Celebrating Los Angeles In Movies
Plus: RIP to the legend David Lynch
Our hearts go out to everyone in Los Angeles dealing with the wildfires that have left mass destruction and displaced thousands in the area. Even when the fires die down, the loss will be immense for so many victims. (If you’re able to contribute to this disaster relief, here’s a guide on how to do so.)
As a tribute to Los Angeles, we’re recommending movies set in the City of Angels today. And there’s no shortage of options, from films about Hollywood to crime and noir dramas to iconic comedies.
Also, RIP David Lynch. The visionary and massively influential filmmaker passed away yesterday at the age of 78. We’re hoping to do a podcast episode next week about the one-of-one director, but for now you can find his L.A. masterpiece recommended below. If you want to do your own Lynch festival in honor of the legend, here’s where you can stream his films right now.
Also also, we’re doing Michael Mann’s Thief for the heist movie edition of the Do You Like Apples Movie Club! Watch it before the podcast episode drops in late January. Reply to this email with questions and comments about Thief or heist movies in general, and we may read yours during the episode.
Thief is available to stream on MGM+ and Pluto TV (with ads) and to rent on digital platforms.
Billy recommends…
Clueless
See… even guys like Jane Austen. Or at least adaptations that you didn’t know were an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma until an English class in college. In my case that actually helped me embrace the wonderfully charming Clueless. I was still stuck in my Midwest private school mindset. Boys had boy things and girls had girl things. Clueless felt like one of those quintessential examples. A movie that wasn’t even approached by anyone around me because of course there would be no interest… right? Then I became cognisant of the rising icon status of Paul Rudd and searched his filmography. He’s in Clueless!? I love Brian Fantana in Anchorman… so I’ll give it a shot.
Clueless on the surface is not a bold movie. A modern adaptation of one of the world’s greatest novelists, so the formula is laid out ahead of you. Her work is more easily accessible now than it used to be. At the time, clear indictments of the 18th/19th century social structures are now comfort food that can make us feel good about how “we have grown.” Throwing this back into modern day shows us how we really haven’t grown at all, creating an unwanted mirror for anyone that grew up in a similar lifestyle. A bold strategy for a modern rom-com. Accomplishing that while also still giving us that quintessential 90s rom-com comfort food movie that the era loved. And that we desperately miss now.
Clueless stars Alcia Silverstone as Cher, the most popular girl at her high school, who in the midst of her own turmoil at home takes Tai (Brittany Murphy) under her wing to help ascend her social status, with Cher upending her own status in the process. The turmoil at home takes the form of her step-brother Josh (Paul Rudd). The rude new compass of a brother that is way too abrasive in his guidance, but seems to be right about a lot of things. I’m not quite sure how the Oscars didn’t immediately put in a “best casting” after this movie. Alcia Silverstone, Brittany Murphy, Stacey Dash, and Paul Rudd are absolutely electric leading this movie. Amazing insults being thrown around left and right, effortless chemistry amongst them all, and set up future rom-coms for failure thinking this casting thing is easy. I’m glad Anchorman was the link to finally get me to watch it.
Available to rent on digital platforms
Drew recommends…
Mulholland Drive
Did any filmmaker have a better grasp on both the allure and the poisonous nature of Hollywood and Los Angeles than David Lynch? His Mulholland Drive is a dream-like mystery set in the city of dreamers, a surrealist masterpiece that has been analyzed and pored over and deconstructed to no end since its release in 2001. You could watch it every day and still discover moments and tidbits that could potentially crack open new meanings. And yet, Mulholland Drive is also an L.A. vibes movie, one you can press play on and lose yourself in its mesmerizing vision of Hollywoodland.
I could tell you the film is about naive small-town actress Betty (Naomi Watts), who arrives in Los Angeles with lofty aspirations. I could tell you she meets a woman named “Rita” that’s recovering from a recent car accident that left her with amnesia. I could tell you more of the story setup, but that would be pointless because Mulholland Drive is operating on a much deeper wavelength than surface plot.
No filmmaker exists in a vacuum, as much as David Lynch seemed to be a sui generis exception. The best and most original directors funnel their influences – be it movies, books, paintings, etc. – into a creation of their own artistic expression. For Mulholland Drive, Lynch riffed on classic noirs like Sunset Boulevard (note the similar title) and psychological explorations like Ingmar Bergman’s Persona to fashion an eccentric, puzzling noir mystery entirely his own. As the characters traverse Los Angeles’ strange diners, clubs, apartments, and homes, we are gradually pulled further into Lynch’s distinct and masterful vision of a city that contains dreams and nightmares.
Streaming on the Criterion Channel
From the DYLA Archive
Honestly, it would take a long time to link each title here, but Substack makes it very easy to find things in our archive via the search icon.
Collateral
Heat
L.A. Confidential
Drive
The Long Goodbye
Nightcrawler
Sunset Boulevard
Swingers
The Big Lebowski
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Devil in a Blue Dress
La La Land
Under the Silver Lake
Singin’ in the Rain
Speed
Training Day
DYLA Podcast
This week on the pod we review and break down The Brutalist, the gargantuan A24 drama about a mid-century architect (Adrien Brody) immigrating to America. There’s a lot to chew on in this three-and-a-half-hour film, so we did our best to discuss the storytelling, performances, and themes. Did The Brutalist live up to the hype? Listen to find out.
Apple Podcasts:
Spotify: