Blue Velvet dir. David Lynch - rating

Film review #1

Overall rating: 90/100

**Breakdown**

Entertainment (viewer engagement, pacing): 19/20

Unsurprisingly, Lynch’s well-timed wacky twists and turns made this 2hr long film not feel like a tedious watch. If anything, the antics may be too much for the faint of heart. The only reason why im not giving it a perfect score is because it did have its unnecessarily slow moments, and in a 2hr long film I guess that warrants a deduction.

Technical features (cinematography, editing, score): 20/20

Few do it like Lynch. Of course he wasn’t in charge of every technical facet of the film — but he sure as hell brought everything together in a beautifully harmonious way. I was pleasantly surprised by the creativity in many of the shots and how he went about building up to the climax. A true lesson in filmmaking.

Characters (casting, performances, relationships, character development & arcs, etc): 18/20

Blue Velvet gave us the unforgettable villain Frank Booth and the odd yet sympathetic Dorothy Vallens in one of the first instances of his classic “distorted characters”. These two and our main character Jeffrey are enthralling to watch, perfectly casted, and incredibly rich. Their development is suitable in relation to the story — but Dorothy leaves something to be desired in terms of her arc. As for Sandy, she is awfully underdeveloped in my view, and though she isn’t crucial to the film working it does merit a slightly lower rating.

Story (plot, rise and fall of action, flow, credibility, central events, etc): 16/20

Its not that the central events themselves are not believable or poorly thought out — its that within the plot they don’t always make sense or properly flow into each other. At times one can fill in the blanks and suspend disbelief, like when (SPOILER) Jeffrey continues to see Dorothy behind Sandy’s back. (END SPOILER) However, some events feel a little too convenient, like Jeffrey just so happening to cross paths with someone he’s looking for the one time he goes to the police station. We are then privy to a series of events that not only happen at precisely the right time (lazy writing) but also don’t make sense given what we know, like (SPOILER) Dorothy going to Jeffrey’s house naked and in a distraught state (END SPOILER) This is arguably the film’s weakest point, hence the relatively low rating.

Messaging/themes (central symbolism, choices in relation to message, overarching themes and their development, etc): 17/20

The consistency in the film’s symbolism was pleasantly surprising, with the blue velvet and the bugs being two powerful images connecting to the key theme of the small yet deadly hiding behind a shiny exterior. Lynch’s visual language was pointed and detailed which made paying attention additionally rewarding. However, in exploring his themes in conjunction to deliver the film’s overall message, Lynch seems to have ran out of steam. He takes no final stance when it comes to the dark side of small town life; Frank Booth cannot be treated as a root cause but rather as a symptom of it. The ending, though upbeat and suitable, is lacking a definitive wrap up of the themes uncovered throughout the film.