Movie Review: Eraserhead

Eraserhead is one of those films that people really have a hard time interpreting, and while most confusing movies become cleared up through director's commentary or critical reviews, this is one movie where the director is of little help and apparently no one has eve come close to guessing his intent. The story follows Henry in a dead, industrial city where he tries to adjust to his new life as the father of a mutant premature child after having just found out that he impregnated his girlfriend. There are painfully long silent scenes and drawn out glances that create an awkward, somewhat frightening feeling where the viewer doesn't know what to think or expect. When watching the film, one can't help but notice how very abstract and  expressionistic throughout and there was a lot of symbolism that is difficult to interpret throughout the film, especially with regards to outer space. In terms of gender, there were no particularly good female characters, however Mary was pitiable at times. Henry, however, wasn't a very good (in terms of good vs. evil) character himself. We pity him initially, but as the film goes on we begin to dislike him for cheating on his wife and killing his child. Jack Nance does a great job portraying Henry because, even though he does hardly anything worthy of approval throughout the film, it's still hard not to pity him because of his expressions throughout the film alone.

Some suggest the movie is a critique of the "shotgun wedding" idea of getting married because of pregnancy, others think it's a critique of a potential industrial, post-apocalyptic world. What does David Lynch have to say on the subject? Absolutely nothing. Lynch doesn't like to tell his intent when making a film and would rather the audience interpret it for themselves. All Lynch has said on the subject is that no one's theory has even come close to his original intent in making the film. So if you enjoy a good puzzle and interpreting a film in a new and interesting way, Eraserhead would be a great film to watch.