Tarantino is a sissy

Sometimes films are intended to lift you up, fill you with hope and joie de vivre. This is most certainly not one of those films. David Lynch delivers us another sinister glimpse of his inner workings in this film that redefines all the rules. Unlike "Pulp Fiction" which resembles a patchwork, with scenes cut and pasted into more interesting positions, "Lost Highway" can only be described as a multi-dimensional Moebius strip where not only does the central character swap bodies with another person, but the continuity of the film loops back on itself with the start becoming the end and many scenes not fitting chronologically.

With all the nonsensical plot lines, the theme of the film is best described by the demon-like man in black who pops up at points of madness in the film. He speaks over the phone to the poor central character, "In the East, the Far East... When a man is sentenced to death, he is sent to a place where he can never escape; never knowing when an executioner is going to come up behind him and fire a bullet into the back of his head. It's been a pleasure talking to you." The main character is tormented, possibly by his internal demons, possibly by some external force. In either case, he cannot escape, and the pressure on him is enormous.

The musical score is another bonus, with haunting melodies surfacing at crucial moments, satanic death metal at others. Marilyn Manson even makes a cameo in a snuff film casually playing on a big video screen on mute.

Those who like this film really like it. It does what few others do in depicting true dementia. Generally, films are predictable, or at least have about 3 or 4 ways they may turn. This one does not, so you are forever surprised. It's a thriller, without knowing how 'it' is going to get you, or indeed the mask that 'it' wears.

In the end, the calm drifting voice of David Bowie caries you peacefully along the Lost Highway during the dead of night. The enemy is behind you and there is no escape. You are angry with the forces that put you where you are, but you are powerless to act. You accept your destiny, but the resentment is enormous... Sound familiar?