Blue Velvet by David Lynch.

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- BLUE VELVET -

Blue Velvet was released in 1986. Written and directed by David Lynch (Eraserhead). Blue Velvet is an American neo-noir, mystery/thriller. Starring Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, Kyle MacLachlan, and Laura Dern. BBFC Rating: 18. Running Time: 120 minutes.-

The film opens to a large pair of crushed blue velvet stage curtains gently moving in the breeze. As the credits roll we are treated to a very serene rendition of the song 'Blue Velvet', sung by 60's singer Bobby Vinton. The cameras close in onto a stunningly clean, pure white painted picket fence. In front of that some very long stem red roses are swaying in time to the music. Everything is going in slow motion, lazy hazy kind of feel. Kids are skipping across along the street, without a care in the world, and a woman is sitting in front of her TV and having a cup of tea. All seems perfectly idyllic. The sun beats down on a man who is sprinkling the lawn at the front of his house. The inhabitants of Lumberton, North Carolina are presenting a picture to us of a small, sleepy, typical American town. - Suddenly the music changes and shifts into an uneasy, tense rhythm. We are shown a fast clip in close up of a large black gun on the woman's TV, then a quick cut to the man who seems to be having some difficulty with his hose, as it hisses and eases itself away from the taps. The Jack Russell jumps excitedly whilst the man desperately panics and struggles with the hose which is fast tangling him up. -

I love this opening sequence, I'm a great one for detail, and it does set the scene very nicely for the beginning of the film. It was all just a bit too Stepford Wives for a moment there, and you just know that this film is not going to be quite as simple as that. After all David Lynch is directing it. - After visiting his father in hospital, due to his accident with the hose, student Jeffrey Beaumont finds a severed ear on some wasteland near his home. He pops it into a paper bag, which is lying nearby, and takes it to the local cop shop, where his father's friend Detective Williams is on duty. He duly hands the ear over and Jeffrey is then taken to the forensics department by the detective to see if any light can be shed as to who is the owner of the ear. Nobody has been brought in lacking an ear as yet, but the forensic science department say that one thing is for sure, and that is, that the ear had been cut off, and quite possibly by scissors.

The Detective then tells Jeffrey to forget all about it for the time being, as this is now a full blown police enquiry, and all that they now require of Jeffrey, is for him to lead them to where he discovered the severed ear. Detective Williams has a daughter called Sandy (Laura Dern) who is a friend of Jeffrey's, and Jeffrey quizzes her to find out if she knows anything more about the case, as it is intriguing him. She says she has overheard her father talking about it, and he has mentioned a mysterious woman who is a singer at a local night club, and her father thinks she may have some sort of connection to the enquiry. Armed with this information, Jeffrey turns vigilante and decides he wants to try and crack this case on his own, and find the owner of the missing ear. Unfortunately the woman, Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini) keeps some very bad company in the form of irrational psychopath Frank (Dennis Hopper) So for Jeffrey to get to her; he has to get past the gatekeeper first. -

Blue Velvet is one of the first films that had real impact for me. Watching it again so many years on I remember now why this is so. Blue Velvet is a deliciously, dark, dreamy film, and I have always said it is my favourite film from all those that I have watched. I didn't know too much about David Lynch at the time that I first saw it, but he was fast to become my favourite director. Blue Velvet is a mystery/thriller, but it has the edge of having the strange imagination of David Lynch behind it. Set in small town America it is surreal tale of good versus evil, innocence versus experience, which a lot of Lynches films seem to depict. What you see here is the early seed of the David Lynch trademark, his benchmark for later work. Though raw, he incorporates the shock factor early on when Jeffrey finds the human ear, when it is seen with writhing bugs and insects in, doubling its shock factor. One the severed ear, and two the squirming bugs, accompanied by strange warped music. There is more of this throughout the film in snapshots, and you can see where Lynch is going, basic as it was.

When I first saw 'Twin Peaks' I saw the culmination of all that Lynch was trying to put across in Blue Velvet and I realised just how strangely brilliant this man is. His main protagonists are larger than life and each possess extreme qualities. Dorothy for her submissive, need for sexual abuse and dominance. Frank for his brutal savagery of Dorothy and his sick, perverted sexual displays towards her, which are completely shocking to the viewer. Two extreme characters locked in a perverse dark bond. Then you have the two sides to each of their characters locked in a battle with each other. There is a lovely scene when Frank is watching Dorothy sing and he is suddenly overwhelmed by this beautiful creature, and overcome by the love he feels for her. The scene is stark and haunting, and he breaks down when he faces head on his awful treatment of her...

Then you have Sandy, sweet, kind all American girl next door, and her friend and confidante, Jeffrey. Jeffrey has a love for Sandy, but when he comes into contact with Dorothy, his darker 'other side' is brought out, and he struggles between his feelings of pure love for Sandy, and voyeuristic lust for Dorothy. You see the attempts to turn good to bad here further insisting there is no good as a natural state, only as an innocent state of mind. You see good versus evil displayed in exaggerated style. I like Lynches use in the contrasts of both sides of personality and character; it is definitely thought provoking.





When you first see Sandy in the film she appears to Jeffrey through a haze, like an angel, personifying the qualities of all that is right. Kindness, pureness, though represented as an unreal image, as if there is no such thing existing in reality. Sandy tells Jeffrey about a dream that she has had about Robins coming down in her dream and bringing love and happiness, dispelling this belief, and reinforcing the faith of good over bad being the films driving force. Isabella Rossellini is stunning in this. She is staggeringly beautiful. Daughter of Ingrid Bergman she has the same easy style of acting that her mother possessed and it is extremely watchable. I have never seen such a use of the 'close up' as they did here with Rossellini. With her head tilted back and lips parted, she looked exquisite; it was the most perfect use of the close up that I have seen. Isabella Rossellini imparts the qualities of the fragile, sensual, dreamy character of Dorothy beautifully, and when singing the films signature tune 'Blue Velvet' it transports us straight into the heart of this strange, warped film. Dennis Hopper is a commanding actor and dominates every scene that he is in. His portrayal of the drug induced sadist is remarkable. His profanities are abundant and his characterisation is sickening to the core as he violates the emotionally broken Dorothy. The musical score is extremely diverse and put to great use, and I particularly liked the use of the Roy Orbison song 'In Dreams' which was lip synched during a horrific mindless attack within the film. This totally disarms you and once again your emotions are turned upside down, with the savagery of the attack and the quiet gentle dreamy quality of the music.

The use of the cinematography in Blue Velvet is nothing short of stunning! With fantastic use of light and shade, texture, and palate. Beautiful colourings were used in each scene aiding to the surreal nature of the film. There is a lot of representation used within the film particularly dwelling on bugs and insects, which can be a repelling sight. In the final scene of the film there is a robin at the window with a bug in its mouth. Does this symbolise that good will win over evil? Though on closer inspection you realise that the robin is fake... Whatever it is, Blue Velvet is definitely a film that will set you thinking. Beneath the film's opening sequence of perfect America, it depicts a world that is filled with corruption, greed, perversity, and imperfection. Bizarre and warped, savage and beautiful, Blue Velvet is one of my very favourite films. That is most definitely worth its status of 'Cult Classic'.-

Starring
Kyle MacLachlan
Isabella Rossellini
Dennis Hopper
Laura Dern
Dean Stockwell
Music by
Angelo Badalamenti
Cinematography
Frederick Elmes
Directed by
David Lynch
Produced by
Fred C. Caruso
Written by
David Lynch

Christianna Garrett-Martin -