#84 Blue Velvet (Lynch) at the Balboa Theatre
This was my second time watching this film and I remained unmoved. It's often described as surreal neo-noir, an exploration of the dark side of suburban America, and I can see that: white picket fences, manicured lawns, but something rotten hiding just underneath. I just don't connect with it. What felt shocking or transgressive in 1986 has been escalated by decades of films since. I dunno.
But seeing it in a theater was a different experience than watching it at home. Without the option to fast-forward through the rape and abuse scenes, Frank was even more repulsive. I also noticed details I’d missed before, especially how alive the opening blue velvet curtains felt. They don’t just act as background for the title sequence text; they move as if they’re breathing. I was also grateful to see it on 35mm, and not a pristine print. The grit and texture suited the film, a reminder that celluloid is physical and imperfect.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been revisiting a lot of Hitchcock lately, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that this might be David Lynch’s response to him. It plays with some of the same elements --- voyeurism (Rear Window), small-town menace (Shadow of a Doubt), the sense that something sinister is hiding beneath ordinary life (The Birds) --- but pushes them into territory that’s more explicit and more destabilizing. And, of course, there’s their shared fixation on blondes.
I still can’t decide whether Jeffrey is "a detective or a pervert." Maybe that ambiguity is the point. Blue Velvet remains my least favorite Lynch film, even if I respect what it’s doing.