The Long Dark Marathon of the Soul 2020: The Straight Story (1999), directed by David Lynch

 

The Trailer

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The Appropriate Tune: "Arthritis Blues", by Ramblin' Jack Elliot

      Now we can’t revisit directors on this Marathon without bringing up David Lynch, and I mean why not? Of all the directors that frequent this blog, and because of my tendency to return to the well that’s quite a few, he’s one of if not the most successful one of the bunch. I mean when you kick off your feature film career with a cult hit like Eraserhead, and then follow it up with a mainstream hit like The Elephant Man then you’ve already done better than 70 percent of Hollywood. Of course there was a bit of a stumbling block in Dune, so-called in my opinion, but then Lynch struck gold with Blue Velvet, and again with Twin Peaks, which has since become the most enduring work of his entire film career. Again, he could have stopped right after that and still be considered one of the best filmmakers in the country, maybe get a head start on that whole transcendental meditation shit, but he kept on going all the way up to the mid 00’s, even getting another home run with Mulholland Drive before it was all over. Last year we covered Lynch’s first step into the 90s with Wild at Heart, a love story, a rock ‘n’ roll story, a crime thriller and something about the Wizard of Oz all wrapped up with a big Nicholas Cage looking bow to make sure it could never be mistaken for normal. This year, then, how about we see how David Lynch closed out the decade?

Released in 1999, The Straight Story written by John Roach and Mary Sweeney, directed by David Lynch and distributed through Buena Vista Pictures, which indeed makes this a Disney movie made by the same guy who did Blue Velvet. Richard Farnsworth plays Alvin Straight, a 73 year old man living in the sleepy town of Laurens, Iowa with his daughter Rose (Sissy Spacek). Alvin is getting up there in years; He can’t see too well, he can’t move too well and his penchant for sausages and cigars probably isn’t helping either. When he gets the call that his estranged brother Lyle has suffered a stroke however, he decides that come hell or high water that he’s going to see Lyle again. So he buys some supplies, hitches up a wagon to his lawnmower and sets off on his journey. It’s a long way from Laurens, Iowa to Mt. Zion, Wisconsin, especially if you’re only going about 2 miles an hour, but Alvin wants to make the journey under his own power, and that’s exactly what he’s gonna do. Based on a true story, or at least a Straight one.

Where do Lynch’s interests lie, as a filmmaker? What is his style? Most people I think, myself included in earlier reviews, would mention something like dreams or the concept of schmaltzy sentimentalism hiding the true dark, gruesome world that we know. Kyle Machlachlan and Laura Dern’s storybook romance derailed by a severed ear in a field, Laura Palmer’s murder revealing the complex web of sin in this small Northwest town, and so on and on. An inference perhaps, but perhaps even Lynch felt like he was getting too deep into the weeds in that regard, as The Straight Story is the most unapologetically sentimental movie of his career. There are moments of darkness and Lynchian surrealism sure, the Deer Lady scene comes to mind, but the film isn’t mired in it as other Lynch films are. They inform the characters as memories and regrets, but the characters are still human, and in the world that Lynch here has created humans are essentially good. It’s a refreshingly calm, sincerely humanist film from a director whose previous attempts at portraying such things often come across as parodical or satirical, whether that is his intention or not.

Much of that has to do with the titular Alvin Straight, played by Richard Farnsworth. Not since your grandpa have you seen a man who embodies gentle warmth and wisdom like Alvin Straight here, the pinnacle of Lynch’s fascination with the Midwest, so even the simplest of tasks gain an increased importance. What will he do if the lawnmower breaks? What will he do if he runs out of food? Hell, how’s he gonna walk? When you’ve got a movie that’s driven by one character you’ve got to make sure that one person can handle it, and I think Farnsworth manages to pull that off.

If you go into David Lynch movies expecting all that crazy stuff however, you’re probably going to be disappointed in The Straight Story. In fact not much stuff happens at all, dark or otherwise, until you count past regrets and the ever present fear of death . Some traveling, some talking, and plenty of montage shots of harvesters set to Angelo Badalamenti’s folk-inspired score. For those who need action in their movies The Straight Story will be nigh on intolerable, but if you’re in the mood to chill out and just take in the mellow atmosphere then I think you’ll be able to get into this film pretty well.

Not the best review in the world, but The Straight Story gets the recommendation. While David Lynch would get back to the weird stuff with his last two theatrical films, The Straight Story manages to invoke Lynch’s style while at the same time feeling unlike anything he had ever done before. A simple story, simple characters, going in a straight line towards a simple goal. Unflinchingly, unapologetically, and it makes for perhaps the most out-and-out enjoyable film that Lynch has made.that has been covered on this blog. Maybe not something you want to break out at a Halloween party, but I think if you’re feeling out of it or stressed out about the world around you (for whatever reason) this might help even you out a bit. I’m just sorry I’m too stressed to give it its due diligence as a reviewer.

The Long Dark Marathon of the Soul 2019: Wild at Heart (1990), directed by David Lynch

The Trailer

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The Appropriate Tune: "Love Me Tender", by Elvis Presley

       Sometimes you just get into those kinds of moods, you know? You get a sudden urge to eat salty foods or watch ice hockey, and the feelings won’t subside until you bite the bullet and do the thing. So it is with me and the films of one Mr. David Lynch, guru of transcendental meditation and all around weird guy. It’s been a while since we last saw him, Blue Velvet in Marathon ‘17 to be precise, and I knew from the moment I was crafting this year’s list that he needed to make an appearance. The question was, what film to go for? The Elephant Man? Inland Empire? A ‘proper’ review of Eraserhead after all these years? I mean it’s not like we’re spoiled for choice, Lynch’s career isn’t defined by a Hitchcockian work ethic, but a choice still has to be made. What to choose, what to choose…?

       So I just went with the one with Nic Cage in it.

       Our story begins in Cape Fear, somewhere on the border between North and South Carolina. Sailor (Nicolas Cage) and Lula (Laura Dern) are just about the most prototypical of young lovers that you’re ever gonna see, a fact which infuriates Lula’s mother Marietta Fortune, so much so that she hires someone to try and kill him. It fails, although Sailor ends up in prison a few months for manslaughter, and when the release date finally rolls around he and Lula ditch Cape Fear and hit the road for sunny California, the land of hopes and dreams. Marietta Fortune takes that about as well as she did before, only this time she goes to a man named Marcellus Santos, a man intimately connected with both Lula and Sailor’s past and one with varied, dangerous connections. Will Sailor and Lula’s love managed to withstand the machinations of Lula’s mother and Marcellus Santos, or will the yellow brick road lead them down the path to ruin? And yes, that is a Wizard of Oz reference, one of approximately 5 hundred you’ll be hearing when you watch this movie.

       With critical darling Blue Velvet still only a couple years old, and Twin Peaks taking the television world by storm, Lynch was arguably at the peak of his popularity in 1990, and it shows in Wild Heart’s production. Not only do we have Angelo Badalamenti working his magic on the score, but the movie feels absolutely stuffed with talent, both new and old additions to the world of Lynch. Nic Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, Crispin Glover, Harry Dean Stanton, Isabella Rossellini, Grace Zabriskie, Jack Nance, and that’s just a portion of the folks in the opening credits. It’s like Lynch had suddenly received a big fat inheritance from a deceased relative and this was the result of the subsequent shopping spree. 

       Ironically though, aside from Dune, Wild at Heart might be the least Lynchian Lynch that I’ve covered so far. Sure, you’ve got the blending of the old and the modern, bizarre cast of characters that speaking nonsense, the veneer of placidity that masks the grimy, horrific truth that are staples of many Lynch works, but not presented quite the same way. In films such as Lost Highway, the main character’s dialogue could damn near fit on one sheet of paper; In Wild at Heart it feels as if there’s almost constant dialogue, Sailor and Lula can’t seem to exist in each other’s company without delving into each other’s most innermost thoughts. Rather than the long, pregnant pauses of Mulholland Dr., Wild at Heart is a wild (natch) beast; Scenes will suddenly explode with energy, music blaring, what have you, we constantly cut away from scenes for flashbacks and such, about every other one actually being relevant to the story. It’s a different kind of Lynch behind the camera here, or at least it feels like it, and this Lynch likes to play things fast and loose.

       Angelo Badalamenti returns to music duty this time around as I said, and in many ways it’s just as eclectic as the film itself. From the smokey, smooth jazz straight out of Twin Peaks to death metal in the blink of an eye, with some stops at big band, blues, garage rock and folk along the way. All stuff that I enjoy by the way, so even if it does get a bit herky-jerky it’s probably one of my favorite soundtracks for a David Lynch film so far. 

       I’m not sure how I feel about Wild at Heart though, if I’m being honest. Sometimes it feels like a continuation of Blue Velvet, where the innocent ‘dream world’ our characters attempt to exist in is intruded upon by the ‘real world’, with Sailor and Lula’s constant references to the Wizard of Oz (a story which ultimately reveals itself to be a dream) being the obvious nod to that. Other times it feels like some kind of ketamine-laced fairy tale, complete with evil mother figure, as our protagonists take the archetypal journey, face the archetypal trials and learn the archetypal lessons in hallucinatory and dissociative ways. Which on paper sounds fine, but in execution it can come off as tone deaf in areas that he should and has treated seriously, and bizarrely gooy in others, not in the way we’ve come to expect.It’s almost as if Wild at Heart was an attempt by Lynch to create his own Raising Arizona and the styles just do not mesh well together.

       Of course a lot of people were sold just on the fact that the words ‘Nic Cage’ and ‘David Lynch’ were in the same sentence, and yes, if you ever wanted to see the star of National Treasure belting out Elvis Presley songs then this is the movie of your dreams. Other than that it’s actually a rather mellow performance from him, perhaps because he’s working next to amazing actors like Laura Dern and Willem Dafoe that he doesn’t need to take things off the rails. Still, listening to the guy from Con Air talking in an exaggerated Elvis drawl for 2 hours is something you need to see to believe.

       A magic realist road trip crime thriller romance movie. Even now I’m still not sure what to make of it, but I guess if it’s still got me thinking about it now then that’s a good sign. Wild at Heart gets the recommendation from me, for better or worse you can always count on David Lynch to provide a unique cinematic experience. Grab your favorite snakeskin jacket and a bowl of popcorn and treat yourself to a weird Halloween.

The Long Dark Marathon of the Soul 2019: Repo Man (1984), directed by Alex Cox

The Trailer

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The Appropriate Tune: "TV Party", by Black Flag

       Time again for another movie that I’ve put off covering over some vague uneasiness that I can’t really explain. I’ve had a copy of it for years now (Criterion Collection even) that I picked up at a book sale and has just been gathering dust until this very day, when the spur of the moment compelled me to put it on the list. Why do I do this? Is the fact that I have it so close at hand make me push it away in favor of more obscure fare, that it’s become the back up in case something goes awry? I dunno, maybe. Anyway the whole ‘begin a review with introspection thing because you can’t think of a good opening line that then devolves into referencing it far more than it’s actually happened’ is old hat by now, let’s just get to the movie. It’s Repo Man.

       Otto, played by future Mighty Ducks coach Emilio Estevez, is your standard issue punk. His job at the local supermarket sucks, at least it was before he was fired, his parents are zombies glued to the televangelist channel, and his friends are thieves and drug addicts (not in the fun way either). His life seems to be destined for a slow spiral into shit, until he has a chance encounter by a man named Bud, played Ride in the Whirlwind actor Harry Dean Stanton. Bud is a repo man, a person whose job is to repossess property from those who have missed payments on said property, in this case cars, and he wants Otto to join him. Initially reluctant at first, Otto eventually does, pleasantly surprised to learn that a life of petty thievery, casual drug use and general misanthropy has prepared him well for this career, or so he thinks. Also there’s this car that vaporizes people and everyone wants it, and maybe aliens?

       Repo Man has a lot in common with another movie covered in year’s Marathon, the infamous Tank Girl. Both movies are super into the punk aesthetic, both present a broad view of social decay and human suffering and then undercut it with cartoonish absurdism, and so on. Where they differ chiefly is a matter of execution, which Repo Man arguably has the advantage. There’s no vacillation over Otto’s moral compass; he’s a piece of shit and so is everyone around him. There’s no question of whether the problems of society can be solved, it’s all just shitty conformism anyway (complete with They Live style Drink beers. The structure is certainly more coherent in Repo Man as compared to the sloppiness of Tank Girl, gradually turning up the weirdness until the all out madness of the climax. If you were looking for one movie to bring to your punk-themed Halloween party, this should probably be your first choice.

       A movie is often made by its music, and Repo Man is certainly no exception, showcasing some of the biggest names in the punk scene at the time. Circle Jerks, Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies, Fear, as well as a theme song by perennial punkster Iggy Pop, Repo Man is arguably to hardcore punk as The Harder They Come was to reggae and ska music. If you’re interested in getting into the genre, it’s as good a crash course as any other.

       That all being said, there’s just something about Repo Man that left me cold by the end. Maybe I’m just in a gray mood that the ‘everything and everyone’ sucks punk ethos feels like a broken record at this point, even when Alex Cox tries to make it silly by throwing in radioactive cars and the like. I’ve just seen movies with the same vibe done before, on this year’s Marathon even, and aside from that punk look I don’t see it as breaking any new ground. Aside from showing Emilio has the chops for a leading man role that is, and it’s always fun to see Harry Dean Stanton pop up in something.

       That it could be a ‘me’ problem means that I can’t say to skip this one, so I’ll say that if you’re into these weirdo 80s cult films, The Burbs, Frankenhooker and the like, then this should be on your radar. If you’re into punk music, then this should be on your radar. Otherwise just watch The Warriors or something.

The Long Dark Marathon of the Soul 2019: Ride in the Whirlwind (1966), directed by Monte Hellman

The Trailer

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The Appropriate Tune: "On the Run", by Blackfoot

       In last year’s Marathon, I wrote a little something on a little known western film called The Shooting, directed by Two Lane Blacktop’s Monte Hellman and starring Warren Oates as well as a young Jack Nicholson. What I probably mentioned then and am reiterating now is that the filming process was something of a double feature, as Hellman decided to get the most bang for his buck and make a second movie while he was on location. That film would eventually become known as Ride in the Whirlwind, despite featuring no whirlwinds (spoilers), and since I’ve already talked about The Shooting, I might as well cover the other side of the coin this time around. 

       Three men, Otis (Tom Filer), Verne (Cameron Mitchell) and Wes (Jack Nicholson) are on their way to Waco when they agree to share a meal and some company with some other men in an old wooden shack. The next day, as they’re getting ready to leave, they’re treated to a rude surprise: Those men that they shared corn whiskey with are bandits hiding out after a simple stagecoach robbery ended with a man dead, and the noose-hungry band of vigilantes that have arrived to mete out some bloody vengeance are firm believers of guilt by association, or in this case guilt by close proximity. The Waco try to make a run for it, with mixed success, as the vigilantes are in hot pursuit. The concepts of law and order are alien things in this wild (wild) west, justice being something the strong impose upon the weak. In this world, what is the recourse for the innocent man who has been denounced as guilty? To what lengths will a man go to ensure his freedom? You’ll have to watch to find out.

       That Ride in the Whirlwind is a counterpart to The Shooting is obvious, even without the knowledge of their shared origin. Both films are of the western genre, both films star MIllie Perkins as well as a young, pre-Easy Rider Jack Nicholson (he also wrote Whirlwind by the by) and both films are built around a pursuit of someone, The Shooting based on the perspective of the hunters and Whirlwind the hunted, with the subtext centered around the act of vigilantism, murder, and the ethical gray areas that these actions are said to inhabit. Where The Shooting takes it in a more ‘artsy’ direction, with an ending taken straight from the Rod Serling playbook, Ride in the Whirlwind feels more in-line with how the genre shifted with the advent of spaghetti westerns. I don’t know if that was intentional on Hellman’s part or simply the fact that the larger cast keeps things from feeling too claustrophobic. The Gunsmoke to Shooting’s Seventh Seal, if you will.

       If I had to choose between the two, I’d have to go with Ride in the Whirlwind. The Shooting is fine, and as the pioneer of the totally-not-real acid western subgenre has the bigger legacy, but Whirlwind is the more well-rounded film. There’s a nice balance of action and suspense, and there’s an easy to follow arc in the friendship between our two main characters Wes and Verne (Cameron Mitchell. I don’t think it’s enough to blow anybody away, I mean it’s like the western is an unproven concept in cinema, but then it wasn’t meant to be. It was a budget movie that was popped out because they had the time and inclination, and the main reason people would even bother to seek it out is because a young Jack Nicholson is in the credits. It’s still a competently made movie however, and if the only reason people would remember it is because Nicholson is in the credits, it’s much better to be a Ride in the Whirlwind then, say, The Terror.

       Ride in the Whirlwind gets the recommendation. While it doesn’t have the gimmicks that I usually use to justify putting non-horror, non-sci-fi in the Marathon, it’s also better than several movies I’ve inducted that did fit the criteria. Slip it into a double feature with The Shooting as it was meant to be, or if you’re feeling especially like a 60 year old man, just watch it straight. Not a bad way to spend a night.

The Long Dark Marathon of the Soul 2014: Alien (1979), directed by Ridley Scott

     

The Trailer

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The Appropriate Tune: "Alien Days", by MGMT

     With this Halloween movie marathon, I’ve tried to compile a list of movies that were obscure, fit my criteria for a holiday-appropriate film and, most importantly, were films that I either hadn’t seen before or had only seen parts of, in order to have a fresh experience. Alien is one of the most famous horror movies ever made (even more so now that the new game by Sega is out) so I’ve completely failed on the obscurity front, but I put this on the list anyway because I had never seen it before and because I felt like it. Yes, this is the first time I’ve ever seen Alien, even though I’ve already enjoyed Aliens and yawned through Prometheus. I also saw Ghostbusters 2 before Ghostbusters and Army of Darkness before Evil Dead. Didn’t plan for it, that’s just the way she goes.

      If you’ve seen Alien here’s the synopsis: Deep in the bowels of outer space, thousands of miles from Earth, the crew of the mining ship Nostromo are awakened from hibernation by a distress beacon transmitting from a nearby planet. Because the beacon is of unknown origin the crew is forced to investigate, whereupon they find the remains of an alien spacecraft that had crash landed on the planet. While investigating inside the spacecraft, one of the crewmembers (Caine, played by John Hurt) is attacked by an unknown organism, which attaches itself to his face. After returning him to the Nostromo, the alien (known today as a Xenomorph), eventually grows and tears itself  out of his chest in a blatant display of symbolism. The rest of the crew are understandably a little freaked out, but now the alien has matured into its’ iconic adult form, and the first order of business is to find every human on board and tear their intestines out through their asshole. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and the rest of the crew are going to need to be pretty damn lucky if they hope to get off the Nostromo alive and with assholes intact. Because in space, no one can hear you scream. #catchphrase

      Part science fiction, part slasher movie, Alien was not only a breakthrough, it’s just a damn good movie in general. Because Ridley Scott knew that however scary the monster is (and the late great H.R. Giger’s design for the Xenomorph is indeed amazingly horrific), however gruesome, the scariest parts of horror movies are when you don’t know where the monster is or when he’s going to appear. Paranoia is the gateway to fear, and Alien engenders paranoid feelings like a damn boss. If you haven’t seen it yet, why not put on your Halloween watchlist this year?