My introduction to David Lynch was when I watched Eraserhead three and a half years ago. Back then, I remember being so unnerved by the Lady in the Radiator for reasons I couldn’t explain. When she showed up this time around, it felt like a much-needed hug to relieve the continual anxiety that persists in the film. This change perfectly reflects how my opinion on Lynch has evolved over time.
I think that I’m comfortable saying that Lynch is my favorite filmmaker (Twin Peaks does a lot of heavy lifting, admittedly). I don’t like all of his work—hell, I’m about 50/50 when it comes to liking/disliking what he’s made—but I don’t respect any filmmaker more than I do Lynch.
For a first feature, it’s extremely impressive how Eraserhead achieves everything it sets out to do. The atmosphere feels restrictive and the setting itself is very nondescript (though I know Lynch has said he took inspiration from where he was living at the time), and on initial watch, what happens on screen may be a little too absurd for some viewers. But, for someone like myself who has seen enough of Lynch’s work to feel as though Eraserhead (as compared to his other films and shorts) is no different than taking a walk on a sunny day, so much of the film effortlessly fell into place for me.
Lynch has spoken on this, and I wholeheartedly agree: people are too demanding to be delivered concrete answers, and don’t seem to understand that they’re not supposed to “get” everything in not only his films, but the medium as a whole.
“I don’t know why people expect art to make sense when they accept the fact that life doesn’t make sense.“
This has been a quote of his that has really stuck with me over time, and it’s made me so much more open-minded. Sometimes it’s more about what you feel while watching something than the substance itself.
If goes without saying that Eraserhead is often extremely uncomfortable. But if you put yourself in the shoes of Henry, the main character, the situations are no less awkward and confusing to him as they are to you as a viewer. His girlfriend’s father’s unbroken stare and smile during their inaugural “small talk,” the pressure of the situation he’s put into by the mother, the baby’s constant crying—these are all positions most of us will find ourselves in at one point or another in our lives, and to us, these situations may feel just as disorienting in the real world as they appear on screen through the surreal visuals Lynch presents to us.
Yeah, I’ve become that guy who loves Eraserhead.
2/27/23