ERASERHEAD

To name someone as your favourite director is quite a hard thing to do because there are such a high number of fantastic filmmakers, that to limit it to just one is almost impossible.  However when pushed, along with Martin Scorsese and Brian De Palma, I often name David Lynch as my favourite director.  “Eraserhead” is his debut film and is one title in his oeuvre that I am less familiar with (before my recent viewing, I think that I had only seen it twice before).  It was also one of his films that I had never had the chance to see on the big screen, so when The Astor cinema announced a strictly limited two-day season of “Eraserhead”, there was no way in the world that I was going to miss it.

“Eraserhead” is one strange film, probably Lynch’s strangest, and at times it is really hard to know exactly what is going on.  I know that I recently tore strips off of Zack Snyder’s “Sucker Punch” for not making sense, but “Eraserhead” is a whole different kettle of fish.  It is left open for the viewer to make their own interpretation of what is going on and unlike “Sucker Punch” (which is so hollow), even when you are unsure as to what is exactly happening, you are always feeling something, that is you are connected emotionally to it.  This is what I believe makes David Lynch a genius filmmaker because as strange as his films are, he always has the ability to take the viewer on the same emotional journey that his characters are engaged in.  He always gets us to feel something.

Personally, I believe to get the most you can out of a David Lynch film (especially on a first viewing), you need to just let it wash over you, experience the emotions and just “feel” the movie, and let your intuition take over to work out what is going on.  After that it is then fun to go back and look at the film and break it down and try to analyze just what went on (and more importantly, why?).  So what is “Eraserhead” about?  That is a good question.  As I mentioned before, it is a very strange film, but it is pure Lynch and one of the things or themes that Lynch often explores in his films is the human mind, as well as the breakdown of it, and the causes of it.  These are clues as to what “Eraserhead” is about, but it appears to be a nightmare version of the events that happened after Henry Spencer (Jack Nance), our main character, is thrown into parenthood unexpectedly, which also forces him into a marriage that he is not ready for.  

The film begins very amusingly (if you like dark comedy, that is) when Henry goes to his girlfriend’s house to meet and have dinner with her parents.  As we find out, it has been quite a while since Henry has seen Mary (his girlfriend), and he is unsure why she has been vacant.  The dinner itself is just like it is in reality, but heightened in that David Lynch way.  It is very awkward and the atmosphere is tense, and all the while it feels as though they (especially the mother) are checking him out to make sure he is a suitable partner for their daughter.  Throughout the visit, it appears that children and the responsibilities of being a parent are everywhere that Henry turns (with the family dog feeding her pups, and even the strange dinner itself, which were “baby” chickens), and it isn’t long before it is revealed to Henry that Mary has recently given birth to a severely premature child.  As Henry is the father, it is expected that he must contribute to the bringing up of the child.  Henry is blindsided by the news, and from this moment his life changes forever.  We next see him back in his tiny apartment with his (now) new wife and their strange mutant looking baby (whose bottom half of the body is so deformed, due to being premature, that it is permanently wrapped in bandages) as they struggle with these new and unexpected challenges thrown upon them.  They both have to deal with all of the things that first time parents struggle with and must quickly become used to, such as the sleepless nights, the struggle to feed the child and the stress associated when the child doesn’t accept the food being offered, the fear of your child becoming ill, as well as the lack of intimacy from their partner, to name but a few.  These are normal things that all parents go through, but with the state that Henry’s mind is in, he twists these things into dark nightmare versions of what is happening.  And the images are gorgeous!  Never has the grotesque looked so beautiful.

It isn’t long before Mary heads home to her family due to the stress of not being able to cope, and it is then up to Henry to look after the child himself.  He is terrified but does his best, but he soon realize s that he no longer has a life of his own.  This may be the reason he ends up having a brief affair with his beautiful neighbour who regularly flirts with him.  This does not last long, however, as the woman is first shocked and then terrified by the strange looking baby (who begins to cry while they are having intercourse) and refuses to visit Henry again.  In fact it affected her so much that she cannot see Henry without picturing the baby’s head on his shoulders (which is a strange image).  This depresses Henry more, as he starts to realize that his child is the reason for all of the negative things that are happening in his life at that moment and (this next part is definitely open to interpretation, but this is how I see it) I believe he starts to consider suicide as his only option out of his hell.

Most of what I have written above (with the suicide theme, being the only exception) I consider to be quite concrete, meaning that I safely assume that these things did actually happen to Henry.  However there are other strange characters in “Eraserhead” such as the “Man in the Planet” and the “Lady in the Radiator” that need to be considered also.  These characters are very “Lynchian” and probably exist in a different plane of reality.  My most basic interpretations of these characters are as follows.  The “Man in the Planet” is representative of Henry’s mind, as we see the man controlling things by pulling levers and such, which may be Henry’s emotions.  Near the end of the film, we see the planet break apart, which I believe to be symbolic of Henry’s mind finally cracking or breaking.  The “Lady in the Radiator” is something like an angel, as she is always trying to convince Henry just how nice Heaven is (in a song and dance number, no less), which is why I believe suicide is a strong theme throughout “Eraserhead”.  The film ends with Henry hugging the “Lady in the Radiator” which is also why I believe Henry does finally commit suicide in the end.  It also makes sense narratively, because this scene takes place just after Henry performs a very disturbing act that I will not reveal.  

I suppose you could be wondering why exactly the film is called “Eraserhead”.  The title comes from a very strange dream sequence that Henry has, where he literally loses his head.  A young boy finds the head laying in the street and sells it at what appears to be a pawn store, where the buyer in turn then gives it to another weird guy (who looks like a scientist) who ends up drilling a piece out of Henry’s head, and uses what he removed to create erasers for the pencils that he is creating.  This is both an exhilarating sequence as well as a “WTF” one.  It is very bold and makes little sense, and I must say that I look forward to deconstructing it further in the future (this is another reason why David Lynch films are so great).

“Eraserhead” was a passion project for David Lynch, and it took him around five years to complete (mostly shooting on weekends, or when he was able to produce enough funds to continue).  Although this is his debut film, it certainly doesn’t feel like it, because he is very assured in his direction throughout, and you immediately feel in safe hands.  The film definitely looks and feels like a David Lynch film, and it is obvious to see that his visual style was there from the beginning.  There are some images in this film that you could never mistake as being in a film other than one made by Lynch.  An example that comes straight to mind is a simple shot of the female neighbour looking over her shoulder towards Henry.  There is just a way that Lynch shoots his women that is unmistakable, and even if I was unaware of who directed this film, that one shot would have given it away.

As I alluded to, David Lynch’s direction is stunning.  He truly is such a gifted filmmaker and it is a shame that his filmography isn’t as big as some others, but I suppose he makes up in quality what he does not in quantity.  Here he creates a strange world (that he obviously loves) of industrial landscapes that is a beautiful place to visit, while looking grotesque at the same time.  What is amazing is the fact that there is very limited dialogue in “Eraserhead” and the film works through mood and atmosphere instead.  What contributes most to the atmosphere is the amazing soundscape full of industrial sounds which creates quite an un-nerving effect.  Lynch’s films are known for their stunning use of ambient sound (used often to create dread or suspense) and “Eraserhead” is no exception.  Lynch, himself, had a huge part in the creation of these sounds along with his great friend Alan Splet (who continued working with David Lynch on all of his films up to and including “Blue Velvet”).  While Lynch seemed to have a hand in most things related to the making of “Eraserhead” (he wrote, directed, produced, edited, and did the production design, art direction and the aforementioned sound), what he did not do was the cinematography, which was handled by two gentlemen (obviously due to the film shooting for so long), Herbert Cardwell and Frederick Elmes (who re-united with Lynch for both “Blue Velvet” and “Wild At Heart”) and as I’ve said already, the stark black and white images that are created are gorgeous.  The film exists within a world of deep, thick shadows, which looks so beautiful and is yet another reason why it’s so sad that films are rarely shot in black and white anymore (in fact, Lynch himself would only shoot one more film in black and white after this, his next film, “The Elephant Man”).

Besides David Lynch, the heart of this film comes from the strange and haunting (and sometimes hilarious) performance from Jack Nance as Henry.  He was obviously a favourite of Lynch’s because he became a regular in his films, although sadly he was never given a better role than the one he portrays in “Eraserhead”.  You also have to feel for him too, because he had to keep his hair with the same hairstyle for the duration of the shoot which went years, but that said, the trademark hairstyle that he has in “Eraserhead” has resulted in a cinematic legacy that will last forever.

Finally I must make mention of the special effects work that was done on the mutant baby.  It is amazing and it actually makes it appear that the strange being is truly alive (which causes us to empathise with it).  Some of the things that it does, like when it vomits or coughs, is so lifelike, it’s astounding.  To this day, Lynch has never revealed how the effects were done, which ultimately doesn’t really matter, because the results speak for themselves.

Overall, “Eraserhead” is a dark and disturbing film that is also often quite challenging, however with its steady dose of black comedy that is sprinkled throughout the film, it can also be in places hilarious.  This is easily Lynch’s most experimental film (although his most recent film “INLAND EMPIRE” comes close), but the world that he has created within is so beautiful in its grotesque, that it is a joy to visit.  While I technically wouldn’t recommend it to someone as an introduction to David Lynch (that honour goes to “Blue Velvet”), if you are already familiar with his films and you haven’t seen “Eraserhead”, it is definitely a trip worth taking.

4 Stars.