By Harry Gustafson
Boston University News Service
The first month of 2025 delivered some harsh news for film fans: David Lynch – acclaimed film director and multidisciplinary artist – passed away at the age of 78.
Independent cinemas across the country rushed to book programming blocks to screen his filmography. Fellow directors like Martin Scorsese praised him. The actors he regularly worked with – Kyle MacLachlan, Laura Dern and Isabella Rosselini – posted heartfelt memorials on their social media channels.
Boston University’s Film Club even held its own mini marathon on Jan. 25, screening four of the director’s films.
For decades, Lynch’s filmography captivated audiences with his strange, surreal style that often feels life glimpses of a dream.
His imagery ranges from the oddly quirky to completely nightmarish: the Eraserhead baby; the red room from Twin Peaks; the strange, disjointed surrealism of Inland Empire.
His works defy typical storytelling structure that audiences usually expect when watching a movie. His stories do not tie themselves up neatly with a bow. They instead challenge our sense of structure, time and reality. Take Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, the plots of which seem to loop back on themselves, exploring cycles of violence and trauma.
Despite being associated with thrillers rife with dark, mature themes, Lynch was known by peers in the industry as an easygoing visionary with a passion for life and art.
The Elephant Man reminds us not to fear people that society has cast out or make a sideshow of their misfortunes. John Merrick, the title character played by John Hurt, offers an inspiring message towards the end of the movie. Though he has been mistreated throughout life and kept in a cage as a circus act, he never loses his hope. “My life is full,” he said to Anthony Hopkins’ character, “because I know I am loved.”
The tale reminds us to search for the humanity in each other and ourselves.
The Straight Story stands as an outlier among Lynch’s films. Decidedly not a thriller, the film is based on the true story of an elderly man who drives a John Deere tractor from Iowa to Wisconsin to visit his estranged brother, who recently suffered a stroke.
Distributed in the United States by the Walt Disney Company, the movie has all the charm of Lynch’s small-town Americana, with none of his usual incomprehensible horrors. It’s a film about resilience, softening with age, and letting go of past resentment.
In 2020, when COVID-19 kept much of the world indoors, Lynch began posting near-daily videos of weather reports from his home in the Los Angeles area. The show quickly became a regular source of comfort for many during a tough time.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Lynch’s foray into cable television from feature films, Twin Peaks. The original series premiered in 1990 and ran for two seasons, ending on a cliffhanger that fans never thought would be answered.
Like so much of his work, Twin Peaks explores themes of the good and evil within us. The show kicks off when the body of teenage prom queen Laura Palmer is found washed up on the shore of a lake, wrapped in plastic.
Enter Special Agent Dale Cooper who led a cast that very quickly charmed its way into the hearts of viewers. Cooper’s eccentric personality, esoteric obsessions and unconventional methods elevated the show beyond a straightforward ordinary detective story.
It’s easy to get swept up in the show’s mystery, dream sequences and horror. But the foundation of the show is built on the general wholesomeness of the town’s residents.
Nowhere in town is this more evident than the Double R Diner, which serves as a community haven throughout the show’s run. While there is murder and human trafficking going on in the wilderness outside of town, the Double R always offers a warm smile from a waitress, a fresh cup of coffee and a generous slice of cherry pie.
Lynch seemingly loved Twin Peaks more than any fan of his. He kept returning to the small fictional town he created in the Pacific Northwest, making a prequel film called Fire Walk With Me and eventually continuing the story with a third season released in 2017.
This sense of goodwill towards each other isn’t limited to the Twin Peaks. It permeates throughout some of Lynch’s other work.
In an interview shortly after Lynch’s passing, fellow director Guillermo del Toro shared an anecdote from a conversation with Mark Frost, Lynch’s co-writer for Twin Peaks. According to del Toro, Frost said that Lynch is an “unironic” filmmaker, a critical understanding to appreciating his work. What Frost might mean by this is that Lynch instilled his own enthusiasm into his characters. For example, he was known for loving coffee and donuts. He wrote this directly into the character of Dale Cooper, who drives one of the show’s most quoted lines: “This is, excuse me, a damn fine cup of coffee.”
The character of James Hurley, the teenage motorcycle rider with a heart of gold, who spends much of Twin Peaks brooding and making puppy-dog eyes at the women who come into his orbit, is another example of Lynch’s genuine enthusiasm shining through his characters.
In one scene, James records a song with the help of characters Donna Hayward and Maddie Ferguson on backing vocals. The song, “Just You and I,” features Hurley’s grating falsetto, a basic guitar arpeggio and simplistic lyrics. In short, it is memorable because it is not very good.
TWIN PEAKS – Just You And I – James’ Song
This scene and the character of James are two of the things fans of the show mock the most. The song is not particularly good, only memorable for the breathy, strained tone of the singer and the childlike lyricism.
When the show’s third season debuted 25 years later in 2017, Lynch made a point to remind audiences that he thinks James “is cool.” He is so on the nose with this portrayal that he wrote it directly into the script. “James is still cool,” said Shelly Briggs, everyone’s favorite diner waitress, portrayed by Mädchen Amick, “James has always been cool.”
In line with Guillermo del Toro’s anecdote, what makes James Hurley one of the coolest characters from Twin Peaks isn’t the fact that he burns rubber on his Harley. Instead, Lynch finds this character so endearing because he is meant to be sincere.
In the world of Twin Peaks, the majority of male characters are violent, macho and abusive. This so often leads to the detriment of the show’s female characters. After all, the entire show kicks off because of the brutal murder of a young girl.
James is sensitive, loving and protective (sometimes overly so). In addition to Dale Cooper, Sheriff Harry Truman and a few other men in town, he stands as an outlier.
Lynch calls for us to embrace these good qualities within ourselves without fear of seeming corny or attracting ridicule. “Kindness is cool” is a central theme in much of his work, even if it is not the one immediately associated with him.
He approached art and life with genuine enthusiasm. He enjoyed every cup of coffee, every donut, the joy of music and the art of film. His work can be intense, unsettling and endlessly challenging. But for each moment like that, he offers us places of comfort, sincerity and love.
