Every so often, an independent film will break through to mainstream audiences and become a more important cultural event. This was the case with David Robert Mitchell’s directorial debut It follows, a disturbing horror thriller that explored a supernatural entity that is exchanged between victims through sexual contact. Evokes strong comparisons to that of John Carpenter Halloween, It follows heralded Mitchell as one of the most important debuting directors of his generation. Expectations were high for his next film Under Silver Lake, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018, with A24 poised to distribute it.
Under Silver Lake is a dark comedy noir that follows young conspiracy theorist Sam (Andrew Garfield) as he tries to pay rent on his cheap apartments. After falling in love with his new neighbor Sarah (Riley Keough), Sam’s life is turned upside down when she goes missing unexpectedly. Determined to find her, Sam ventures into the mysterious underworld of Hollywood, where he investigates a system of conspiracy and exploitation that threatens everything he’s come to believe about the movie industry. The supporting cast included Sydney Sweeney, Topher Grace, Jimmi Simpson and Riki Lindhome. Initial reactions were mixed and the film’s release date was pushed back several times until it finally hit theaters and video-on-demand platforms in April 2019. It was a sad fate for one of the most ingenious films in recent history.
An amazing premise and theme
Under Silver Lake has an interesting mystery in the middle; Sarah’s disappearance could potentially be a legitimate crime, as early details suggest Sam lives in a dangerous area overrun with criminals. On the other hand, the simple explanation is that she left because she didn’t want to see Sam anymore; as they shared a night of intimacy together, there was no indication on Sarah’s part that she was interested in a long-term relationship. Certain clues suggest that part of the movie is framed from Sam’s perspective, so the viewer may not be seeing a fully realistic version of what’s actually going on. Keough’s performance is so overtly upbeat and expressive that it’s possible she’s playing an idealized version of Sarah that only exists in Sam’s mind.
The conspiracy theory storyline is so compelling in its own right that it’s hard not to be at least somewhat invested in Sam’s investigation, even though the whole movie could be just part of his madness. After learning about a strange underground party and human smugglers from his friend with a security camera (played by Topher Grace in an amusing supporting role), Sam learns that Sarah is part of an ancient ceremony in which participants hide in underground tombs, similar to the Egyptian ones. Pharaohs to preserve their own lives. Whether this is his way of grappling with her absence or a suggestion that he shouldn’t have been obsessed with her in the first place, Sam’s perspective changes again in the film’s breathtaking ending.
Andrew Garfield’s craziest role
Garfield is one of the best actors of his generation, but he’s best known for his dramatic work in movies like Never Let Me Go, The Social Network, Hacksaw Ridge, Silence, And 99 homes. While Garfield got to show off some of his comedic sensibilities The awesome Spider-Man movies, the more action-oriented stories only gave him a few chances to crack jokes. However, his character in Under Silver Lake is completely insane, goofy and clumsy. It’s very clear that while other Garfield characters are charmingly quirky, Sam is meant to be a character the audience laughs at, not laughs at. It’s impressive that someone as likable as Garfield could turn into such a creepy character.
Garfield said rich that he loved that Sam “became obsessed with something so superficial at first glance, but actually the obsession masks a deeper, darker, greater devastation underneath.” While critics were generally mixed about the film overall, praise for Garfield was almost unanimous. IndieWire stated that the film was “based on the consistency of Garfield’s astonishment at every turn”.
A satire of Hollywood and masculinity
Throughout the film, Sam experiences strange and terrifying visions of the mythical hidden messages in pop songs and old Hollywood movies that suggest he shouldn’t idealize problematic material; Sam has very outdated, misogynistic views on women and gender roles, even though he doesn’t consider himself a sexist or seem to be as deliberately aggressive as some of the other male characters in the movie. These visions can be seen as Sam coming to grips with reality and realizing the flaws in his thinking.
By becoming more educated, Sam may now be more aware of the inherent discrimination in popular music and old movies, and now tries to explain it through conspiracy theories. A baffling scene featuring a mysterious comic book fan (played by Patrick Fischer) delves deeper into the connections between subliminal messages and comic books, movies, pop songs and advertising. Interestingly enough, Fischer also played along Mulholland Drivea similar film about conspiracies and nightmares in Hollywood.
There’s a climax where Sam meets a mysterious songwriter (Jeremy Bobb) and discovers just how much this puzzling conspiracy has infected everything he cares about. The songwriter explains that he is responsible for some of the most famous popular American music of the last century, mocking Sam for his obsessions. This scene can be interpreted in many different ways. Perhaps the film notes that the problematic trends within storytelling have been around for much longer than Sam realized, only now realizing how artificial some of its heroes were. However, if the movie itself is meant to be part of Sam’s nightmare, this could be the thing that scares him the most; he learns that what he cares about most has no real value.