David Lynch in His Spare Time, and Mine

It's officially summer and the one thing I most associate with summer is a road trip. So it seems quite appropriate that I've recently become captivated by David Lynch's Interview Project. It's a documentary rooted in movement across the U.S., spaced out in time (episodes are posted every three days) and place (the interviews come from people found along the road and the website includes a map that shows where each person was when they spoke). Right now, to me, it feels like traveling, without the billboards and gas station bathrooms.

However, the project is interesting for several reasons beyond the visceral experience. My first question upon seeing the project, even before the first episode posted, was, "Why is David Lynch doing this?" And with David Lynch framing each interview with a brief introduction, the question becomes "What does it mean that David Lynch is attached to these interviews?" Lynch is, of course, known for his dark and surreal movies and that reputation has me looking for the dark underbelly in this project. So far, Lynch's overt contributions are eerie tones over the beginning and end screens of each interview as well as his overly earnest introductions. From these introductions, it's clear that he did not actually interview these people. He refers to "the team" finding people along the way. So, what does his presence, and that of his company name, ABSURDA (which appears at the end of the episode), do to our perception of each interview?

If David Lynch has us looking for the dark and subversive, then the ABSURDA stamp seems to undermine an otherwise mild editorial tone. The music accompanying each interview evokes a nostalgic Americana, with strains of harmonica and banjo. Each interview is intercut with shots of the road, the surrounding landscape, the still subject. Are Lynch and the team out to sincerely appreciate or are they waiting for each subject to reveal his or her darker side?

So far, there have been a couple of darker sides. The series begins with Jess, a man in his sixties who frankly states that he has many regrets and has not spoken to his children in 25 years. Then there is Tommie Holliday, who is waiting for his girlfriend to get out of jail so that he can move to Montana with her. It is in this interview that the editorial presence makes itself most known. As Tommie relays the sensational details of his girlfriend's crime (which include the use of a machine gun), the interview is intercut with a black screen, then we hear sounds of shots and white bullet holes appear on the screen. Following that, the music becomes ironically light as Tommie describes his dreams to get away from everyone with his girlfriend in Montana.

The mocking tone that closes Tommie's interview seems out of place in the project, as the other five interviews that have been posted at this time contain no such editorial judgements. It will be interesting to see, in the next year, how this project develops and what sort of turns it takes. Will there be more episodes like Tommie's? I hope not. I much prefer the less intrusive editing of the other episodes, where the people and the road are the focus. If you haven't already, you should check this out.