MovieChat Forums > Lost Highway (1997) Discussion > What this movie is really about

What this movie is really about

posted 11 years ago by jamesg2380
20 replies | jump to latest

The storyline is similar to Ambrose Bierce's story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", in which a prisoner is hanged, while imagining escaping and traveling home. Basically, as he's about to die he imagines in his mind this whole story that he escapes--leading us, the readers, to believe him--but then he starts having hallicinations and whatnot and we learn that he never actually escaped but that these were his dying thoughts.

The idea is similar to Lost Highway. The opening song explains it all. "I'm Deranged". Yes Fred is very deranged. He's a murderer and sick in the head. The entire movie takes place in Fred's mind as he sits on Death Row awaiting to die for murdering his wife. The first half of the movie he tries to remember what happened since he believes he's innocent. But the truth of what he did threatens to emerge, and these guilty thoughts take on the form of the video cassettes and finally the mystery man.

While sitting in jail he is unable to accept and come to terms with what he did and as his execution day approaches he creates a new reality in his mind and imagines himself as a completely different person, Pete, with his own life and his own past. He becomes Pete in his mind and begins living Pete's life (in reality he's probably just sitting in cell all quiet and staring like a mental patient at the wall) However again his past is coming to haunt him--his friends and family mention 'what happened that night' but never state what they are talking about ('that night' was the night he murdered his wife) and then he imagines Renee, only this time as a blond named Alice, who he wants to possess for himself. They become involved in a wild relationship that again ends in murder and when Alice tells him, "you'll never have me" she's reminding him of the truth. He never will have her, She's dead and that's that.

He changes back into Fred (all still in his mind, don't forget) and now we relive with him what happened with him before the events of the movie. In real life he followed his wife renee to the sleazy motel and caught her having sex with Dick Laurent. After she leaves Fred beats and Kidnaps Laurent and then kills him in the desert. He then goes home and at some point, probably after the Andy's party, kills his wife. In his mind though, as he relives this, rather then go in his home after killing dick laurent, he simply speaks into his intercom and says Dick Laurent is dead--the opening line of the movie. Then he sees the cops who are following him and a car chase begins. As he's speeding down the highway, in real life he's being lead to the electric chair by prison officials. When we see the lights begin to flash in the car and we see Fred's face twist, contort and start to smoke, thats because he's cooking in the electric chair. and as he dies, the highway runs on and on. Fred Madison was man lost in his mind and the title Lost Highway is a metaphor for that.

[–] Oldguy69 11 years ago

Right on! Its actually a very straight story once you know how to approach it. Also its remarkably similar to Mulholland Drive and I cant help but wonder if Lynch thought to himself "well they didn't get it but I love the idea so much that I'll give it another shot and then add a little more help this time"?

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Duragizer 11 years ago

What this movie's about is whatever the individual viewer decides it is about.

Personally, I take this film - and most of Lynch's films - at face value; everything is literally occurring as shown on screen. Perhaps malevolent supernatural forces are at work, maybe the laws of physics are just starting to go haywire - it doesn't really matter to me, as the results are the same either way.

That's just my take on the matter, though; its no more or less valid than anyone else's.

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he wasn't a great big pansy.

[–] !!!deleted!!! (4524359) 11 years ago

Agreed. I'm just there for the ride. I'm one of those guys that doesn't really have to understand a movie fully or have my own interpretions ready because when I really like a movie it's because of the "feel" of it if that makes any sense. A movie doesn't even have to make much since for me to enjoy it as long as I enjoy the mood and the pacing which I did very much.

[–] reaseltbim 11 years ago

yeah.... problem being is that a lot of people saw it this way and hated it and that's why it got so much hate

Obviously the director made a movie with intentions and there are enough clues to show that the movie cannot be watched that way. like OP said the movie gives you hints to understand that what you are watching is not real.

you can watch it however you want but the way you watch it is exactly why some people hate this movie and Lynch in general. Because they took it at face value and they didn't see the meaning behind it or the hints given.
so watching it at face value is the Wrong way to watch his movies.

[–] karaladh 11 years ago

The only "wrong way" to watch a movie is with your eyes closed.

The room's a wreck, but her napkin is folded.

[–] Erniesam 11 years ago

Yes, a very good reading indeed. I hated the film at the first 3 viewings. I didn't understand it. Once I got a handle on it, it became a real favorite of mine. Still, once you think you have figured it out, you discover it still isn't as easy as that. Lynch realy does go all psychological on you and not in a plain manner, but subtle and metaphorical.

At the begining we see Fred in his house in a room. But...there are strange noises and some weird shadows. We hear footsteps, voices and heavy doors slamming. I believe Fred is in prison and perhaps just was subjected to an interrogation. When he's back in his cell he quickly escapes into his fantasy. I'd like to see the buzzer we hear in his house as the buzzer in jail, signaling end of recreation time or something.

Now, this "Dick Laurent is dead" business I find realy, realy complicated. This is indeed the heart of the movie. Like the poster above, I thought for a long time that Fred indeed killed Dick Laurent, but this realy doesn't make sense, when you think about it. For if he indeed killed him, why dosn't he wake up from his fantasy when he does kill him in his fantasy? We can assume that IF it realy did happen, he would consider this murder less traumatic than the murder of his wife. Or wouldn't he? You would think that this murder in itself would wake him up.

Secondly, we see Marilyn Manson on the video cam which the Mystery Man shows Fred. Now what is the meaning of this? I believe Marilyn Manson being a transgender symbolises a crossing between Dick Laurent and Renee. This murder of Laurent in Fred's fantasy comes close to the truth, but we aren't there yet: it is a woman Fred has killed, not a man.

Finally, we see that Fred recognizes the situation when he tals into the speaker. Or do we? This instance is pretty complex, for it contains several layers of meaning. The obvious one is of course that Fred seems to recognize the situation. But this in itself would not have to be so problematic, for it doesn't explain the content of it. There has to be something else.

I believe that a/Fred recognizes that he is the one he could not see earlier in the film and b/ Fred realizes right at this moment that it is not Laurent he has killed, but his wife Renee. Fred already "knew" he killed Laurent, so what he says in the intercom CANNOT be taken literally.

[–] mycompostheap 8 years ago

I have often watched Lost Highway with my eyes closed. It terrifies me.

[–] Hurry_up_N_buy 9 years ago

Personally, I take this film - and most of Lynch's films - at face value; everything is literally occurring as shown on screen. Perhaps malevolent supernatural forces are at work, maybe the laws of physics are just starting to go haywire - it doesn't really matter to me, as the results are the same either way.

That's just my take on the matter, though; its no more or less valid than anyone else's.

Yeah, taking it at face value, going in, is what did not work for me. Maybe if I had the understanding of how to view this movie from the beginning, I might have been able to have a better first viewing. In other words, if initially I just assumed it was all a dream and then basically plugged in which factors to the story I deemed to be the reality of the protagonist's situation and furthermore which scenes weren't apart of the dream, I would have had a much better experience (after awhile I realized I was dealing with dream-like sequences but by then things were too contrived).

However, I enjoy going into movies knowing as little about it as possible besides a basic synopsis so there's no real way to avoid that one and as a result, I didn't like this much but thought some of the more atmospheric scenes were brilliant.

6.5/10

People hate what's popular and people jump on bandwagons. The rest of us are in the middle. Done.

[–] SuperDevilDoctor 11 years ago

What this movie is really about

David Lynch pulling stuff out of his ass.

"Send her to the snakes!"

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] robatmuskoka 11 years ago

its really about the time lynch & manson got together with some absinthe some really good pot and some coke and wrote a script....

[–] shalise-begum 11 years ago

Exactly!

[–] Doc110894 10 years ago

Very cool.

[–] RJBurke1942 10 years ago

James....

You are spot on with your interpretation: the whole plot,every bit, is inside Fred's head - and that's obvious from the first scene.

The whole script was developed by Lynch and his buddy after watching that black dude Simpson, after killing his white wife, driving down the highway with twenty cop cars in pursuit. Do you recall? Lynch wondered what was going on inside Simpson's head as he tried to escape, obviously lost in many ways. Hence - Lost Highway. And a great movie.

I've seen an awful lot of movies and a lot of awful movies...

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] TravisChaplin 10 years ago

I don't know if my theory really contradicts yours, but I see Fred as being trapped in an endless limbo or purgatory that feeds off of his sexual insecurities. In the first part his wife is a femme fatale type whom he can't satisfy, in the second part she is an innocent all american girl whom he can satisfy but he constantly questions what she is doing behind his back. Eventually he directs his rage away from her and toward the man with whom she is having an affair. In the end Fred may have broken the cycle and finally be at peace, or he may be moving on to another stage of it.