I assume all of you have seen this movie (all that have bothered to come this far, that is), and maybe you troubled yourself with furthering your inderstandings of the film…this is what I am interested in.
It simply ends so abruptly to the rest of the story, so many things left unsaid: What exactly happened to Jeffrey’s dad (I assume it had something to do with them weird bugs shown in the grass at the beginning), what Gordon’s (the yellow-jacket-wearing cop) involvement was with this gang of dope-thugs, what was the real deal with that singer-chick and her husband and son, and what that last scene was about with those two dead guys (perhaps her husband), seemingly frozen in death in her apartment? It’s clearly a murder mystery (a popular theme in the movie, as demonstrated by Jeffrey’s grandmother’s continual veiwing of hitchcock-esque movies on the tv), so I am guessing that there must be some rational story for us to figure out? Or not, maybe it’s just postmodern bullshit, I don’t know…
I tried searching the web, but that could take HOURS; I didn’t get too much out of my 15 minute quest. There are some movie buffs here, no? PLease help. Thanks!
I saw the movie when it first came out, and I can’t remember the whole plot at all - just some scenes, and the need to have a drink afterwards. That may be because there was no tight plot, and therefore there are fewer firm answers to your questions than you’d like. The unexplained is part of the menace and evil that lie under the surface of this town.
My introduction to Lynch was Eraserhead, which IIRC built on some work he did at film college level. That movie has been likened to a nightmare on film - nothing beyong a basic plot - just discomforting and inexplicable events and atmosphere. I approached Blue Velvet expecting something along the same lines - though far more elaborately and maybe maturely produced - and that’s what I recall seeing. Time to see it again, perhaps. I’ll be interested to see if I was missing a lot.
He had a stroke or some similar episode (he’s watering the lawn then grabs the back of his head/neck and collapses; although the way the shots are sequenced I thought Lynch was saying that the handle on the water valve broke off and tagged him).
He was part of the criminal conspiaracy. Whether he was there to divert police attention, was actively involved in moving drugs, etc. wasn’t really important for me.
Not sure what you mean by this, can you expand on it?
There was a gun battle, and Gordon and her husband were killed, presumably by Frank.
There’s some talk that the movie all takes place inside Jeffrey’s mind or his father’s mind but I don’t see any need to take it to that level. It works for me as a mystery in its own right. Not to say that there’s anything wrong with the other level of interpretation but for me it doesn’t add anything to the experience.