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ruddick-brandon
Reviews
Eraserhead (1977)
Eraserhead
Eraserhead follows Henry Spencer, a soft-spoken fellow with an extremely amusing haircut, as he deals with living in a small, isolated apartment and taking care of his newly-born, premature, mutant baby. It sounds ridiculous on paper, but strangely, makes less sense after viewing it. I have seen it twice in the last two months, and it has become one of my favorites.
The acting in Eraserhead ranges from solid to outstanding. Jack Nance's performance as Henry Spencer is superb (at least in my opinion). The majority of his screen time does not consist of dialogue, and he conveys Henry's emotions well, particularly those of discomfort and uneasiness. Charlotte Stewart does a passable job as Mary, the mother of Henry's mutant child. Most of the movie consists of scenes involving these two characters. The other actors and actresses perform their roles as needed, and the film does not suffer from any bad acting.
Eraserhead's cinematography is mostly standard, and serves the story well. The film utilizes some creative shots, and from what I remember, held my attention for the duration of the movie. Eraserhead's visual effects are about what you'd expect from a low-budget film. They are done well enough not to induce any cringing or vomiting, except of course where they are intended to. The sound effects, on the other hand, are the strongest aspect of Eraserhead's technical performance. Because dialogue is not featured prominently, what the viewer hears becomes a major part of their experience. In one scene, I was more concerned with a bubbling sound in the background then with what was happening on-screen, so much so that I had to rewind to see if I'd missed anything important. Not that the sound effects are distracting, but they are so captivating and pleasing. Even the sound of the baby's constant crying was mesmerizing.
While all of these components affect the viewer's perception of the film's quality, it is ultimately its storyline that will either make them a fan or severely disappoint them. Director David Lynch is known for leaving interpretation of the film's strange imagery and shocking conclusion up to the viewer, and for keeping its intended meaning to himself. Those who do not enjoy applying symbolism or greater meaning to media, or are just too lazy to try, will likely walk away from this movie with disgust. Personally, I took pleasure in thinking critically about the film's message and applying my own meaning to it. My interpretation after my second viewing is entirely different from what I originally thought, and I'm willing to guess it will change after viewing it again, which I most definitely plan on doing.
Eraserhead is not a film for every viewer, especially those accustomed to movies made purely for thoughtless enjoyment. To me though, it is a highly respectable achievement in filmmaking.