Undercutting Expectations With David Lynch [Watch]

Filmmakers have a variety of tools at their disposal to affect audiences, and while some — blocking, lighting, camera angles — have been used for roughly a century, canny modern directors can also take advantage of that century of moviegoing and the expectations it has inculcated in audiences. For reasons of convenience, commercial success, and sometimes just laziness, tropes and techniques are repeated enough times that sophisticated audiences can see them coming, or at least think they can. These tropes can operate on films on a macro level (like expecting Luke Skywalker to blow up the Death Star at the end of ‘Star Wars‘) or on a micro level (like seeing a camera zoom on characters’ eyes and knowing this signifies love at first sight).

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A Nerdwriter video essay from a few months back takes a look at one of the masters of this technique, David Lynch, specifically in his evocative masterwork “Mulholland Drive.” “Mulholland Drive” is very explicitly about Hollywood and its role as a dream factory. This is why Naomi Watts comes to L.A. and in her naïve desire, the audience is able to see her as a known cliché, the Hollywood ingénue just arrived from the sticks, an easy impression that Lynch intentionally cultivates using techniques that belie his artistry and lull the audience into a false sense of understanding. Lynch essentially uses the rest of the film dispelling this sense of understanding, in ways too fun to spoil for anyone who hasn’t seen it.

This video essay focuses on one scene, although this being Lynch, it’s actually seen twice: Diane’s audition. Watch the essay to see how in one short sequence Lynch uses the audience’s expectations to turn the scene inside out and then watch “Mulholland Drive” to see Lynch use varieties of this technique on a large scale.