Why you should watch the peculiar ‘Under the Silver Lake’

David Robert Mitchell’s most recent film is indecipherable, gruesome and oddly brilliant. It’s available now at SBS On Demand.

‘Under the Silver Lake’. Source: Umbrella Entertainment

Under the Silver Lake is certainly divisive. Nominated for numerous awards at Cannes in 2018, including the Palme d’Or, it received such mixed reviews that the distributor pushed back its release by almost a year. This strange beast deserves more attention; here are several reasons why you should give it a watch.

A top-tier performance from Andrew Garfield

Andrew Garfield. Source: Umbrella Entertainment

Andrew Garfield is, objectively, a handsome man, yet he’s utterly repellent in this film. It’s something in the way he walks, hunched and skulking, or the comical way he runs without using his arms. Perhaps it’s his eyes, which are always judging, objectifying or – most frightening – considering violence.

As Sam, an early-thirties deadbeat who spends his days reading comics, spying on his neighbours and having emotionless sex, Garfield is in every scene. When Sam’s beautiful neighbour Sarah (Riley Keough) goes missing, he becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her, searching for hidden codes and conspiracies that lead him down an increasingly ridiculous rabbit hole. It’s a testament to Garfield’s performance that although Sam is an entitled, aggressive loser, you never stop being invested in his absurd quest.

The reckless abandon of the filmmaking

Grace Van Patten and Andrew Garfield. Source: Umbrella Entertainment

If asked to place Under the Silver Lake in a genre, “mystery” is vague but probably most apt. At first it seems like a horror movie, through the use of ominous music, sudden zooms and looming camera movements. But with the appearance of Sam’s friend-with-benefits (Riki Lindhome), it becomes a sex comedy. From then on, anything goes.

There are overt references to other films – Rear Window, Mulholland Drive – but it’s not trying to mimic them. Certain shots are gruesome and sickening, as Sam enacts violent revenge on a wide range of people. At other times, the cinematography conveys a lush, fairy-tale feel, as Los Angeles swells with beauty, glamour, danger and doom. Under the Silver Lake makes other films look timid for only sticking to one genre, even if the stylistic changes are dizzying.

The supporting cast

Riley Keough. Source: Umbrella Entertainment

At first, Riley Keough’s role in Under the Silver Lake seems unworthy of her calibre: a young woman who doesn’t do much more than smile radiantly and look beautiful. But Keough brings subtle tragedy to a character who could have easily been one-dimensional. Other stand-outs in the ensemble include Patrick Fischler – most famous for playing the Winkie’s Guy in Mulholland Drive – as a conspiracy-theorist comic book writer, and Bobbi Salvör Menuez as a wry struggling actor/“Shooting Star” escort. And special mention to Riki Lindhome (recently seen in Knives Out), who has such understated comic timing in one of the cringiest sex scenes of the last decade.

It defies notions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’

What is happening? Source: Umbrella Entertainment

This may not sound like a recommendation, but how often do you see a movie where your opinion of whether it’s actually good changes at least ten times? It may be baffling and indecipherable, but it’s never boring. For example, it’s not hard to be irritated that women in this film are nothing more than sex objects – but then it’s so overt, you have to wonder if it’s a self-aware criticism of sexism. Or is the film hiding behind ‘criticism’ as an excuse to just be sexist? You could debate it for hours.

It’s often tempting to see the film as a parody. Not only does Sam attract numerous stunning women, despite being a greasy man-child, he triumphs because of the most unbelievable coincidences. But then, just as you’re convinced the film is one big joke, there’ll be a moment of genuine pathos. In the end, Under the Silver Lake collapses any conceptions of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ movies, of ‘sincere’ or ‘parody’ and forces you to just go with it. If nothing else, it’s unforgettable.

Watch 'Under the Silver Lake'

Saturday 29 January, 12:15am on SBS VICELAND / Streaming after at SBS On Demand

MA15+

USA, 2018

Genre: Mystery, Crime, Drama

Language: English

Director: David Robert Mitchell

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough, Topher Grace, Grace van Patten, Zosia Mamet