Non-narrative movies are often such a personal experince it's hard to review them. They are so dependant on personal preferance and style that it's often hard to discuss there merits in the written word. For example, from what I had heard about it, I thought that I would find Koyaaisqatsi boring, but upon veiwing it, I thought it was a masterpiece. As a fan of David Lynch and surrealism in general, I thought I would love Eraserhead but ended up just liking it.
How do I describe it? Shot in blue tinted black-and-white, the film is apparently about birth and infancy. The small bit of a story concerns Henry (Jack Nance) who has gotten his girlfriend (Charlotte Stewart) pregnant, although Henry is showing giving "birth". Their baby, born premutre, looks similer to the creature that jumped out of John Hurt's stomach in Alien, only uglier. Most of the film is just series of a surreal images, many of them involving early stage fetus-like creatures.
Although the movie is never boring, and often surprisingly funny, somehow I never got caught up in the world of the film. I think the problem might be that Henry is such a strange person himself, perhaps we needed a normal character for a protagnist we could have something to contrast all the other weirdness against.
I will say that I found Lynch's approach to babies very interesting. Although babies are often portrayed as being cute and adorable, it is often overlooked that they produce large amounts of digusting substances and are sometimes just plain gross. Although I don't think any baby in the history of the world has been as ugly as the one here, the film does take an interesting nightmare scenario- you stuck to care a for a sick baby and don't know what to do, and you are a parent who doesn't love your child. I think maybe the film could have been even more disturbing, taking this idea to in the nth degree.
What I am I supposed to say in this final paragraph, where I am supposed to sum up my argument? I hope that I provided a good enough description of the film so that the reader can make up their mind about whether they want to see it or not. More than most movies, Eraserhead is dependant upon what you, the audince, brings to it. If you want to see a surreal film about a father who doesn't love his alien-like baby, you've found the right rental.
Eraserhead (1977)