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Inland Empire

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Inland Empire (2006)

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Reviews Counted:98

Fresh:70

Rotten:28

Average Rating:7.1/10

Consensus: Typical David Lynch fare: fans of the director will find Inland Empire seductive and deep. All others will consider the heady surrealism impenetrable and pointless.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language, some violence and sexuality/nudity.

Runtime: 2 hrs 59 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Dec 6, 2006 Limited

Synopsis: With INLAND EMPIRE, David Lynch--creator of such mind-bending works as ERASERHEAD and LOST HIGHWAY--delivers his most avant-garde, abstract, and impenetrable vision yet. A three-hour fever... With INLAND EMPIRE, David Lynch--creator of such mind-bending works as ERASERHEAD and LOST HIGHWAY--delivers his most avant-garde, abstract, and impenetrable vision yet. A three-hour fever nightmare of a motion picture, INLAND EMPIRE takes the basic structure of Lynch's 2001 masterpiece, MULHOLLAND DRIVE, and spins it even further out of control. A blonde actress (Laura Dern) is preparing for her biggest role yet, but when she finds herself falling for her co-star (Justin Theroux), she realizes that her life is beginning to mimic the fictional film that they're shooting. Adding to her confusion is the revelation that the current film is a remake of a doomed Polish production, 47, which was never finished due to an unspeakable tragedy. And that's the only the beginning. Soon, a seemingly endless onslaught of indescribably bizarre situations flashes across the screen: a sitcom featuring humans in bunny suits, a parallel story set in a wintry Poland, a houseful of dancing streetwalkers, screwdrivers in stomachs, menacing Polish carnies, and much, much more. By the time the film's electrifying closing-credit sequence arrives, even diehard Lynch fans will be gasping for air. What most glaringly differentiates INLAND EMPIRE from Lynch's previous work is the format on which it was shot. This is the first time that he has chosen to shoot on digital video, as opposed to film, and while the decision is jarring at first, the grainy imagery nonetheless casts a creepy, haunting spell. Laura Dern's multi-fractured performance is downright heroic. She gives the film the human grounding that it so desperately needs. Not for the fragile or timid, INLAND EMPIRE is a full-blown assault to the senses. [More]

Starring: Jeremy Irons, Laura Dern, Justin Theroux, Harry Dean Stanton

Starring: Jeremy Irons, Laura Dern, Justin Theroux, Harry Dean Stanton, Scott Coffey, Ian Abercrombie, Terry Crews, Grace Zabriskie, Julia Ormond, William H. Macy, Naomi Watts, Nastassja Kinski, Diane Ladd, Mary Steenburgen

Director: David Lynch

Director: David Lynch
Screenwriter: David Lynch
Producer: David Lynch, Mary Sweeney
Studio: 518 Media Inc.

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Release:

Aug 14, 2007

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Reviews for Inland Empire

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1 - 20 (sorted by source)
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A fertile and overwhelming work of art.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
10/01/06
Jurgen Fauth
Jurgen Fauth
About.com

Inland Empire might be David Lynch's masterpiece -- or it might just be a total mess. Either way it's vintage Lynch and designed exclusively, it seems, for hardcore fans -- or perhaps solely for the director himself.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
12/06/06
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

With Inland Empire, the whole thing feels stuck in Lynch's noggin.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
02/08/07
Steve Murray
Steve Murray
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a bit like watching the final 40 minutes of Mulholland stretched to three hours and filmed with digital-video cameras available at a Circuit City near you.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
01/17/07
Keith Phipps
Keith Phipps
AV Club

The man's still a genius; he just needs to be more ruthless in the editing suite.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
03/06/07
Matthew Leyland
Matthew Leyland
BBC

A crazy midnight roller coaster ride to Lynchland. A movie you might half dream through an all night marathon of noir and slasher films, your heart pumping with caffeine.

Full Review Source: Beyond Hollywood | comment Comment
04/13/08
Brian Holcomb
Brian Holcomb
Beyond Hollywood

The way to watch it is to skip uneasily along its surface and steel yourself for those moments when Lynch pulls you into the vortex. More than any working filmmaker, he knows the dreamlike power of undertow.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
12/08/06
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Peter Keough
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix

Even though Inland Empire isn’t alluring enough to sit through multiple times, there’s a meaningful pattern beneath it. Sorting through what’s necessary and extraneous could pay off.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
John P. McCarthy
John P. McCarthy
Boxoffice Magazine

"Inland Empire" represents Lynch at his unfettered best as well as his undisciplined worst.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
03/09/07
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

this story of magic, madness and metempsychosis will have you feeling like a rabbit trying to puzzle out what exactly is going on as wilder wolves circle and headlights career toward you out of the darkness.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
06/13/07
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Channel 4 Film

Inland Empire is full of good and bad girls, but [Lynch] gives this obsession an interesting spin by having most of them played by the same actress.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/26/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

While you suspect Lynch's digital video acumen will flower into something extraordinary in coming projects, this one's intermittently extraordinary at best.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment 1 Comment
01/26/07
Michael Wilmington
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A great big puzzle movie that even Lynch appears not to have figured out.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
11/30/06
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

David Lynch has been working on his latest film, Inland Empire for years, and it feels like he has included every minute of the footage he shot.

Full Review Source: CHUD | comment Comment
10/07/06
Devin Faraci
Devin Faraci
CHUD

Unspeakably beautiful

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
08/28/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

Inland Empire is about the effects of movies themselves - the way they change us, inform our goals, and impact our self-image.

Full Review Source: Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) | comment Comment
09/04/07
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

The three-hour movie is at once inscrutable and deeply satisfying for its daring high wire act of narrative illusion and passionately charged emotions.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/23/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

It's the best new movie I've seen in over a year.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
02/01/07
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

It feels Lynchian to the point of self-parody.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
10/28/06
George Wu
George Wu
culturevulture.net
 
 
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Latest News for Inland Empire

December 12, 2006: 2006 NYFCO Awards Announced!
It's that time of year again: Right before the fancy awards are doled out, all the different critics' groups chime in with their favorite flicks of the year. Here we have the... More...

December 09, 2006: trailer and trailer review Opens in new window
More...

December 07, 2006: Critical Consensus: "Apocalypto" Is Bloody Good; "Blood Diamond" Needs Polish; "Unaccompanied" Is Minor; "Holiday" Is So-So
This week at the movies, we've got declining civilizations ("Apocalypto," directed by Mel Gibson), conflict diamonds ("Blood Diamond," starring Leonardo... More...

November 14, 2006: RTIndie: A News Wrap-Up, Plus David Lynch's Latest Antics
Faced with "Volver" performing well (again) and "Babel"'s expansion into wide release (big time), "The Queen" lost a bit of box office momentum... More...

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