Twin Peaks : Les 7 derniers jours de Laura Palmer

I had heard much about the cult television series "Twin Peaks", and decided to buy the First Season on DVD. When I found that none of the stores near me had it in stock, I decided to pick up the movie instead. In some ways, this was good. In some, it was bad. Let me explain ...

In 1991, "Twin Peaks" was canceled. Immediately popular director David Lynch, who also created and wrote most of the show, said that he wasn't finished with the show yet ... and set to work making a movie that would close off the "Twin Peaks" phenomenon. "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" - this film - is the result, a 135 minute journey into a realm where insanity and madness reign supreme.

"Fire Walk With Me" is a prequel to "Twin Peaks". The first thirty minutes deal with two FBI agents, Chester Desmond (Chris Isaak) and Sam Stanley (Kiefer Sutherland), who are investigating the murder of a young girl in the small town of Twin Peaks. Just when Desmond seems to have a suspect, we fade out and find that we are months later. From there, the film follows the events leading up to the mysterious death of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), which the series focused on. Kyle MacLachlan has some screen time as the series' main character, Dale Cooper.

This is probably the hardest film to review in the world. First of all, let me say that if you aren't a fan of "Twin Peaks" or of David Lynch, you will be lost shortly after the film begins. This movie was created solely for "Twin Peaks" lovers, and if you haven't seen the show, the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer is unveiled in this movie.

If ever there has been a movie that is pure insanity, it is this. "Fire Walk With Me" is one-hundred percent madness. And yet, throughout the whole film, I was completely mesmerized. And when the movie ended, I couldn't speak or do anything for about an hour. This movie truly has an effect on you, whether you're a fan of the show or not.

The cast is terrific, but it's David Lynch and Angelo Baladamenti who steal the show. Lynch is either a madman or a genius - I can't decide between the two. But Baladamenti is certainly a master composer, because his score for this film is beautiful.

Seeing is believing. That fits perfectly from this film. Perhaps after I watch the show, I will better understand this film. Until then, I can just say that it the most indescribable, frightening, mesmerizing, and astonishing film I've ever seen.

Whilst the film is by no means a masterpiece, it has some great moments. The first 30 minutes, in which special agent Chet Desmond (Chris Isaak) and partner (Kiefer Surherland) investigate the murder of the first victim, Theresa Banks, are irrelevant to the rest of the film as that plot thread completely disappears. I believe the intention was to creare a series of films but as that didn't go ahead, skip the first 30 minutes (which are the closest to the tone of Twin Peaks in that they are surreal, some offbeat humour as well as the horror of the murder). David Bowie's cameo is miniscule.

The film really centres on the last week of Laura Palmer's life. Although the plot points aren't new to anyone who's watched Twin Peaks- they might even be used as flashbacks in the TV show were the content turned down- it is interesting to explore Laura's life through her eyes. In Twin Peaks the series, Laura is seen through different people's eyes so that they each have their 'version' of her, but here we get to see the nightmare, even darker than the show and the same level of surrealness. It's very Lynchian- i.e. Dreamlike/nightmarish with more nudity and violence than could ever have been shown on the TV show.

Moira Kelly is a good recast as Donna and it was great to see their friendship, perhaps the only real light in Laura's life.

As for Kyle MacLachlan as Dale Cooper, he's in it for a small amount in the first 30 minutes and then the final shot, so really the main draw is whether you want to see Laura's experience depicted on screen. Sheryl Lee as Laura gives a powerful performance that reflects the magnetic power Laura held over Twin Peaks residents.

Do not watch this film if you haven't watched the TV show as major plot points are revealed; if you have already watched the show, you won't get any more clues as to meaning. It's just a very powerful character study with some shocking moments even though we know who the killer is, and a woozy nightclub scene which feels dreamlike and nightmarish.

Since the first line of TP:FWWM is "Get me Agent Chester Desmond in Fargo, North Dakota," some might argue that I am biased in my praise for one of Lynch's most underrated motion pictures. The truth is, my life has never been the same since the fateful midnight in high school when I experienced Eraserhead for the first time. TP:FWWM was savaged by most critics, who are unlikely ever to laud the unconventional Lynch again (unless he makes another film that connects like Blue Velvet). Few other filmmakers have had the ability to depict so tangibly the intangibility of our dreams and the worlds contained therein. Couple this with Lynch's corner on the "uncanny" market, and you have TP:FWWM, a film impossible to confuse with any other. My only complaint concerns the absence of Ben and Audrey Horne, who were such interesting and engaging characters on the television series.

Bob, Agent Cooper, Laura Palmer, Teresa Banks, The Man From Another Place, etc...

Welcome back to David Lynch's offbeat town of TWIN PEAKS.

Much darker than the TV series, this film was in part meant to answer many previously unanswered questions, but if anything - in typical Lynch fashion - it tangles things even further, and confuses matters all round.

Lynch apparently shot more than 5 hours of the feature, and as much of these deleted/extended/alternative scenes are still missing, the movie we're left with feels rather bare and rushed.

The performances are excellent, and the movie is visually stunning, and as usual the plot - while confusing - is intense and riveting.

But alas it could have been so so so much more.... (sighs)

This was one of the most critically panned movies of the decade, but only because the world's film critics are too full of their own self-importance to bother watching a masterful TV series like Twin Peaks. All Twin Peaks fans know that this movie is monumental enough to transcend criticism, sure it makes no sense to those who have never seen the TV series, but those people have never lived anyway. Twin Peaks: FWWM, brings a genuine sense of tragic martyrdom to the death of Laura Palmer, as well as being one of the scariest, most surreal and atmospheric movies ever made. Never seen Twin Peaks? Watch the TV series on video first, and then see this incredible prequel.