COMMENTS:

I?ve selected this clip from Lynch?s LOST HIGHWAY because it illustrates some of the stylistic devices used throughout the film to achieve its menacing tone. In this scene, Bill Pullman?s character, Fred, calls home to check up on his wife, Ren?e (Patricia Arquette). It is clear at this point that Fred is suffering from marital insecurity. In the alternation between shots of Fred on the payphone at the jazz club and the phone ringing at the other end in the quiet apartment, there are a few interesting things happening.

The shots of Fred, first in medium close-up, then in close-up, are more or less static, while the shots in the apartment travel. These three shots move through the apartment, searching out the three separate ringing telephones. These shots are tied together by matches on camera movement that create the illusion that they are actually one long-take that has been intercut with the shots of Fred.

These three shots also appear to be handheld; they are relatively smooth but their slight jerkiness creates the eerie impression that these are point-of-view shots. The question is, whose subjectivity controls them: Is it Ren?e?s POV? Her lover?s? The Mystery Man?s (Robert Blake)? The unknown videographer who is plaguing the couple with intrusive home videos? Fred?s suspicious imagination? In true Lynch fashion, this question won?t be satisfactorily answered.

The absence of an establishing shot of the apartment further contributes to the disorientation of the viewer, making it difficult to place the three telephones within the layout of the apartment. This technique is used throughout the film, creating many moments when the viewer is struggling to locate him/herself in the diegetic space.

Lastly, the dim lighting used in this scene also contributes to the sense of uncertainty and claustrophobia. The dark, red-infused shots of Fred at the payphone, alternated with the shadowy, monochromatic shots of the apartment assure that the viewer can?t really ?see? what they are ?shown.?

The static/moving camera, the subjective quality of the apartment shots, the lack of establishing shots and the lighting are stylistic elements that are integral to the ambiguity of the narrative. The result is a suspenseful scene that engages the viewer in the character?s paranoia. The stylistic elements give the viewer more information about the instability of the marriage than Fred?s tortured expression in close-up.

[ By Zoe Constantinides • November 17, 2004 ]