Inland Empire (2006)

Director:

David Lynch

Writer (WGA):

David Lynch (written by)

Release Date:

7 February 2007 (Belgium)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A Woman In Trouble

Plot:

An actress's perception of reality becomes increasingly distorted as she finds herself falling for her co-star in a remake of an unfinished Polish production that was supposedly cursed.

Plot Keywords:

Actress | Hollywood | Number | Scene During End Credits | Gypsy

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Laura Dern	...	Nikki Grace / Susan Blue
Jeremy Irons	...	Kingsley Stewart
Justin Theroux	...	Devon Berk / Billy Side
Karolina Gruszka	...	Lost Girl
Jan Hencz	...	Janek (as Jan Hench)
Krzysztof Majchrzak	...	Phantom
Grace Zabriskie	...	Visitor #1
Ian Abercrombie	...	Henry the Butler
Karen Baird	...	Servant
Bellina Logan	...	Linda
Amanda Foreman	...	Tracy
Peter J. Lucas	...	Piotrek Król
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Freddie Howard
Cameron Daddo	...	Devon Berk's Manager
Jerry Stahl	...	Devon Berk's Agent

Also Known As:

El imperio (Mexico) [es]
Império dos Sonhos (Brazil) [pt]
Imperio (Argentina) [es]
Inland Empire (Spain) [es]
Inland Empire (Greece) [el]
Inland Empire - Eine Frau in Schwierigkeiten (Germany) [de]
Inland empire - L'impero della mente (Italy) [it]
Inland empire - Siseimpeerium (Estonia) [et]

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violence and sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

180 min | Poland:197 min (Camerimage Film Fest)

Country:

France | Poland | USA

Language:

English | Polish

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iran:18+ | UK:15 | Belgium:KNT | France:U | Poland:18 | Italy:T | Ireland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Spain:13 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | Australia:MA | Spain:18 (DVD rating) | Brazil:14 | USA:R (certificate #42975) | New Zealand:R16 | Iceland:14

Filming Locations:

Avalon Hollywood - 1735 Vine Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Studio Canal

Trivia:

In an interview with Joe Huang at the AFI Dallas Film Festival, David Lynch stated that "Inland Empire" wasn't originally intended to be a feature film. He would simply come up with an idea and - utilizing the versatility and ease of using DV cameras - would film it, creating a series of seemingly unrelated scenes; the first scene filmed was Laura Dern's monologue to the silent psychiatrist. As time progressed, he began to see how the stories were connected, and continued filming scenes for it until he had what we see now. Rumors that Lynch began filming without a script are more or less incorrect, as he would write a short scene and film it, without having the intention of making feature length film.

Quotes:

Nikki: Hey! Look at me. And tell me if you've known me before.
Lanni: Yes. We will do that.

Movie Connections:

References Queen Kelly (1929)

Soundtrack:

Als Jakob Erwachte

Brilliant film if you're a Lynch fan, if not, you may hate it.

First off, this is easily the most confusing and bizarre of all of David Lynch's films, even more so than Lost Highway. I think it's also the most bizarre film I have ever seen. The film is harrowing and creepy and Laura Dern is incredible in her performance. I never thought she was capable it. Fans of Lynch will love it, especially those who think Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway were his best. Average filmgoers will most likely be bored (it's 3 hours long) or think it is Artsy crap. Lost Highway is probably his most comparable film based on structure, technique, and bizarre elements, although it would not be entirely fair to use Lost Highway as a basis for judgment. One of the only things that keeps me from giving it a higher rating is that there are a couple scenes which seemed to drag on a little longer than necessary. Inland Empire at first is reminiscent of some of Lynch's older short films because of the way it is filmed. It is gritty, shaky, and even gives a documentary feel at first. While it is still not his best, it's among them and it's what Lynch fans have come to expect and love.