Lost Highway



"Dick Laurent is dead."

Describe Lost Highway here.

Bill Pullman plays Fred Madison, a jazz saxophonist married to Renee Madison played by Patricia Arquette. Fred wakes up one morning to answer the door intercom, where a mysterious voice gives him the message: "Dick Laurent is dead." After this, Fred and Renee begin to receive a series of videotapes on their doorstep, showing the interior of their house and even images of them asleep. Fred also begins to suspect that Renee may be cheating on him, and begins experiencing nightmares in which he wakes up next to his wife, only to discover she is somebody completely different.

After a terrifying encounter with a Mysterious Man at a party, Fred receives a final video which shows him killing Renee. Fred is arrested for her murder. After being found guilty and sentenced to death, Fred is locked away in his cell...

Wait... let's try that again...

Describe Lost Highway here.

Balthazar Getty plays Pete Dayton, a young mechanic who wakes up in a death row prison cell despite having committed no crime. Pete is released into his parents care, while being trailed by two detectives who want to know how he came to end up in Fred Madison's cell. On returning to work at his garage, Pete crosses paths with the volatile gangster Mr Eddy, and his beautiful mistress Alice Wakefied played by Patricia Arquette. Pete embarks on an affair with Alice, who fears being discovered by Mr Eddy who isn't actually Mr Eddy at all but a porn producer called Dick Laurent who—

Oh dear.

Made in 1997, Lost Highway remains not only a key David Lynch work, but a surprisingly influential film, despite its rather outre qualities and mixed critical reception. The twisting, neo-noir plot revolving around identity is echoed by films such as Fight Club, Donnie Darko, and Memento. Lynch would further develop the theme in Mulholland Drive, this film's Spiritual Successor.

The best way to watch this film is with an open mind preferably in a well lit room with the phone unplugged.

Not to be confused with Bon Jovi's country album of the same name.

This film contains examples of:

 * Arc Words: "Dick Laurent is dead." and "We've met before, haven't we?"
 * Berserk Button: Tailgating for Mr. Eddy. Seriously, don't even think about it, or you WILL be sorry.
 * That's nothing compared to what he'll do when some other man gets too close to Alice...
 * The Cameo: : In one of his last acting roles, he plays Pete Dayton's boss, a Honest John's Dealership mechanic.
 * Cluster F-Bomb: Mr. Eddy drops an epic one on a tailgater after driving him off the road while simultaneously whacking him with his gun for his reckless driving. A very satisfying moment for anyone who doesn't like tailgaters. For more about why that scene was put in there, see Expy below.
 * Crazy Jealous Guy: Mr Eddy and possibly Fred Madison
 * Cult Soundtrack: The Trent Reznor-compiled soundtrack includes music by David Bowie, The Smashing Pumpkins, Lou Reed and Marilyn Manson. Lynch himself chose the Rammstein tracks because he's a fan of the band.
 * Evil Laugh: The Mystery Man gives Fred a considerably sinister laugh during the phone call at the party.
 * Expy: Mr. Eddy is remarkably similar to Frank Booth in Blue Velvet. There's even a fairly similar "joy ride" scene. The character was written for actor Robert Loggia after he waited several hours to audition for Frank, only to be told that the role had already gone to Dennis Hopper. Loggia dropped a serious Cluster F-Bomb that impressed Lynch so much he gave Loggia his own version of Frank to play.
 * Fan Disservice: Only David Lynch could make sharing a bed with Patricia Arquette the stuff of nightmares.
 * Fan Service: Patricia Arquette's striptease in Mr. Eddy's house later in the movie.
 * Femme Fatale: Renee/Alice.
 * Film Noir
 * Gainax Ending
 * Gorn: You'll never look at coffee tables the same way again...
 * Gothic Punk: Sort of.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper: Robert Loggia's performance as Mr Eddy/Dick Laurent has two modes: Charming ebullience and terrifying, psychotic rage.
 * Halfway Plot Switch
 * Hey It's That Guy: Marilyn Manson is a performer in a pornographic film that appears onscreen towards the end. His cover of "I Put A Spell On You" is in the soundtrack during the aforementioned striptease.
 * I Can See You: Lynch manages to give this trope a genuinely unsettling new spin.
 * Louis Cypher: the Mystery Man, obviously. Robert Blake himself stated that he played him as this
 * Lotus Eater Machine: Arguably the second half of the movie,
 * Mind Screw: Similarly, the viewer will vacillate between terror and confusion throughout the movie.
 * Schrodinger's Butterfly
 * Split Personality: One possible interpretation. Maybe?
 * Stable Time Loop: Although technically no time travel is involved...possibly...
 * The Starscream:
 * Tomato in The Mirror:
 * Uncanny Valley Makeup: The Mystery Man.
 * The Verse: If Word of God is any indication, that may just be Agent Jeffries singing "I'm Deranged" from inside the Black Lodge, and Phil the mechanic is probably Pete Martell's twin or something.
 * Not that we have any way of knowing for sure.