Really happy to see "Under the Silver Lake" getting some much needed coverage. It's an amazing movie and one that simply did not get enough respect when it came out in 2018.
This is a great piece! I am unfortunately one of those people who is not really into this movie - I find it to be far too impressed with itself, to the point where I was basically rolling my eyes by the time they reveal there is in fact a naked owl-faced murderess - but your writing on it makes me wish it worked for me.
That songwriter scene though is undeniably a powerhouse and frankly works just as well outside of the context of the film.
To me one of the oddest things about UTSL (which I loved so much I watched two days in a row when it dropped on Prime) is that it takes place in 2011, which roughly matches up Sam in age with DRM. I don't remember there being anything specifically "2011" about it, but seems like that's a significant enough thing for DRM to include.
What was your read on Sam getting evicted at the end? It was particularly interesting to me after his rant against the homeless midway through the film and the presence of the Homeless King.
This got me right at the start when it opened with four animal pictograms spelling UTSL and then shortly afterwards shows a T-shirt with the same pictograms spelling “BWAR DOG KILR” mirroring the graffiti on the café window. From then on I took the movie not just as a mystery but as a code cracker.
I love this movie. I don’t care to dig into the conspiracy deep dive stuff but I just want to mention how hilarious this movie is. The scene where he chases down the kids that are egging cars is so damn funny. Parts of it remind me of The Big Lebowski in a lot of ways.
Also the thing about the conspiracies being real but not quite as grand as you’d expect tracks with the real world pizzagate stuff. Turns out the elite do traffic children! They just don’t leave little riddles for you to find, they straight up call the plane “the Lolita express.” Grim stuff.
Just want to additionally add that the use of "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" made me pull out (or pull up on my phone I guess) MONSTER for the first time in years.
Such killer stuff from Scott, especially his idea about Mitchell being a stranger in L.A. himself, a "Michigan transplant, trying to comprehend the undercurrents of this foreign city where success breaks the E-Meter and anything less can’t pay the rent." You can divide L.A. noirs between those scripted by the born-and-raised locals (Chinatown, The Long Goodbye) and those not—which I still love as much.
This film reminded me most of the Illuminatus Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson, where every conspiracy is true, popular music holds clues to who runs the world, and the a Beatles-like band is trying to "immanentize the eschaton". Fnord!
Great piece. I think this is one of those cases where the botched release - while obviously sad for the people who put so much work (and/or money) into the film - adds a delicious air of mystery to it. I don't know that it necessarily meant it was seen less than whatever gets dropped direct to Peacock these days, but it sure helps with the cult status.
I've watched this movie once--once--and every so often I'm tempted to watch it again. It was super cheap on Amazon, so I bought rather than rented. I keep meaning to watch again. I had two very strong thoughts upon finishing it.
First thought, realization really, while watching: "Oh, this movie is an allegory for Hollywood." I don't remember the movie well enough to back up why I had this thought.
Second thought: he's 100% the dog serial killer. So I find it very, very funny to learn there's a whole Reddit thread devoted to proving it
Really happy to see "Under the Silver Lake" getting some much needed coverage. It's an amazing movie and one that simply did not get enough respect when it came out in 2018.
This is a great piece! I am unfortunately one of those people who is not really into this movie - I find it to be far too impressed with itself, to the point where I was basically rolling my eyes by the time they reveal there is in fact a naked owl-faced murderess - but your writing on it makes me wish it worked for me.
That songwriter scene though is undeniably a powerhouse and frankly works just as well outside of the context of the film.
To me one of the oddest things about UTSL (which I loved so much I watched two days in a row when it dropped on Prime) is that it takes place in 2011, which roughly matches up Sam in age with DRM. I don't remember there being anything specifically "2011" about it, but seems like that's a significant enough thing for DRM to include.
(Should be Katamari balls instead of karamari!)
What was your read on Sam getting evicted at the end? It was particularly interesting to me after his rant against the homeless midway through the film and the presence of the Homeless King.
This got me right at the start when it opened with four animal pictograms spelling UTSL and then shortly afterwards shows a T-shirt with the same pictograms spelling “BWAR DOG KILR” mirroring the graffiti on the café window. From then on I took the movie not just as a mystery but as a code cracker.
I love this movie. I don’t care to dig into the conspiracy deep dive stuff but I just want to mention how hilarious this movie is. The scene where he chases down the kids that are egging cars is so damn funny. Parts of it remind me of The Big Lebowski in a lot of ways.
Also the thing about the conspiracies being real but not quite as grand as you’d expect tracks with the real world pizzagate stuff. Turns out the elite do traffic children! They just don’t leave little riddles for you to find, they straight up call the plane “the Lolita express.” Grim stuff.
Just want to additionally add that the use of "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" made me pull out (or pull up on my phone I guess) MONSTER for the first time in years.
Such killer stuff from Scott, especially his idea about Mitchell being a stranger in L.A. himself, a "Michigan transplant, trying to comprehend the undercurrents of this foreign city where success breaks the E-Meter and anything less can’t pay the rent." You can divide L.A. noirs between those scripted by the born-and-raised locals (Chinatown, The Long Goodbye) and those not—which I still love as much.
This film reminded me most of the Illuminatus Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson, where every conspiracy is true, popular music holds clues to who runs the world, and the a Beatles-like band is trying to "immanentize the eschaton". Fnord!
Great piece. I think this is one of those cases where the botched release - while obviously sad for the people who put so much work (and/or money) into the film - adds a delicious air of mystery to it. I don't know that it necessarily meant it was seen less than whatever gets dropped direct to Peacock these days, but it sure helps with the cult status.
I am a part of this film's cult, and you do a great job explaining many of the reasons why. Now I need to watch it again.
I've watched this movie once--once--and every so often I'm tempted to watch it again. It was super cheap on Amazon, so I bought rather than rented. I keep meaning to watch again. I had two very strong thoughts upon finishing it.
First thought, realization really, while watching: "Oh, this movie is an allegory for Hollywood." I don't remember the movie well enough to back up why I had this thought.
Second thought: he's 100% the dog serial killer. So I find it very, very funny to learn there's a whole Reddit thread devoted to proving it