

her name is "Grace Zabriskie" and she's been in many of Lynch's projects, TWIN PEAKS, FIRE WALK WITH ME and WILD AT HEART.

[mikebott]

thanks for the support, my pedantic friend.

[TilliusMitch]

Blue Velvet anyone?

[coaster1000]

look out for this scene, its the key to understand the movie...

for an instance, who could "the little boy" be?

[Punk13405]

It's funny how she explains the whole hidden backstory with just this quick story, and you can easily miss it.

[Earaem]

Do you really see how those tales are the story of the film ? Can you help me ?

What do you think are the analogies between the tale and the movie ?!

[sjohnsjakie]

i guess the stories are similar, but the first is like the birth of dualism, the world of 2, good-bad, ect. also, dualism imo stands for trade, like in friendship, or just interpersonal cntact in general, you always trade something, you can't love someone if they don't love you. that's where the 2nd story kicks in. not through the marketplace but through the dark alley you'll find peace, wholeness, unity. lynch frequently talks about this field of bliss with trans med. check his clips on youtube

[sean57]

this polish woman, is she the same actress that played voodo woman with regie and drop shadow in wild at heart? Also I like the fact that Lynch will give some of his more bizzare chracters that extra little prop. i.e polish womans fake leg being a hurst stick shift...... revealed at the end of the flick.

[RationalEmotive]

"A damn fine cup of coffee!"

[kortick50]

classic Lynch. he keeps bringing things around to focus just when you think things are just making no sense, suddenly some charecter says a line and wham! you realise you been set up and knocked over like a bowling pin. "actions do have consequences" is an important line as 'the neighbor' says it and 'the husband' does as well.

[dw070]

I heart Graze Zabrijske (sp?). She's so good in that mormon show wid Chloe Sevigny i forget the name.

[OUTLANDEMPIRE]

I think that's quite likely. I had a theory about there being an abortion in the plot. But I hadn't noticed this, I was basing it on the fact that he repeats the scene about her 'losing her son' twice and I think the ripping out of the screwdriver and the way it drops to the floor, like a tiny baby that's come out of her lower belly.

[OUTLANDEMPIRE]

Yes, interesting. At one stage I had a theory that as she was dying she was imagining being on the street but was actually dying in the theatre recovery room after losing her baby. The conversation she is hearing is actually the recovery nurses chatting while she fades away.

[argtunu]

Half-born means half Polish. Another scene to remember is the one with the Polish man calling Nikki " a half:.

[argtunu]

No. it has to do with being half Polish.

[sjohnsjakie]

i read some opinions about inland empire. the only way to reach the palace (not 'past' by the way) is through the dark alley, i.e. each man must first go trough hell (dark alley) to reach his paradise. nikki must meet her shadow self/fear (which is really like a fantom because when you look at it disappears) before she can liberate her self. just like the black lodge in twin peaks, every man must oppose his shadow self, or the soul will be annihilated.

[daddysevenpointfiver]

absolutely correct imo. david always seeks to scratch beneath the surface of everything to see the darkness therein, and his favorite subject is so many of ours: ourselves. that's why i feel like his films don't need to be explained: their meanings are obvious.

[milesgordon8]

Bardo

[existenz001]

love all this!

[gucci1800]

genial scene! genial film!

[youngkiddo]

I saw the film... it just didnt make any sense... i could follow the gist of it until we see laura dern looking at herself sitting in the chair then she runs into a house on the set and it just becomes random scenes all jumbled together for 2 hours. i liked some of the creepy scenes though. more tense than most horror films.

[JohnyVirgil]

Yeah, I know what you mean, I guess it does follow a plot and I suppose it would be interesting to find out everything and put the pieces together, but there comes a point when it becomes so hard to figure out that the film is no longer enjoyable.

[musicistheproblem]

That is Laura Palmer's mom

[Pipweed]

Is it worth me watching this film cos people said it was really good. but is it just a load of nonsense or is there a plot but its just a bit weird?

[OUTLANDEMPIRE]

I think it helps if you watch it with the idea that Lynch's direction is purposefully aimed at reminding you that what you're watching is just a film and not real. There are bits where you feel annoyed because it just doesn't make any sense or seem realistic at all (dancing scene, Grace Z's over-acting,the rabbits!) but then he tricks you because the next scene is nearly always well acted, realistic and appears to be going somewhere.

[existenz001]

you´re so right! loved what you wrote... that´s exactly lynch... always so overwhelming! so exciting!

[Borjiazz]

Between this and "Big love", Grace Zabriskie is just one of the bests ever!

[Nientjah]

brilliant movie

[Punk13405]

Yeah, Inland Empire is insanely confusing if you can't see the subtext, which is really hard to find at first.

[SacreBleu83]

where can i find the subtext? :)

[JohnMerrick93]

this part of the film is a key part into understanding the rest of it

[donnie10855]

and yet I was still lost throughout most of the film. lol

but that's the fun of watching lynch movies.

[Nientjah]

I didn't realise that this conversation is so important, thanks for pointing it out! I'll watch Inland Empire again soon and maybe i will understand more now i know this =)