Auteur Theory Practice

David Lynch said this about his unconventional style:


"In Hollywood, more often than not, they're making more kind of traditional films, stories that are understood by people. And the entire story is understood. And they become worried if even for one small moment something happens that is not understood by everyone. But what's so fantastic is to get down into areas where things are abstract and where things are felt, or understood in an intuitive way that, you can't, you know, put a microphone to somebody at the theatre and say 'Did you understand that?' but they come out with a strange, fantastic feeling and they can carry that, and it opens some little door or something that's magical and that's the power that film has."


This 'feeling' that Lynch describes is evident in his film Mulholland Drive (2001), in a later scene featuring the characters Betty and Rita in a taxi on their way to Club Silencio. The scene has the two characters appearing somewhat uncomfortable or distressed in the back of the taxi, training their eyes off-camera and remaining silent, even though they are friends and occasional lovers. This two-shot is combined with panning-shots of Los Angeles at night, showing the progression of time on their car journey. These moments are a part of the 'feeling' Lynch has indicated, and while we are none the wiser to why there is this uncomfortable, limiting air around the characters, the scene has a magical quality. There is no music, no non-diegetic influence manipulating the audience's sense of the scene's purpose or direction, although there is a clear sense of foreboding and danger provoked by these shots of Los Angeles. The audience doesn't necessarily understand, but there is a clear tone felt and for Lynch, that is enough.

He also described his childhood:

"My childhood was elegant homes, tree-lined streets, the milkman, building backyard forts, droning airplanes, blue skies, picket fences, green grass, cherry trees. Middle America as it's supposed to be. But on the cherry tree there's this pitch oozing out – some black, some yellow, and millions of red ants crawling all over it. I discovered that if one looks a little closer at this beautiful world, there are always red ants underneath. Because I grew up in a perfect world, other things were a contrast."

Lynch's childhood applies directly to auteur theory's concept of a director's 'personal psychology' influencing the films they produce, specifically applying to his film Blue Velvet (1986). The opening scene is particularly reminiscent of Lynch's childhood of blue skies, picket fences and green grass; however compromised by the non-diegetic 'Blue Velvet' song playing overhead. The song, combined with prolonged shots and slow-motion, give the opening a more sinister tone. The movements of the people featured is robotic and strange, owing to the slow-motion, and the street is almost too perfect and idyllic, as Lynch describes in the quote above.

"...the director is the primary creator of the film and that each director's individual signature is distinct, but also that each director has thematic preoccupations that go throughout all of their work."
                           (Frame by Frame: Auteur Theory by Wheeler Winston Dixon, 2012, University of Nebraska-Lincoln)

This picturesque and traditional depiction of Middle America hides a dark-side, a "pitch oozing out" with millions of red ants crawling upon it, literally featured as the camera tracks closer into the grass to discover millions of ants underneath the perfect street. This contrast is key to all of Lynch's films, that nothing is as it seems, and there are "always red ants underneath". Hollywood as represented in Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001) is a dark and dangerous place filled with conspiracy and violence, while main character Betty dreams that LA is a place where she will become a star and where dreams come true. Our view of location is manipulated, Lynch often reinforcing this point through acts of violence and mystery, as in Blue Velvet (1986). This is Lynch's signature.

Another key 'Lynchian' element used constantly in his films is the small-town, Lumberton in this case, hiding much darker secrets. Lynch has taken his personal memories of living in small-towns, such as Twin Peaks or Lumberton in his own works, and imprinted his personal psychology onto the films and expressed his own views. This is one sign of his auteur status, expressing his own thoughts and opinions and demonstrating them across his filmography, alongside multiple common elements in all of his films, unifying Lynch's vision.