Just to get this out of the way, David Lynch is my favorite filmmaker on the planet. He makes dark, challenging, elliptical films that demand multiple viewings. In an industry full of wanna be auteurs, he is one of the few true artists working in film today.
That stated, I was in no hurry to see “Surveillance”, the new film directed by his daughter, Jennifer Chambers Lynch. Why not? Because I saw her first film, “Boxing Helena”, and was less than impressed. In fact, to call a spade a spade, the movie was bad, and by bad… I mean BAD. It reached a level of badness that few films have. I’m talking “Plan 9 From Outer Space” bad, “Showgirls” bad. It was so bloody awful it was sort of entertaining (when properly intoxicated), and it effectively killed Ms. Lynch’s directing career for 15 years. But now she’s back with this new thriller. Have her movie making abilities improved? Read on…
A brutal massacre on an isolated stretch of desert road leaves a cop and several others dead. Two F.B.I. Agents (Bill Pullman and Julia Ormond), who believe it’s the work of a serial killer, arrive at the local police station to question the three survivors of the incident; the dead cop’s partner, a 20-something druggie, and a young girl. Each witness offers a different take on the events, and the F.B.I. Agents have to piece together what happened.
Apparently, Daughter Lynch learned a thing or two about film making during her 15 year vacation. The difference between this film and her previous one are like night and day. “Boxing Helena” was inept and unintentionally hilarious, whereas “Surveillance” is intriguing and creepy. Lynch gives the film a gritty, de-saturated look, as well as a tone of ambiguous unease often associated with her father’s work. She weaves a flashback heavy tale that draws the audience into the mystery and offers a nice little twist at the end.
That’s not to say the film is without problems. Not everything in this sordid affair was to my liking. For one thing, the story takes a little longer than it should to kick into gear. It doesn’t really start to pick up until about a half hour in. In the meantime, we’re stuck watching some of the most unpleasant characters you could ever hope to not meet, including a pair of bored, brainless, and slightly sadistic cops who love to harass motorists on the desolate road. Imagine if Beavis and Butthead ever joined the Gestapo, and you basically have these two. Also, there are attempts at “Twin Peaks”-style black comedy that don’t really work. And while I like the twist at the end, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see it coming a mile away.
“Surveillance” is a dark, bleak, and thoroughly fucked up little flick that proves that Jennifer Lynch did inherit some of her father’s talent after all. If you have a strong stomach and a taste for the demented, then you should rent this freak show today. Like father, like daughter.
