Dune Review

My many differences with the style of director David Lynch make it rather difficult to enjoy some of his earlier movies. The nuances and zany freak show that is Eraserhead falls on deaf ears for me, not entirely latching onto his creepy visuals and methods behind the camera. I find myself enjoying his more conventional films, not because I dislike unconventional creativity, but because I like a bit of structure and meaning to the movies I watch. It’s why I feel The Elephant Man is his best work to date, a film that provides an already established, real-world story, that just so happens to fit with the style Lynch can provide. I struggle to understand why this style didn’t work with his adaptation of Dune, but it’s certainly an interesting scenario.

We’ve become so used to adaptations of literature now that they’re more or less commonplace, swiftly overtaking that of unique properties. Adapting the written work of Frank Herbert, Dune is a creation disowned by Lynch in the editing studio and beyond. When a director has no faith in his work, it’s hard to get on board with the idea that there would, in fact, be any positives to come from the experience. Whilst Lynch is right to tuck this one away into the shadows, there are moments within Dune that express utter brilliance. Here is an adaptation where the tropes of Lynch’s direction fit the bill rather comfortably, it’s shown within his eye for vivid detail. Aliens, outfits and spaceships all look unique and feel genuine and look remarkable.

It’s a shame then that with all this eye for creativity, nothing could come of it. I’ve not read Herbert’s book, but I assume it’ll be a lot less boring than this adaptation. A leading performance from Kyle MacLachlan that really does nothing for me, his portrayal of Paul Atreides flatlines alongside the direction. They’re woven together nicely and do complement one another from time to time, but the script doesn’t feel up to scratch. Lingering lines, leaps between relatively important moments without so much as a second to adjust to new surroundings or simply ineffective and sluggish storytelling, the performances suffer greatly from Lynch’s script treatment.

Dune is perhaps a sign that even the most acclaimed and talented of visual creatives can struggle to adapt science fiction. Whilst Lynch isn’t my cup of tea, I can understand that it’s not his direction that makes Dune a slog, but his adaptation of the written text. His eye for detail is present throughout, and he builds up a series of performers that he would frequently collaborate with later down the line, he just doesn’t give himself or the cast anything interesting to do. It’s tragically forgettable, it makes for a completely boring experience that does have some pockets of genius. Nowhere close to what is needed to make this palatable though, but one of the few Lynch movies where I can actually see where he’s taking us.