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Parents' Guide to

Lost Highway

By Sarah Wenk, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Strange, disjointed; full of sex and violence.

Movie R 2002 129 minutes
Lost Highway Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 14+

Based on 6 parent reviews

doctora
doctora Parent of 5-year-old
June 14, 2022
age 18+

Worth it for Loggia

A slow and brooding film that is not to be understood but rather experienced and allowed to roll with it on the ride it wishes to take you on. The acting is strong with performers against type and it's all very Lynchian. Loggia of course stands out with his rant on tailgaters which makes the film worth it. The Stanwyckisization of Arquette is consistent and that male gaze that Lynch infuses all of his films with is ever present here too.
Jim24
Jim24 Adult
January 23, 2019
age 13+
One of Lynch’s weaker films, but nonetheless worth watching. It’s violent but briefly so, sexual but not overt or graphic. It’s more surreal and disturbing in tone than in content. Good movie anyhow, I recommend it.
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Bill Pullman plays Fred Madison, a jazz musician. He and his wife Renee (Patricia Arquette) find a series of strange videotapes on their front steps. The police are called and before long Fred is accused of murdering Renee and is sent to prison. There, somehow, he is transformed into another character, Pete Dayton (Balthazar Getty), a young auto mechanic. Pete soon meets a gorgeous woman, also played by Arquette, who seduces him in more ways than one. The cast also includes Robert Loggia (who has a wonderful but violent scene about tailgating) and Robert Blake, who is really, really creepy and mysterious as a really, really creepy and mysterious man (in the credits he's listed as Mystery Man).

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6 ):
Kids say (4 ):

The first thirty minutes of LOST HIGHWAY are a David Lynch fan's dream. All his trademarks are there -- the darkness, the atmospheric soundtrack, the rich colors, the exquisitely slow pacing, the long silences, the disturbing mystery. There's no logic to the plot, and no resolution. After the transformation of the main character, it's almost as if reality has become unmoored, and the viewer can either float along with it or try (most likely in vain) to wrench some sense out of it.

Lynch is a brilliant director, and the film has the look and sound that he's made his own. But it's muddled and confusing, and ultimately feels somewhat manipulative -- is the director laughing at us for trying to follow this scrambled story? Is there something there that we're just not smart enough to figure out? Die-hard Lynch fans and film majors may want to check this one out, but for most of us there are much more accessible and enjoyable (while still creepy) ways to experience Lynch's work.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what it all means, which is pretty hard to decipher. Film buffs and Lynch fans might analyze the filmmaker's techniques, particularly the use of sound and color. But this film is hardly family fare, nor does it lend itself to much discussion.

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