Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Directed by David Lynch
Long regarded as the least of Lynch’s “uncompromised” works, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me has recently undergone a drastic reappraisal, rightfully taking its place among the greatest of the director’s works. At the time of its release, it was booed at Cannes and seen as an unsatisfying follow-up to the ABC show’s notoriously unresolved ending (not to mention the film’s seemingly irrelevant status as a prequel). Few recognized the film for what it was: a devastating, no-holds-barred portrait of abuse, made all the more cruel by the Lynchian trademarks and the familiarity of the town of Twin Peaks. Featuring a never-better Angelo Badalamenti score, an unforgettable David Bowie cameo, and one of the all-time greatest screen performances courtesy of Sheryl Lee as the doomed Laura Palmer, it is a mesmerizing, heart-wrenching vision unlike any other. Ryan Swen (Nov 23-26, midnight at the IFC Center)
