Film Review - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
Images courtesy of Cinema Nova.
Critically maligned at the time of its release, Fire Walk with Me was David Lynch's follow-up to the conclusion of Twin Peaks, a show that changed the trajectory of television forever with it debuted, then proceeded to take a bit of a nosedive in its sophomore season as David Lynch was forced to answer the series' central mystery - Who killed Laura Palmer? Rather than continuing to expand the lore in a linear fashion, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me instead zig zags into prequel territory, and attempts to answer another question - Why does everyone care so much about Laura's death?
Initially planned to be the first part of a trilogy, the film continues the series' trend of studio meddling (one that would later be rectified with The Return, Lynch's magnum opus), as the film was cut down from a near four hour runtime into just 134 minutes, with those scenes restored two decades later in the appropriately named The Missing Pieces. Viewed even without the extra scenes, Fire Walk with Me is an incredibly haunting portrait of a young woman entangled in dark forces beyond her control, or even understanding. Once the homecoming queen, Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) leads a secret double life as a sex worker and cocaine addict.
Lee brings Laura back to life with a nuanced performance that feels effortlessly sympathetic, shining a light on both why she was so loved in the town as well as how she came to her tragic end. Fire Walk with Me is a complete tonal opposite and the perfect accompaniment, as it flips the show's shiny exterior of coffee and cherry pie to expose its grim underbelly, opting to stare evil right in the eye rather than through brief glances at a shadowy corner of an otherwise well-lit room. Instead of feeling like the series' warm hug that occasionally squeezes too tight, the film dunks you head-first into a bucket full of ice water.
Anyone expecting gratuitous fanservice is in for a rude awakening - special agent Dale Cooper is barely in the film, Donna is played by an entirely different actor, the first twenty minutes exist to set up a mysterious ring, and there is no further explanation regarding the evil spirit known as Bob. Instead, Lynch's direction is focused on creating a pervasive vibe - telling the story through emotion above all else. This approach has only become more welcomed over time, and when the show finally returned to the small screen 25 years later, the seeds of ideas planted in Fire were given the runtime necessary to blossom and bloom into something supremely esoteric and uneasy, that makes one appreciate what Lynch was doing here even more.
While Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is not the most audience (or even fan) friendly experience around, it's a devastating look at a life cut short. Delivering a satisfying and affecting backstory to a character whose untimely end we know is inevitable is a tough feat to pull off, but David Lynch and Sheryl Lee's adoration of Laura Palmer is palpable, resulting in a film that does a great justice to her significance in the series, and also serves as one of the most original horror films of the 90s.
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Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is screening as part of the LYNCHPINS: The Essential Films of David Lynch at Cinema Nova now. For tickets and more info, click here.