Looking for films/shows that friends could view over the Easter holiday,I spoke to a DVD seller about what titles he had recently picked up. Only knowing Twin Peaks as the TV work he had done,I was surprised to find out about a one-off mini-series that David Lynch had made after wrapping up TP (at the time) with Fire Walk With Me,which led to me booking a room.View on the mini-series:Made as three eps but trimmed into one 90 min film, (thankfully,the longer uncut eps survive)the writers Barry Gifford & Jay McInerney check in close to themes of David Lynch, (who co-created the show with Monty Montgomery) with the program entering a lone hotel room in 1969,1992 and 1936 that are home to white picket-fence visitors attempting to escape from the destructive outside world. Later adapted into plays, the limitations of the location allows for an excellent theatrical exploration of the characters,from the scotch on the rocks Noir ep 1 Tricks and the darkly comedic ep 2 Getting Rid of Robert, to the surprisingly touching final ep Blackout.Directing the lone ep not done by Lynch, James Signorelli aims for the peculiar mood of the other pieces in Getting Rid of Robert,but misses the mark by being too self-aware at the strangeness of the situation, and the repeated cuts away from the hotel room breaking the tension. Reuniting with a smooth score from Angelo Badalamenti,Lynch gives his first ep a boiler room atmosphere, as Moe (played by a dripping with sweat Harry Dean Stanton) finds himself trapped in the past with two fellow guests who will land Moe with some deadly Tricks. Lit with stray shots of thunder on the window and candle light,Lynch reins in Crispin Glover's usual quirks to get an outstanding performance from him as Danny in ep 3 Blackout, with Alicia Witt joining Glover with a beautifully unsettling,calm performance as Diane,in David Lynch's minimalist, experimental hotel room.

Three half-hour episodes were produced, two from David Lynch as director and Barry Gifford as writer, one from some random guy, James Signorelli, I never heard of (though, according to IMDb, directed an Elvira movie, and surprisingly helmed Easy Money), each set in a hotel room in a particular year in time: The first segment, Tricks, set in 1969, is a story of a man (Harry Dean Stanton) right about to get some from a stoned prostitute, who gets visited at that moment by an old white-bearded friend with some dark past history. The acting is good all around, particularly from Stanton during a monologue about his first sexual encounter. But it also doesn't really lead much anywhere, even through touches of Lynch's usual twists (the appearance of the 'friend', the final twist that does cleverly wrap around old relationship ties). It also tries to be funny, and it isn't, which makes it a little awkward when the subtle wit doesn't work. (7/10) The second segment, Getting Rid of Robby, set in 1992, is like some slightly sleazier, less witty episode of Sex and the City (if you can imagine that), with very lame would-be-clever dialog, and the only redeeming aspect being Griffin Dunne playing a man who's breaking up with a woman who usually 'takes care' of him when he comes by during business trips. Not sure why it was here, even if Badalamenti puts in a groovy jazz song over material that isn't worth it; it's not necessarily a horrible short, but it has no real entertainment value except for people who can't distinguish fake-feminist-trash from quality product, and it is a significant drop in comparison to the other two shorts. (5/10) Blackout, 1937- Probably the closest that Lynch has come to doing full-on Bergman, via Gifford's script, by ding very simply shot but emotionally complex character studying. Crispin Glover plays a small-town guy who stays in the same hotel room from the other two shorts with his love, played by Alicia Witt, who's sort of slow and affected mind-wise, but has a lot to say about Chinese fish and seeing things like their future children. Witt has a look like the classic Bergman actresses, and the dialog even goes further than Bergman, maybe back to Ibsen, in capturing the tense but always powerfully human tradition of characters who are disconnected from one another, but wanting to be close as possible, through revelations in behavior and stark details. Glover, in a rare instance, plays a guy who is the straight character (straight as possible anyway). In the Barry Lyndon-esquire candle-lit lighting, Lynch makes this all so spare that it seems like the farthest thing removed from an quagmire like Inland Empire. But in its own way, Lynch is experimenting just as much in getting inside the nature of a character's psychology, and it's refreshing to see him let the actors find their own beats in the performances. (9/10)

I just read the other review that is posted for this film. I agree that the second episode is fairly terrible, but I would like to add that David Lynch did not write or have involvement with that one. The first episode is quite amazing, but it's the third one that I personally like. It's intelligent and it's got some of the best acting I've ever seen. Crispin Glover is amazing in the episode, and I think it's unfortunate that both him and Lynch didn't receive critical acclaim for being a part of such an amazing project. The third episode is not accessible to everyone, but I urge everyone to at least see the first one.

The first episode of the trilogy is classic David Lynch fare with a stand-out Harry Dean Stanton performance, the second is a god-awful mess of a piece directed by the acclaimed director of the Elvira movie. Fast-forward this mistake (commissioned by HBO so that they would have a "feature-length anthology") The final part is one of the finest pieces of acting and directing that I've ever seen. I'm a Lynch fan, but nothing could prepare me for a story where Crispin Glover is the sane, voice of reason. Alicia Witt is a marvelous actress who shines in this terrifying role. Kudos to Crispin's restraint. A great hour