John David Ebert Movie Review of Inland Empire

[suspekt29]

This is an excellent summation. Thank you.

[robaquarian]

ronald reagan asked when he became president where the war room was. there was no war room. then he said what about DR Strangelove?

[Bassbait]

I live in the inland empire now, so this movie just seems weird to me...

oh wait. It is weird.

[Hespeart]

This guy is merely describing what we can all see on screen. Inland Empire is a journey into the Woman In Trouble's mind. This woman is not Nikki, the Polish Brunette, or anyone else seen on screen. The person whose mind we inhabit is NEVER SEEN on screen and what we see is a representation of her 'thoughts', This 'WiT' had an affair , got pregnant and killed her husband and love child. These events have been slowly driving her mad for a decade and this is why she is in trouble.

[ChollieD]

@johndavidebert Re: your Inland Empire "review"...This is one of the more coherent and comprehensive readings of the film that I've seen.

Well done.

[DistantJ]

So the main clues:

- 'Blue Tomorrows' is based on a folk tale, which is based on truth

- The scenes in Poland are all in the past, in fact, the truth the folk tale is based on

- In doing the movie and becoming Susan, Nikki lifts the Polish woman's 'curse'

[DistantJ]

Very nice! Got a couple of things to say about Inland Empire... Clues I suppose...

The movie they're filming is based on a true story. The scenes in polish are that true story. 'Susan' is the 'blue tomorrows' version of the crying woman (who is also in some of the polish scenes), through Susan, Nikki is experiencing the polish woman's story and downfall into prostitution and her eventual curse from her abusive husband (who is a gypsy/circus type, 'the phantom') keeping her in the room...

[DistantJ]

...The rabbits are also cursed and trapped, the male rabbit can leave and turns into different people throughout the movie. The male rabbit, and the polish character who appears in the polish scenes and is Nikki's husband in the present (the polish scenes are in the past, they're the true story the movie is recreating) is the polish man who 'Billy' was based on. The man the young polish woman had an affair with before succumbing to abuse and ending up on the streets as a prostitute...

[DistantJ]

...The other two rabbits I'm not sure about, but when they disappear, two girls run down the corridor, ecstatic to be free. Put two and two together and yeah...

[DistantJ]

...When Nikki (I believe Susan's 'death scene' kills Susan off and we escape her reality to return to Nikki, who now knows what she must do...) reaches room 47, out walks the polish woman's original husband who abused her and put her in the state she is in now (whether the 'curse' is real or just represents mental anguish is up to you), and confronts him, freeing the polish lady from her curse and reuniting her with her lover (the original 'Billy') and who I believe to be their love child.

[electronicmedium]

Man!!!! You do the best reviews!

[andrewtheman19]

I think you make some very good points here, however dissociative identity would probably be a better way to describe Nikkie's fragmented mind rather than schizophrenia--although there ARE certainly bits of paranoid schizophrenia in particular, it seems like there's more emphasis on shifting personalities.

Also, I think Lynch is taking more of a pessimistic look at Hollywood rather than hyper-reality. His disdain for Hollywood is well-known.

[bumblebert]

people seem to have a big problem just "going" with Lynch's films. They may not necessarily mean ANYTHING. His films etc to me are exercises in mood. I always feel really "off" after seeing one of his films and they freak me out. Luckily for me I enjoy being frightened lol.x

[jackal59]

I think all of this is very plausible, but I'm not convinced that Lynch engages in this intellectual a process when creating a film.

[Super8StrikesBack]

This is more of an analysis than a review, but in that regard, it's one hell of an analysis. I'm going to give this film another go. Furthermore, I wonder what Dern is meant to symbolize as she's out wandering around the crowd of prostitutes, or maybe it's just a clarification of the idea that the Polish woman is indeed a prostitute herself in need of being rescued from herself.

[utubegod35]

It's a good review, but I like to watch reviews to get a sense of if I'd like to watch something or not. That's sorta the point. In that regard, this pisses me the hell off, because there's a huge spoiler. A warning in the description would be nice.

[johndavidebert]

@utubegod35

Sorry about the spoiler, but my reviews are designed for people who have already seen the movie and who wish to reflect upon what they've seen. I don't think it's realistic to make the assumption that people have or have not seen certain films. That's for movie reviewers who review current films, not for culture critics such as myself who presuppose, just as a literary critic presupposes, that the audience is already familiar with the work in question.

[electricmadcap]

Funny how Lynch was an admirer of Ronald Reagan though. Good review! ;}

[travelogue200]

Great review but BIG SPOILERS at 5:58 - 7:00 will spoil this for new viewers especially the spoiler about her death "scene" as a prostitute.

Why is it people cannot resist telling people too much. Is it a show-off look-how-clever-I-am attitude?

[jakespick]

@travelogue200 this should be retitled "John David Ebert's Analysis..." which you would watch after viewing the film.

[travelogue200]

Yeah, that would make a lot more sense.

Ebert needs to understand the difference between 'review' and 'analysis' for sure.

[jakespick]

@travelogue200 john david ebert doesn't actually use this account, this is a fan-made account - similar to the cigsandvines channel for p.t. anderson. so whoever is posting these vids needs to understand the difference.

[Ballardian]

So you think Lynch is stating that the storytelling aspect of private fantasies can heal depression and the fragmented psyche?

But if this is true it obviously didn't work for Diane in Mulholland Dr. Her fantasy or dream that comprises most of the film doesn't seem to help her much, and her waking fantasy / delusion of LA as a future paradise seems to be the main impetus leading to her bitter unhappiness and murderous behavior.

[vjmixed]

if i understand correctly, the movie is about the polish prostitude, and maybe the actor who plays her is surrering too..

[wyncko]

I'm so glad someone could make sense of that movie

thanks

[bapyou]

Hey! What the hell! The video cuts you off in mid-sentence at the end.

[johndavidebert]

Would you mind clarifying? This comment makes no sense.

Thanks.

--J.E.

[avastyer]

Aquafin means that the end of your review is cut off. "A positive commentary about..."

[owenthemighty]

You didn't finish off your video... at the end you say "A positive commentary about..." and then the video cuts off. Care to tell us what the commentary was about to finish up your explanation for Inland Empire John?

[aquafin11]

positive commentary about?

[jakespick]

@aquafin11 positive commentary about storytelling. ebert was just reiterating what he had said before, and you can kind of hear the "st..." part as it cuts off.