That said, the Oscars aren't everything. Inland Empire is a tough sit at nearly three hours but for Lynch fans it definitely has its moments, and they often involve Laura Dern's facial distortions, which are at least as frightening as Catherine O'Hara's face pulling in For Your Consideration were hilarious.
For my money, Laura Dern's best Lynchian performance is still her incredible work as "Lulu" in Wild at Heart but her doubled and unravelling performance in Inland Empire begs the question: Why aren't more filmmakers lining up to work with her? Why aren't they posing with their own cows to win her heart?
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Yeah, she really is quite stunning in Wild at Heart (as is her mother, Diane Ladd).
I never thought she could get to the Academy, but maybe some of more, er, radical groups could recognise her. hmmm...
That's an excellent question. She's such an incredible actress. I mean, We Dont' Live Here Anymore wasn't too strong of a film, but her performance blew my mind. She really should be getting more work..
Oh, by the way, my URL has been changed to thescenestealer.blogspot.com
I think my favorite Laura Dern moment is in Blue Velvet...her crazy facial meltdown when Isabella Rossellini enters the house nude and she realizes whats going on...but in terms of overall performance I'd have to agree with Nat and say Wild at Heart...LD needs to be in more films
I think Ms. Dern really is the queen of facial meltdowns. That scene in Inland Empire - where she's sort of running towards you in slow motion and then makes *that* face? That indescribably horrific face? I didn't know non-CGI beings could do that. And also, I want to believe in a world where cows on LA street corners are more attention-worthy than billboards.
Yeah, that slow-mo THE FACE shot really is the peak if where IE is working. As with so many moments of the film, I have no idea what it meant or where it fit, but it stood out as really capturing the best, I think, that essence of nightmare Lynch was going for. And so simple! That's what impressed me about it the most. Just her (with THE FACE), slow motion, and a flashlight beam.
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