From: lishka@dxcern.cern.ch (Christopher Lishka)
Subject: Review of TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME (European Version?)
Summary: I didn't like TP:FWWM at all!
Keywords: blech
Organization: CERN European Lab for Particle Physics
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 10:48:50 GMT


		    Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
			 (European Version?)

		    A film review by Chris Lishka
		     Copyright 1992 Chris Lishka

_Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me_ is David Lynch's latest installment in
the lives of the residents of a small Washington State town.  It was
directed by David Lynch and written by David Lynch and Robert Engels.
It has a long list of actors and actresses, with many of the cast
members returning from the television series.  The main stars include
Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer), Ray Wise (Leland Palmer), Moira Kelly
(Donna Hayward), Dana Ashbrook (Bobby Briggs), James Marshall (James
Hurley), and Kyle MacLachlan (Special Agent Dale Cooper).

David Lynch is well-known for the blend of normality and the outright
bizarre that he portrays in his films.  His work is typically an
investigation of the strange elements of everyday life: at its best,
it makes us look at the common world around us and wonder what weird
happenings are taking place.  Unfortunately, his worst work can
degenerate into an orgy of violence, raunchy sex, cliches, and
incomprehensible images which have little in common.

The _Twin Peaks_ television series contained some of Mr. Lynch's best
and worst work.  The first season started with a wonderful show that
placed a big-city agent of the FBI in the quirky little town.  Agent
Cooper was there to investigate a possible serial-killer and answer
the question of "who killed Laura Palmer".  A cult following quickly
built up enough momentum to propel _Twin Peaks_ into a second season.
However, as the summer drew to a close it became apparent that Mr.
Lynch would clear up the mystery in his own time.  Sadly, it was also
apparent that the scripts were being rewritten at the last moment
based on what was convenient in the show.  There wasn't any set story;
rather it evolved over time, with the constraints of TV deciding what
would and would not happen.  During the second season it slowly
degenerated into a nighttime soap opera with the strange small-town
residents replacing the more glamorous characters in shows like
_Dallas_ and _Dynasty_.

The film continues the downward spiral of the television series.  It
explores what happened to Laura Palmer in the time before her bloody
death.  This is shown through rather graphic scenes showing all of the
bad sides of Laura Palmer, with occasional scenes attempting to depict
her struggle between good and evil.  To fans of _Twin Peaks_, many of
the events are already well documented in both the television show and
a spin-off novel (_The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer_).  One wonders
why Mr. Lynch thought it necessary to actually *show* these scenes on
screen when the references of the television series seemed more than
adequate.

There are many problems with this film.  Foremost is the focus on
Laura Palmer.  The television series drew its strength from parallel
stories affecting a number of interesting characters.  If you didn't
much care for one, there was always a handful of others to follow.
Unfortunately, many of the characters from the TV show are missing.
Of the ones who do show up, only a few are given any significant
screen time, and even those that have more than a minute of on-screen
presence are only accessories to the main theme of Laura's
destruction.  What made the television show so good is completely
replaced here with a single two hour depiction of Laura's ills, which
simply are not as interesting as the other character's pleasures and
pains.  Furthermore, since we know that Laura Palmer will die and who
will kill her, there is no suspense to build up.  What we get is a
tale that keeps presenting more and more violent images as Laura
Palmer gets closer and closer to being killed, without any real reason
except to be complete.

Another major problem is economy.  There are whole scenes that could
be lifted out of the film with no damage to the plot.  Indeed, the
whole first half-hour has very little to do with the rest of the
movie.  It introduces a couple characters that are not seen throughout
the rest of the story.  Entire sequences involving Laura are
unnecessary.  As with the car crash scene in _Wild At Heart_, one
wonders why Mr. Lynch included many of these scenes when they had
little to do with the plot.

Then there is the violence.  The constraints of prime-time television
kept Mr. Lynch from including many graphic scenes.  Unfortunately he
seems to have had few restrictions here.  From bloody killings to
vicious rape scenes, this movie shows in full detail what Laura
Palmer engaged in.  The television series functioned well without it, so
one wonders why it was included?  Do we really need to see Laura
Palmer actually doing all of those bad things that were hinted at?

The most important element that I missed from the television series
was the humor.  Gone are the funny lines and the humorous situations.
Instead we are treated to a lot of drama with little to laugh about.
This movie has a very different and much more sinister tone to it.
There is little resemblance to the best episodes, and indeed the only
ties between the film and the TV series are the scenery and the
recognizable characters.  Where the television shows were a more full
concoction, the film is simply drama served straight-up.  If you
prefer humour in your diet, avoid this film.

With all that said, there are a few good points.  Angelo Badalmenti's
wonderful music is back in full form.  Fans of Julee Cruise get
another of her eerie tunes.  The sound design (done by Mr. Lynch
himself) is very good.  In some scenes the sound is more effective
that the visuals in portraying the violence.  There is plenty of the
backwards speech played forwards, which creates a very strange effect.
And all those really weird dream-like sequences are back and mixed
throughout the whole film.  Maybe the movie would have been compelling
if Mr. Lynch had dropped the whole story of Laura Palmer and instead
focused completely on Bob and the little man in the room of curtains.

There are also a few good performances.  Harry Dean Stanton shows up
as an odd mobile-home landlord, and Kyle MacLachlan proves that he can
make even the strangest material interesting.  Miguel Ferrer is also
good in his short part as Albert Rosenfeld, although his sarcastic
wisecracks are sadly missing.  David Lynch himself is amusing as
Gordon Cole, the deaf FBI chief who constantly repeats everything said
to him.  Ray Wise is good as Leland Palmer frantically changing from a
caricature of wholesome family living to outright evil.
Unfortunately, a few good actresses like Peggy Lipton are on the
screen for such a short time that they don't have much of a chance to
act.

Other actors and actresses simply can't rise above the poor writing.
Chris Isaak (as another FBI agent) proves he should stick with
singing.  Kiefer Sutherland seems to try desperately to do something
interesting with his character but fails.  A few bad actors from the
television show are brought back (notably Dana Ashbrook and James
Marshall) and do little better here.

_Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me_ is a great disappointment.  As I
walked out of the theatre, I felt like I didn't really need to know
anything the film presented.  Furthermore, the film was not even
entertaining; rather, it was bloody and boring.  I was very much put
off by the violent scenes, especially the horrible sexuality
portrayed.

I cannot recommend this film to anyone except those who want to see
everything David Lynch has done.  Even if you enjoyed the television
series, I would recommend avoiding this movie because it only
superficially resembles the television shows.  Gone is the humour,
gone are the many interesting characters.  Instead we get half-an-hour
of pointless prologue and two hours of indulgent violence and raunchy
sex centering around Laura Palmer.  If you really want to enjoy more
of _Twin Peaks_, I recommend dusting off your videotapes and watching
reruns.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

							.oO Chris Oo.

-- 
                                                           Christopher Lishka
 Never drive a car when you're dead...			   PPE Division, CERN
				-- Tom Waits		  lishka@dxcern.cern.ch
							     vxaluw::lishka
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