David Lynch Swerves

May 1, 2013

Descriptions such as surreal, hallucinogenic, abstract imagist, strange, symbolic, unsettling, disorienting, and unconventional seem to pepper mainstream interpretations of director David Lynch's work. Here noted Lynch scholar Nochimson (The Passion of David Lynch: Wild at Heart in Hollywood) argues that his oeuvre necessitates less an understanding of psychology than of physics--or more precisely, of quantum mechanics. She posits that the nonlinear chronology and shapeshifting in Lynch's more recent films (Lost Highway; The Straight Story; Inland Empire; Mulholland Drive) are less a New Age romanticizing of physics than they are an intentionally cyclical and multidimensional representation of consciousness and totality. Lynch draws this understanding from his study of the Maharishi, while Nochimson reconciles its principles with those of Columbia University physicist David Albert. VERDICT This new take suggests that signature Lynchian devices unsettle because they represent a model of physics that stands akimbo to a linear interpretation of the universe. The book succeeds in making more sense of Lynch's more puzzling works and will find an appreciative audience among fans and film students. Recommended.--Benjamin Malczewski, Toledo-Lucas Cty. P.L., OH

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