Bottom of the World

This is a movie that offers an assortment of David Lynch trademarks, in service of a story that's all surface and has none of the pervasive worldview - the perspective - of a David Lynch film. It reads as homage, I guess, but aside from the flattery of imitation it has nothing to offer.

Elements of Lost Highway, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart are pretty obvious. There's even a lamp with a red shade.

I guess if, like the filmmakers, you enjoy Lynch and have no idea why, you might like this. But if you like substance with your knockoff style, move along.

Bottom of the World is an strange, spellbinding film, because it is one of those rare films that doesn't contain a blatant plot; there's multiple unexpected plot twists and shifts where you are held strictly responsible for paying very close attention and attempt devise an idea of what's actually happening throughout the film. Jena Malone is great at portraying a woman's spiral into mental anguish brought on by guilt from an act of terrible violence. The underlying religious themes run strong. That's just my theory.

Easily one of the strangest and most confusing films I've ever seen, Bottom of the World. is also a captivating and intriguing film. Most people will probably hate it, but for some reason I was fascinated by it...some scenes are very suspenseful and creepy, others are wonderfully strange and surreal. Also seems to be a religious angle to the film as it deals with sin guilt, redemption and purgatory. Far out.

I kind of liked 'Bottom of the World'. I make no bones about the fact I'm a fan of the 'mystery' genre, and this film certainly had an element of mystery to it. It's a film where the audience knows as little about what's going on as the characters (if not even less at times), yet there are constant hints as to the direction our thinking should be going in. Then a nice little ending was the icing on the cake.

The whole "nothing makes sense, what is going on?" thing has been done in movies thousands of times over the years, but it always seems to work. I think in a way, much like a magic show, the audience wants to be fooled, or at least in a state of curiosity. It can also be quite easy for film makers to pull off, because the usual linear film making techniques obviously go out the window, and thus it can be harder for an audience to judge what is actually good and what is not.

Some people on the other hand will always hate this type of film and that's fine. I see 'Bottom of the World' being a very polarising film. Some will have a great time with it, while others will utterly despise it. I was in the former camp.

Mystified? Here's my interpretation -- A hypnotic meditation on the mysterious nature of the subconscious and its power. It is abstract and psychological at its core. The logic is skewed to be dreamlike and surreal, making more sense on a second viewing where I picked up on more visual clues and devices. I'd be curious how others interpreted it? Some posts I've seen think Alex exists, some don't. Any psychologists out there? Oh, and Jena Malone is really good as she delivers a sweet and devastating performance all at once. Where has she been?

If you like tidy resolutions and optimistic fade-outs this film is probably not for you!