Signs That Let You Know You’re In a David Lynch Film

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nWomen Protagonists/Femme Fatales

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nDavid Lynch loves women; this is why they are alwaysnprotagonists in his films. Many of his films explore the female side of lifenand the men in their lives, there’s a palpable sympathy towards women. He also admiresnwomen from an aesthetic point of view; he always uses extremely beautifulnactresses.

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nStage Singers

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nAt some point or another in a David Lynch films, somebody isngoing to get up on a stage and sing a song, usually a sad one. And usually they’llnmake someone cry.

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nZig Zag Designs

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nHe loves the zig zag, be it on walls or floors, you willnmost likely find this design in some of his films

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nCurtains, Curtains, Curtains

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nI think Lynch uses curtains a lot because they remind him ofntheater curtains going up before a play, also because Lynch’s films are veryntheatrical.

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nLow lighting and Lamps

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nLynch loves dark, mysterious looking rooms in his films; thenlow lighting created by lamps does the trick.

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n   Night Clubs, Motels, Diners

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nCharacters always go to Night Clubs, Motels and Diners, and usually they have cool names made up just for the movie. Like the ‘Winkies’ diner or the ‘Club Silencio’ in Mulholland Dr. or the ‘The Bang Bang Bar’ in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With me. 

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nDroning Sounds

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nThis is something Lynch has done from day one in Eraserhead, his first film. And he has repeated it all throughout his career, the use of the droning sound. Basically, from hearing thisnsound in a scene you get the feeling that a giant spaceship is hoveringnsomewhere outside; but also, it creates a really foreboding atmosphere, a really eerie mood, like something evil is about to happen.

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nEraserhead himself, Jack Nance, actually appeared in almost everynsingle Lynch film made up till he passed away in 1997. Nance’s last Lynch filmnwas Lost Highway.

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nRoy Orbison or Chris Isaak Songs

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nLynch loves his Orbison and his Isaak, he’s used their songsnrepeatedly. Examples: Orbison’s ‘Crying’ in Mulholland Dr.; ‘In Dreams’ in Blue Velvet and Chris Isaak’s ‘WickednGame’ in Wild at Heart. 

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nSmall town U.S.A.

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nMany of Lynch’s films focus on small town suburban life.nLynch likes to contrast the pretty houses and white picket fences with thenmessed up lives behind them.  

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n Characters Switching Bodies or Lives

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nLynch has gone down this road a lot, for example Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaksnand Lost Highway all play with this idea of characters switching bodies ornlives. He uses this plot device as a symbolism for our ever changing lives, sometimes we change because we want to, other times the change is out of our control. In Lynch films, when someone wants a different life, they either dienand come back or steal or posses someone elses body to do it.

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nBlonds 
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nLynch loves his blondes! They make their way all throughoutnhis body of work. Sometimes they are fake blondes and sometimes very obviouslynso! If gentlemen prefer blondes, than Lynch is one hell of a gentleman!

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nSmoking

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nLynch himself is an avid smoker. Chances are if you see anpicture or an interview of Lynch, they guy is probably smoking a cigarette. Charactersnin his films smoke just as much, in fact, in Wild at Heart there’s a wholenconversation about cigarettes brands, there’s a similar conversation but about beer brands in Blue Velvet.  

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nBlue Lights

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nThey appear on those Lynch films that have a supernaturalnelement to them. For Lynch, electric blue is synonymous with the supernaturalnor the dreamlike.Usually these lights are accompanied by a strobing effect which he also uses a lot.

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nThe Color Red

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nIn Lynch films, red is almost as important as blue. You’llnsee lots of red curtains, red lipstick, red cars, red shoes, it dominates Lynch’sncinematic world, of course passion and sensuality accompanies the use of this color.

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nCharacters Simply Disappearing

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nDon’t know why he does this so much, but he does! And it freaks me out! Frank disappearsnfrom the screen in Blue Velvet when he says “I’ll fuck anything that moves!”nBetty and Rita disappear after they open the Blue Box in Mulholland Dr. andnPeter disappears when Fred steals his body in Lost Highway!

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nHighway at Night 

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nLynch also uses this image a lot in his films, that of the camera focusing exclusively on the highway. In some of his films it represents escape, like in Wild at Heart where both of the characters find their freedom riding the highways of America, or it can represent entrapment, like in Lost Highway, which represents the main character forever wandering in an eternal ‘limbo’, in that film, the never ending highway is the road to hell. 

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nA Mystery

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nThis is the one element that bonds all of Lynch’s cinematic universe together, the eternal mystery. Where did that human ear come from in Blue Velvet? What does the Blue Key open in Mulholland Dr? Why does Frank mutate in Lost Highway? What happened to Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks? Will the actors in Inland Empire die making their remake? Lynch understands that a good mystery will keep his audience captive and he uses that to great effect, he not only uses mystery thematically, he also creates mystery through mood and lighting. Lynch as a filmmaker is the ultimate Mystery Man; if you haven’t done so yet, I urge you to check out some of his films and discover what the mystery is all about, chance are  he just might freak you the hell out, but in a good way. Did I leave any Lynch trademarks out? Comment on them below!

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