MovieChat Forums > Under the Silver Lake (2019) Discussion > Too much homage / not enough grit

Too much homage / not enough grit

posted 5 years ago by Nostromo (212)
7 replies | jump to latest

David Robert Mitchell's second feature feels so much like a homage to Lynch and Hitchcock that it almost gets lost in it's own tribute at times - even down to the beer brand. I couldn't stop thinking about Mullholland Drive all the way through, which took away some of the shine from what should have been a very interesting film in it's own right.

There are some really interesting moments of mystery and trippy delight that really captures Los Angeles in the same way Lynch managed to. But where Mullholland Drive excelled was in staying power right to the end and the ability to make the viewer intrigued well after the movie had finished. 'Silver Lake' does that to a point but has so many references / puzzles / guessing games that the final 20 minutes seems more of a chore than a crescendo. The amount of movie / pop culture / music references is insane and I agree with another reviewer that this could all be a nod to Mitchell's own experiences of trucking around Hollywood wondering where his next move is going to take him.

I still think this could be a cult classic in years to come and is a tidy enough paranoid thriller. There's also a comedic element that fits in well. But it does lack that punch that makes me want to delve into it further. Maybe that's on me. I'm not sure.

6.5/10

[–] 000 (449) 5 years ago

it started off odd and interesting. then it started taking too long. woulda been better about 1hr 15 minutes long. so many movies build up for what we hope is a fantastic ending, then they fail. this was another one. when it was over i thought "what the hell did i just watch"

[–] kaleidoscope0_0 (479) 5 years ago

Left me feeling flat too. It felt like I was scrolling down a Facebook feed filled with modern culture confetti.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

And me, I couldn't stop thinking about 'Inherent Vice' all the way through.

[–] halomaniac88 (1736) 5 years ago

me too

[–] DaveBowman2001 (467) a year ago

Definitely, with hints of Rear window.

[–] einstein (2281) 5 years ago

i think you nailed it when you said "the final 20 minutes seems more of a chore than a crescendo". agreed 100 % it was building up to something for too long with too many puzzle parts, while paying tribute not only to lynch and hitchcock but also kubrick and fellini, but all that led to an almost shallow and 1 dimensional ending with no depth or magic.

[–] Martoto (4078) 5 years ago

Loved it. Patience was tested a little by the final twenty-thirty minutes. It's perhaps fortunate that I was not expecting neatly tied up loose ends or reassuring confirmation. It maybe could have been shorter. But what do you cut out? There's no scene that stands out as "unnecessary" or indulgent compared with any of the others. All the scenes were interesting and seemed part of.. something worth waiting around for. But I found that, like It Follows, the waiting and watching was the actually where all the fun is to be had.

You can easily take yourself on a journey that the "story" isn't actually plotting out for you. From the first few seconds I was placing values on things I could see and then moments later revising them because of something else. I'm not sure I even followed the story for most of the film. Yet I was engaged with the movie the whole time.

You could point out the densely packed artifacts from popular culture swimming around in the film and cite that as a probable factor in any disappointment you felt from the movie not delivering. The thing is. The movie does deliver the answer to Sam's question. He finds the girl. It's intentionally anticlimactic. Even though it conforms to Sam's paranoia. He's vindicated. But it's slightly hollow. Particularly in his sort of meek acceptance of it.

As with It Follows, the movie is filled with stuff you WANT to know the significance of. But the movie's designed so that you don't actually need to know.