Good Bye Yellow Brick Road; Farewell David Lynch

 


You've probably heard by now that David Lynch has died.  And right before his birthday.  Lynch had emphysema so it shouldn't be a complete surprise, but it doesn't make it hurt less.

Lynch is probably best known for Twin Peaks and I'll talk about that in a minute, as I am a fan of the series, but if you know him only for his bizarre and surreal films, you're missing out.  Before I even knew who David Lynch was, I was a fan of the movie The Elephant Man.  Yes, he directed The Elephant Man.  He also directed a very sweet film that I'm guessing most haven't heard of that I adore, The Straight Story.  It's definitely not what you would expect from David Lynch, or from the David Lynch that you THINK of.  If you can, check it out!  

Back to Twin Peaks, when it originally came out, I did watch it.  I was not as pulled in as many of my friends were and I lost interest during season 2.  (Much of which Lynch was not involved with.)  I think what some people might forget is that Twin Peaks, as it aired on network tv, was really was pushed more as a soap opera.  That is apparently especially during the mid-second season.  Season 3 (which aired 20+ years later on Showtime) was anything but! 

My husband was a fan of the show and when we first moved in together in the late 1990s, he came with his VHS tapes (remember those) of the show.  So I re-watched the series and this time it captivated me.  I recall very clearly watching the laser disc (does anyone remember those?) of Twin Peaks:  Fire Walk with Me at home alone with a glass of wine.  I believe it was fall and the afternoon/evening was dark.  To say it was unsettling is to put it mildly.  It is psychologically terrifying, perfectly blending sound and images that will not leave you.  (Lynch was a master of using visual and aural.)  I rewatched the film again last night, which may be one of the reasons why I didn't sleep well.

I remember the anticipation of Twin Peaks:  The Return in 2017.  Once again, I rewatched the series so that I was ready for this new season on Sunday night.  With coffee and mini-cherry pies, my husband and I watched.  The first two episodes that aired that night had our heads reeling.  Each episode brought a combination of beloved "old" characters (I was particularly moved by the conversations between The Log Lady [Catherine Coulson, who died just days after filming her final scene] and Hawk [Michael Horse].) and new.  (How could you not LOVE Constance Talbot [Jane Adams]?)  I looked forward to Sunday nights as I never had before.  When it was all over in September of that year, I still couldn't wrap my head around all that I had seen.  I tried to make sense of it all, but then...

I realized you don't have to.  At least for me, there are no answers and that's okay.  David Lynch took me on a journey and I don't need to analyze it.  I've watched the 3rd season several times.  I don't question, I just go with it.  I let David Lynch take me down the path that he constructed.  I relish the high and lows and the emotions that come with it.  Sometimes he scares the crap out of me.  Sometimes he makes me cry.  Sometimes he makes me laugh. And that was the joy of David Lynch.

 



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