Imagine being young and seeing Inland Empire for the first time and deciding to become a director.
This is probably what you'd have made - the inspiration is obvious, you're onto something but not quite there. And you don't get there even by the end of the movie.
The atmosphere is a bit off, at times weird for the sake of being weird, mostly boring, repetitive, and just a tad bit pretentious.
It's fine - we all have to start somewhere and I would've been probably more generous with my rating hadn't I realized that the character of St. Vincent and her friend are very much real people playing themselves. Or at least some version of themselves they think it's cool.
Bearing that in mind, all of the potential symbolism goes down the drain once you realize there are NO characters and there is NO story. It's just a vanity project to show how offbeat these women are.
I've seen people commenting online that you have to *know* St. Vincent's career and persona in order to get this movie. I'm sorry, but it's just an excuse for bad filmmaking.
What makes Inland Empire great is that you don't have to know anything about David Lynch, because the film speaks for itself. This does not speak for anyone. Just avoid it.
This is probably what you'd have made - the inspiration is obvious, you're onto something but not quite there. And you don't get there even by the end of the movie.
The atmosphere is a bit off, at times weird for the sake of being weird, mostly boring, repetitive, and just a tad bit pretentious.
It's fine - we all have to start somewhere and I would've been probably more generous with my rating hadn't I realized that the character of St. Vincent and her friend are very much real people playing themselves. Or at least some version of themselves they think it's cool.
Bearing that in mind, all of the potential symbolism goes down the drain once you realize there are NO characters and there is NO story. It's just a vanity project to show how offbeat these women are.
I've seen people commenting online that you have to *know* St. Vincent's career and persona in order to get this movie. I'm sorry, but it's just an excuse for bad filmmaking.
What makes Inland Empire great is that you don't have to know anything about David Lynch, because the film speaks for itself. This does not speak for anyone. Just avoid it.