TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME

At different times I consider different David Lynch films to be my favourite... they're all so amazing and uniquely complex, but Fire Walk With Me is one that constantly comes to mind whenever I think of him. It is a brilliant film. At the time of its release it was savaged by the critics and failed so spectacularly that Lynch's intentions of expanding on the Twin Peaks universe were doused. What bothers me is that the critics obviously never watched the tv series, otherwise the movie would have made perfect sense to them. And the TP fans who rejected the film obviously never understood the series to begin with. *** spoiler alert to those who have never watched Twin Peaks *** Fire Walk With Me recalls the final days of Laura Palmer's life, leading up to the tv series. It's a dark and menacing film with absolutely no light. Its themes of incest carry Laura's story and her torment is the subject of Lynch's exploration. Drug use, sex and rape are all things which weren't able to be explored in the show and this film presents them in an uncompromising way. It's an ugly film but a beautiful one. Hopefully David Lynch feels gratified that 20+ years later Fire Walk With Me has found its audience and is now regarded as one of his most important films. Perhaps we'll get lucky and have him expand on the Black Lodge in the future.

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