Lynch.

The lesson of the new documentary Lynch - well, one lesson, along with the sound advice not to perforate a bloated cow with a pick-ax - is that producing a fugue-state apocalypse ripped bleeding from the subconscious isn't as easy as it sounds," writes Jim Ridley in the Voice. "Chronologically vague and associative rather than linear in its linkage of sound and image, the film intersperses fly-on-the-wall footage of Lynch brooding, joking, and tending his website with the minutiae of the director shaping his unclear vision - from personally distressing a set with hammers and wheat paste to coaching Laura Dern on how to best fake a knifing on the Hollywood Walk of Fame."

Updated through 10/26.

"Lynch would make a great character for a straightforward portrayal, but that's not the intention of the documentary's director. But who is the director?" asks Eric Kohn in the New York Press. "The credit has been attributed to 'blackANDwhite,' leading curious sorts to speculate that it was helmed by Lynch himself. Whether or not that's the case, it certainly looks like an element of his universe."

"At his request, I have kept blackANDwhite's identity secret, and so the mystery surrounding him remains, and we can shift focus to his excellent film," writes Nick Dawson. "Filmmaker conducted a (typographically distinctive) interview with blackANDwhite over email, and corresponded with him about spending two years filming David Lynch, his shadowy identity, and fond memories of childhood cinemagoing with his grandmother."

"Lynch offers a fascinating view of Lynch's irascible personality (and insatiable appetite for coffee and cigarettes," writes Salon's Andrew O'Hehir. "I suppose you could say that Lynch's creative process also comes into clearer focus - in this case, he was making the shit up as he went along, and it shows, too."

But for Rob Humanick, writing at Slant, "this slipshod creation feels like a special feature rightfully nixed from the Inland Empire DVD.... [T]he film would be better entitled Lynch for Beginners."

Updates, 10/26: "[I]t's precisely the worshipful feel of Lynch - including scenes in which the camera points up at Mr Lynch from what seems to be the floor, as if it were a faithful dog — that makes the movie so sweet and so appealing," writes Manohla Dargis in the New York Times. "It's like watching a schoolgirl crush unfold, through a glass darkly."

Online viewing tip. "Revisiting Twin Peaks." David Lynch narrates an audio slide show for the Washington Post. "I think the Internet will be the place for continuing stories."

Posted by dwhudson at October 25, 2007 3:51 PM