Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)

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[SPOILER REVIEW] When Twin Peaks made its auspicious debut on television in 1990, it begged the question, “Who killed Laura Palmer?” Unfortunately, the second season went off the rails and the show was cancelled before the central mystery could be resolved. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is essentially the feature-film resolution to the cult TV show, taking us through the last days of the deceased homecoming queen played by Sheryl Lee. We learn she wasn’t a perfect angel — that she was into sex and drugs, and cavorted with some unsavory, potentially dangerous characters. But she wasn’t just a bad seed. Her downward spiral was caused by trauma far beyond her control.

Co-writer/director David Lynch (Mulholland Dr, Wild at Heart) indicated all through the TV series that dark, otherworldly forces were at play in Laura’s murder, but he balanced the somberness with irreverent humor. Fire Walk with Me largely leaves humor behind, which may tonally disappoint some fans of the series, but the decision feels like a correct one. Jokes don’t mix well in a movie ultimately about incest and demonic possession.

The first half-hour is the weakest section of the film, focusing on an FBI agent played by the wooden Chris Isaak who is investigating a murder that happened before Laura’s. I’m not sure why this half-hour of material is even in Fire Walk with Me. It features all-new characters in a totally different story that only vaguely connects with Laura’s story. What is David Bowie doing in the movie? Beats the hell out of me. But you have to make it through this odd preamble section before we are finally introduced to Laura Palmer, the familiar Angelo Badalamenti music, and the town of Twin Peaks itself.

Sheryl Lee is a revelation here. She was originally cast just to play a corpse. But David Lynch liked her so much, he created a second character for her to play in the TV series. And in Fire Walk with Me, Lee shows tremendous range and remarkable fearlessness as Laura Palmer. She’s seductive, but disturbed; offensive, but devastated. Ray Wise is compelling as Laura’s father, a complicated character who is simultaneously Laura’s sadistic tormentor and a victim of the demon Bob (Frank Silva). The film belongs to these two performers, though many returning cast members make welcome supporting appearances, including Kyle MacLachlan as Agent Cooper, Dana Ashbrook as Bobby, and James Marshall as James. Only Laura Flynn Boyle, as Laura’s best friend Donna, is missed — she is re-cast with Moira Kelly.

Fire Walk with Me may only be of interest to fans of the Twin Peaks TV series, as it does indeed tie up loose threads and offer resolutions to certain characters, especially Laura. Prior to this film, she was a haunting image — a dead girl wrapped in plastic like a bouquet of flowers. Fire Walk with Me gives her life and deepens our appreciation of the series that precedes it. Like all of Lynch’s films, it’s a uniquely wonderful visual and sonic experience, quirky and dreamlike, unsettling and indelible.

With Harry Dean Stanton, Kiefer Sutherland, Grace Zabriskie, and David Lynch.