@RasberryRazz In fact, at this moment Grace Zabriskie's character seems to be talking about Dale when she tells the story of the little boy who went out to play and when he opened that door he saw the world and created a reflection... evil was born... evil was born and followed the boy
Dale however fails, and is trapped inside an alternative reality where his sense of sense is fading away. There is no happy ending for him. The Returns ending is basically the antithesis of Inland Empire and why the two narratives are such profound foils of each other.
Rewatched Inland Empire and it struck me that Nikki (Laura Dern) is an excellent foil to Dale Cooper, as both are tasked by supernatural entities (The rabbits and the sex workers for Nikki, and the white lodge for Coop) to participate fight against a misogynistic supernatural
Great anecdote; with classic Hollywood movies, don't believe the writing credits: the good directors are usually deeply involved in writing or rewriting the script, though usually uncredited, and even if they never touched a typewriter.
@JennyENicholson In old movies actors would look at each other, touch each other, interact with the environments as they talked, maybe grab a book and flip its pages. Small stuff I started noticing only recently, it contrasts with the sterile greenscreen world where people just stand stiffly
@RottenInDenmark Holy fuck. I cannot overemphasize the extent to which being unapologetically out in South Bend Indiana WHILE TRYING TO HAVE A MAINSTREAM POLITICAL CAREER is brave and admirable, full stop.