Blue Velvet

I have read a lot of different pieces in a lot of different places that basically say Blue Velvet has a "surreal menace," or something to that effect. That is a pretty succinct and accurate summary of the movie. There are not any explicitly supernatural elements, the kinds that pop up in other Lynch work, but there is a nightmare logic to the whole film and also to the characters and events. It's not that Frank Booth could never exist in the real world. It's just that he seems to be unstoppable. In fact, the whole thing is like a nightmare that is terrifying for its plausibility. Everything is hazy, heightened, but not outside the realm of possibility. As much as I love David Lynch when he goes for full-on surrealism, this might be him at his most terrifying. 

And yet, as a viewing experience, it was not as disturbing as I thought it would be. I think this is the main reason I avoided it for so long, because I thought watching it might leave me disgusted. Definitely an uncomfortable watch, because it's ugly and challenging and shows suffering, particularly of a woman at the hands of a psychotic man. But at the same time it's so atmospheric and immersive, and the character we view as the clean cut hero is, deep down, anything but. So, complex. It walks a fine line; it's provocative, but not for its own sake. It is art because it has something to say, even if you don't like it. Blue Velvet shocked me but did not offend me. After everything it portrays, there is an ending that is anything but nihilistic. It is not exploitative, but it's almost as if Lynch is daring you to think it is. Perhaps everything I've written here just proves that the feelings a great film evokes are difficult to put into words. Also, the use of music and the scenes that feature these songs are some of the most haunting and effective. "In Dreams" even more so than "Blue Velvet."