David Lynch and What Did Jack Do? - Essay/Review

4/5

This essay was originally written for school, but I refuse to deprive my loyal audience of great content. Enjoy!

David Lynch was once considered one of the most polarizing filmmakers in Hollywood. When his 1986 film Blue Velvet was released, critics and audiences were split. Some called it a masterpiece, while others were appalled by its “depravity.” The famed critic Roger Ebert was in the latter camp, saying in his review, “Blue Velvet surrounds [scenes of stark sexual despair] with a story that's marred by sophomoric satire and cheap shots.” Criticisms of Lynch’s surrealist visuals and idiosyncratic tone persisted for a couple of decades, with some of his films even utilizing their harsh, public criticisms as a marketing strategy (e.g. Lost Highway used Siskel & Ebert’s double thumbs down rating in promotional material as a badge of honor). But as Lynch made his way into the 21st century, critical opinion of him began to swing toward the positive. Lynch’s The Straight Story came out just before the turn of the century to a strong critical reception, and in 2001, Mulholland Drive was received about as well, if not better. Even Roger Ebert gave both films four stars and included Mulholland Drive in his publicized pantheon of “The Great Movies”. This growing appreciation for the filmmaker culminated in him being awarded an Honorary Oscar in 2019. Today, Lynch is considered one of the most groundbreaking and distinctive filmmakers alive. His unique blend of nostalgia, humor, horror, and surrealism is looked at as one of American cinema's most noteworthy developments of the late 20th century. After a brief hiatus from feature films, Lynch released a short film on Netflix in 2017. The film was titled What Did Jack Do?, and presented a perfect bite-sized portrait of what makes Lynch such an alluring filmmaker. This film was my first experience with Lynch and is still one of my favorite shorts. Its Lynch-isms, tone, and messaging all combine to create a strange, entertaining picture that refuses to vacate your subconscious even years after seeing it.

In What Did Jack Do?, a detective, played by Lynch, interrogates a character named Jack about the murder of a fella named Max. We learn that Jack is in the hot seat since the cops believe the murder was a crime of passion centered around a woman named Toototabon. Now, at face value, this seems like a fairly standard and uninteresting noir piece, but Lynch’s style and mastery of tone help elevate it to something more. First and foremost, the character of Jack is brought to life by none other than a capuchin monkey. Yes, you heard me right, a monkey. To further distort this otherwise traditional picture, Jack’s dialogue is delivered by a human mouth roughly composited onto the monkey’s face. The identity of the actor behind Jack Cruz is a mystery as the character's film credit lists Jack himself as the actor breathing life into the monkey's mouth. However, most amateur sleuths (including yours truly) believe Lynch is the actor behind both lead roles. Regardless, Jack isn’t the only animal character in this world. His love interest, Toototabon, is a chicken, and we hear Jack refer to orangutans, rabbits, alligators, and other creatures as peers. Now, this bold decision to bring animals to life in this way leaves us with one major question that needs answering. Why has Lynch included them in this noir vignette at all? The simple answer is; because it is fun!  It introduces a level of absurdity to this formulaic crime thriller. This choice throws a wrench in our expectations and forces us to lean in and pay attention. Lynch wanted to play in a noir sandbox (a genre he is intimately familiar with), but instead of tastelessly recreating an average scene from the 40s and 50s with people, Lynch uses animals to entertain, enrapture, and enhance his world.

Lynch loves surreal absurdism. By all accounts, it is his main schtick. Moments like the ‘In Dreams” scene in Blue Velvet and the “In Heaven” scene in Eraserhead come to mind immediately when prompted (Ironically, both are musical scenes), but every single one of these choices serves an emotional or thematic point. What Did Jack Do? is no exception. While I would never argue that this short is one of Lynch’s most thematically rich texts, it is certainly his most parodical. Here, Lynch is having fun playing up Noir tropes. The dialogue is brilliantly snappy, and the use of black and white harkens back to the age of Bogie. This entire film is a send-up of these cliches and almost a self-criticism of Lynch’s love for the genre. The use of monkeys and chickens in key roles makes this intention blatantly clear. Yet, at the same time, this is a passionate love letter to the form. This contradiction is sold by the film's commitment to its unique tone. Lynch plays everything straight, allowing us to laugh at the self-seriousness of the quippy dialogue while at other moments getting caught up in the melodrama of these beasts. This duality offers a compelling reason to return to the short beyond Lynch’s always arresting visuals. 

What Did Jack Do? is a parody, an exercise, an experiment, and an entertaining 17 minutes, but it is also a film about love. Jack’s love for Toototabon is powerful. Powerful enough to compel him to commit murder. We see the strength of Jack’s love through a showstopping musical number, “True Loves Flame” (notice how Lynch uses a musical number again) where Jack lays his soul bare. Is this number silly? Yes. Is it impactful? Absolutely. Through Jack’s ballad, Lynch is attempting to briefly explore the power of love to influence people. That influence is negative in this case, but a double-edged sword cuts both ways. Lynch’s filmography has explored both extremes of this influence in the past, and Lynch seems to believe in the redeeming power of love as well as its corrupting elements (See the end of Blue Velvet). The exploration of love here is not very deep, but it is a nice addition to the short that also helps tie it to the rest of Lynch’s work on a subtextual level.

I discovered Lynch roughly a year ago now. I was getting serious about film and had recently fallen head over heels into arthouse cinema. I had heard rumblings about Lynch and his place in the canon, but I needed a quick and easy way to dip my toe into the figurative pool. What Did Jack Do? was the perfect entry point. In a short amount of time, it conveyed everything that I would ever need to know about what interests Lynch and whether or not his artistry was for me. As it so happens, the short hooked me immediately, and I have spent almost a year devouring his filmography one tasty morsel at a time. While What Did Jack Do? is no longer at the top of my list of Lynch favorites/obsessions, its impact on me as an artist will always persist. Its mastery of tone, execution of genre tropes, self-awareness, and visual flair encapsulate something wholly unique and beautiful that I have been and will continue chasing in my own work.

You can watch the short film now on Netflix