by lhb412 » Fri Mar 09, 2018 1:09 am
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
One year before the events of the first episode of Twin Peaks a girl is murdered in the town of Deer Meadow. Two FBI agents are sent to investigate, but none of the clues get them closer to the killer. Deer Meadow is a kind of seedier, grimier version of the town of Twin Peals (which, despite all the dark secrets everyone has and the lurking supernatural evil, seems to be a rather nice place to live), that makes this opening segment like a mirror universe episode of the show. Back at the FBI office the apparition of David Bowie with a Texan accent tells of a strange vision he witnessed and main series protagonist Agent Dale Cooper (here in a supporting role) goes to Deer Meadow to do some some follow-up work, He senses the killer will strike again. Then we flash forward and the rest of the movie deals with the last few days in the life of Laura Palmer, the girl who's found dead at the beginning of the first episode of the show, a mystery which sets off the plot of the series. She's a looming presence over the TV show, a symbol, and in this movie we get to see her as a flesh and blood person in all her deeply sympathetic, troubled glory.
Laura Palmer is played by Sheryl Lee and she's fantastic. Wonder why she never became more famous? I don't know if she's considered a 'scream queen,' but whenever she screams in horror the effect is truly frightening.
Anyway, this movie bombed back in the day and it's easy to see why: Twin Peaks is a great show, but it's popularity in the pop zeitgeist was a fad and one that had expired by this point. Also, the movie counts on the viewer having seen the TV show and memorized many key details, making it all but impenetrable to a casual viewer. It certainly shouldn't be viewed before the series; even though it's a prequel it's meant to be watched as a sequel. It gives away the central mystery for gosh's sakes!
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces
Apparently David Lynch shot about four hours worth of movie for Fire Walk With Me, and instead of just putting those deleted scenes up in the usual way he put them in sequence, finished the editing and music and even an effect or two, and presto: what is essentially a feature length plotless movie made up off all the details left out of the main movie! What were Ed Hurley, Donna's parents, Bobby's parents, and the men and women of the Twin Peaks sheriffs department doing during the events of Fire Walk With Me? Now you know! It also provides a coda to the cliffhanger ending of the show's second season, basically just reminding the audience of it because Lynch apparently intended to make two more movies that wrapped up the Twin Peaks story... that didn't happen, and the wrapping up had to wait 'till the third season in 2017!