David Lynch's Eraserhead

About 20 years ago I saw Eraserhead for the first time. I was in college and didn't really know anything about the film before I sat down to watch it. Come to think of it, I didn't know anything about the film after I watched it either.

But in later years I began to appreciate Lynch's talent through films like The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet and most recently Mulholland Drive. So I decided to give Eraserhead another try.

The first thing that strikes you about the film is Lynch's visual style. The stark black-and-white images literally burn themselves into your skull and you start believing in this depressing post-industrial wasteland you're watching. The sounds of the film add another level of depression and creepiness. I can't imagine the film without the sound effects.

The DVD I saw contains a long (almost an hour and a half) reminiscence with Lynch on the making of the film, which is interesting, but reveals nothing of the film's meaning. Only at the very end does Lynch state that no critic or viewer has ever come close to grasping his interpretation of the film. I'll give my thoughts in a minute. (If you haven't seen the film, don't read any further.)

First of all, many people poo-poo on the movie because it was a film school project. So that means you can't take it seriously? I don't think so. I certainly admire the risks Lynch takes in the film. Whether you think it works or not, you can't ignore the power of what's on the screen. So forget that it's a "student" film.

Second, it sets the stage for later Lynch. Roger Ebert lambasted Blue Velvet for not playing fair with the audience because it contained what Ebert thought was inappropriate humor in such a disturbing film. Humor is in Eraserhead as well, mostly in the first third of the film. I think it's somewhat absurdist humor, but it tells us a little about Lynch's (or the main character Henry's) world.

What does the film mean? Good question. Most people (if they finish viewing the film at all) walk out with WTF expressions on their faces. I can understand their feelings. You can't really watch Eraserhead once and expect to understand it. I don't even pretend to have the thing figured out, but I believe I've picked out some of the film's themes that work for me:

Fear of fatherhood. Although he does try, Henry (John Nance) doesn't really know to take care of the "baby" (one of the most disgusting children in film history). His fear is evident in almost every frame and especially the moment before and after he picks up the scissors (what an awful scene), foreshadowed earlier by the chicken incident.

Fear of marriage/responsibility. You see this early in the film.

But for me, the biggest theme is Henry's always wanting to find a woman who understands him. I may be way off, but it's no mistake that the film contains three very different women. Does Henry find the woman that's best for him in the end? I don't know. Does the assembly line of pencils in the dream sequence signify the sameness of industrialized humanity? Does the eraser symbolize that everything in our lives can be wiped out and brushed away? Does Henry go to heaven with the Radiator Woman?

I don't know the answer to any of these questions. But that didn't take anything away from my enjoyment of the film. And I plan to see it again. Someday.

Hey, maybe I can do my hair like Henry....

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