Inland Empire | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

72% Tomatometer 116 Reviews 75% Audience Score 25,000+ Ratings

Nikki (Laura Dern), an actress, takes on a role in a new film, and because her husband (Peter J. Lucas) is very jealous, her co-star Devon (Justin Theroux) gets a warning not to make any romantic overtures -- especially since the characters they play are having an affair. Both actors learn that the project is a remake of an unfinished film in which the stars were murdered. Read More Read Less

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Inland Empire

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Critics Consensus

Typical David Lynch fare: fans of the director will find Inland Empire seductive and deep. All others will consider the heady surrealism impenetrable and pointless.

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Critics Reviews

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Inland Empire | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Richard Brody New Yorker Quickly devolves into self-parody. Dern gives a virtuoso performance, albeit in an overwrought, numbing void. Apr 11, 2022 Full Review Inland Empire | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Ben Kenigsberg Time Out Rated: 5/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review Inland Empire | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Jim Emerson RogerEbert.com Inland Empire opens and contracts in your imagination while you watch it -- and you're still watching it well after it's left the screen. It's a long but thoroughly absorbing three hours. Rated: 4/4 May 25, 2007 Full Review Inland Empire | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Hector A. Gonzalez Loud and Clear Reviews A newly remastered version of David Lynch ’s most experimental and hallucinatory work, Inland Empire – a story about a “woman in trouble”. Rated: 4.5/5 Mar 24, 2024 Full Review Inland Empire | Rotten Tomatoes (5) May Leitz Nyx Fears Lynch's movie asks us to interpret it as if it were a dream, instead of looking at them through a literal lens. Oct 5, 2023 Full Review Inland Empire | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Michael Barrett PopMatters Now that we’re awash in time loops and other realities, filmgoers are primed for three hours of David Lynch’s reality and identity-questioning film, Inland Empire. Aug 7, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Claude One of the most abstract things I've ever seen. Some remarks from a person who worked on the film: when interviewed at the Venice Film Festival, Laura Dern who is the star of the film admitted that she did not know what Inland Empire was about or the role she was playing, but hoped that seeing the film's premiere at the festival would help her "learn more". Dern also recounted a conversation she had with one of the movie's new producers, Jeremy Alter. He asked if director David Lynch was joking when he requested a one-legged woman, a monkey and a lumberjack by 3:15. By 4 p.m. they were shooting with the requested individuals. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/19/22 Full Review Vincent Very confusing but entertaining. A surreal experience Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/08/22 Full Review Leo P This is the last movie the director genius David Lynch will ever make.So,from the dreamworld back to real world.The real world is the Barbie world.David Lynch could've made a blockbuster like Barbie too,but he preferred not to make any movies at all. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/16/24 Full Review Christopher R David Lynch's underrated Magnum Opus. Mind-bending, ego-shattering, and breathtaking in ambition - this is Lynch at his finest, my favourite from his filmography. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/30/24 Full Review The Great John A Yeah, uh, what the hell?Inland Empire is a nearly 20 year old film about an actress involved in a project remake after the first attempt had all the cast mysteriously killed. That's the best I can describe this, um... definitely unique but most of the film is psychedelic, nightmare sequences that, while interesting, are most certainly going to stay in your head for a long time.But as a film, it's a work of art filled with really good scenes and it's so engaging that 3 hours passed really fast for me.Very good acting too but I think this a film better left discovered because it does really hold it's artistic merit in modern day.But overall, David Lynch's final outing is definitely a one that won't be forgotten any time soon thanks to the barrage of senses created by a film of a very high standard.Grade: A Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/18/24 Full Review CKB The most striking thing about this bizarre, tedious exercise is its ugliness; Lynch chose to personally film this with a cheap handheld camcorder, claiming it gave him "more room to dream," but the resulting images are so bad in quality that whatever dreams Lynch had going through his head at the time are visually reduced to everyday YouTube junk fare. It's tough enough to wade through Lynch's succession of static scenes, dwelling pointlessly on Hollywood cliches, without his insulting our visual sensibilities in this way. Maybe Lynch wants to make his viewers more active participants by forcing them to fast-forward through shot after shot as Laura Dern slowly moves around this film that dwells on each detail far too long. Lynch reveals himself to still be the same nice middle-class kid that made Blue Velvet, imagining all those nasty things that go on in the Scary Big World that he would never, of course, engage in personally. He even throws in some Eraserhead-style scenes, reminding us of his tawdry lowbrow surrealist beginnings. Lynch has made no more features since this, suggesting that he saw this project as his goodbye to filmmaking, cataloging his previous themes without adding anything to them. Bye Felicia. Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 10/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Inland Empire

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Cast & Crew

David Lynch Director Laura Dern Nikki Jeremy Irons Kingsley Harry Dean Stanton Freddie Justin Theroux Devon Terryn Westbrook Chelsi
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Synopsis Nikki (Laura Dern), an actress, takes on a role in a new film, and because her husband (Peter J. Lucas) is very jealous, her co-star Devon (Justin Theroux) gets a warning not to make any romantic overtures -- especially since the characters they play are having an affair. Both actors learn that the project is a remake of an unfinished film in which the stars were murdered.

Director
David Lynch

Producer
Mary Sweeney, David Lynch

Screenwriter
David Lynch

Distributor
Absurda

Production Co
Asymmetrical Productions, Camerimage 2, Inland Empire Productions

Rating
R (Some Violence|Sexuality/Nudity|Language)

Genre
Mystery & Thriller

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 6, 2006, Limited

Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Apr 8, 2022

Release Date (DVD)
Aug 14, 2007

Runtime
2h 59m

Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
Most Popular at Home Now
Inland Empire | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

FAQs

What was Inland Empire shot on? ›

Inland Empire is the first Lynch feature to be completely shot in digital video; it was shot in standard definition with a hand-held Sony DSR-PD150 by Lynch himself. Lynch has stated that he will no longer use film to make motion pictures.

Are rabbits part of the Inland Empire? ›

Use in Inland Empire

Lynch used some of the Rabbits footage as well as previously unseen footage featuring Rabbits characters in his film Inland Empire (2006). Lynch also used the Rabbits set to shoot several scenes involving human characters.

What is the story of the Inland Empire? ›

Why is the movie called Inland Empire? ›

Trapped in its own bell jar, Inland Empire – taking its title from the Southern California region not because it's set there, but simply because Lynch liked the name – summons the likes of Bergman's Persona (1966) and Fellini's Juliet of the Spirits (1965) in its allusive structure and suggestions of a fracturing ...

Why do they call it the Inland Empire? ›

The "Inland" part of the name is derived from the region's location, generally about 60 miles inland from Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean. Originally, this area was called the Orange Empire due to the acres of citrus groves that once extended from Pasadena to Redlands during the first half of the twentieth century.

What is the Inland Empire made up of? ›

Southern California's Inland Empire (IE), comprised of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, is one of the fastest-growing population centers in the United States, located about 40 miles east of Los Angeles.

What do the rabbits mean in Inland Empire? ›

There are also hints that the Rabbits are dead humans in a sort of purgatory, and that they are waiting for reincarnation (Jane asks Suzie if she was blond; Jane ends the series by wondering who she will be). The audience tends to laugh the most at references to time or phone calls.

Is Big Bear considered Inland Empire? ›

The Inland Empire's diverse terrain ranges from citrus groves and the Temecula wine country up into the rugged San Bernardino Mountains around such towns as Idyllwild, Big Bear Lake, and Lake Arrowhead. What's more, it also extends all the way out to the Mojave Desert.

Is Rancho Cucamonga considered Inland Empire? ›

Unlike most metropolitan areas that have grown up around a central city, the Inland Empire has two main focus cities, Riverside and San Bernardino. Other major cities in the region include Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, and Corona.

What is the poorest city in the Inland Empire? ›

Due to the immigration of poor families flowing into the greater San Bernardino area looking for cheaper housing and jobs the effect on the economy on our local communities is negatively impacted.

How scary is Inland Empire? ›

Their appearance is intentionally disturbing, it's David Lynch after all. Considered to be one of the scariest and weirdest films of all time, Inland Empire is dark, suffocating and horrifying to watch at times but even in times where the film is not scary there is a sense of dread and mystery.

Is Inland Empire considered desert? ›

The desert region of the Inland Empire is expansive, covering millions of acres across Joshua Tree and the Mojave Desert National Preserve until it reaches the California border. The serenely spiritual landscape of the desert attracts visitors from all over the globe 365 days a year.

What percentage of the Inland Empire is black? ›

Census data from 2020 reflect how diverse the IE is today. African Americans accounted for 7.4 percent of the IE's population, while Asian Americans made up 8.7 percent.

Why are people moving to the Inland Empire? ›

In summary

To residents of the region, which comprises Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, it's a place of affordable housing yet interminable traffic, sweeping vistas shrouded by perpetual smog, and huge employers alongside family-owned businesses.

What is the meaning of Inland Empire? ›

Inland Empire is a geographic region in Southern California, once referred to as the Orange Empire.

What was shot in Pioneertown? ›

Several of these movies had scenes filmed at Pioneertown, including The Cowboy and the Indians (1949), Riders in the Sky (1949), Indian Territory (1950), Whirlwind (1951), Silver Canyon (1951), Barbed Wire (1952), On Top of Old Smoky (1953), Winning of the West (1953), and Last of the Pony Riders (1953), the latter of ...

What does David Lynch shoot on? ›

But did you know David Lynch shot Inland Empire on a Sony PD150?

What was collateral shot on? ›

Mann chose to use the Viper FilmStream High-Definition Camera to film many of Collateral's scenes, the first such use in a major motion picture. Mann had previously used the format for portions of Ali and his CBS drama Robbery Homicide Division and would later employ the same camera for the filming of Miami Vice.

What was the raging bull shot on? ›

The movie Raging Bull, released in 1980 and directed by Martin Scorsese, was shot on film using ARRIFLEX 35 BL Camera and Cooke Varotal Lenses, Zeiss Super Speed Lenses with Michael Chapman as cinematographer and editing by Thelma Schoonmaker.

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