Barbie (2023 film)

“Lynchian” is, in my hands, usually an insult—weird for the sake of co-opting some sort of deepness, with no understanding that Lynch’s strength as a storyteller lies in his ability to affect absurd, horrifying, and emotionally-honest states without diminishing or disrespecting the power of the surrounding material. “Barbie” is the rare “Lynchian” work (outside of Lynch’s body of work) that shows a strong degree of respect towards these elements, and its successful conveyance of its existential dread was most fully realized in the last twenty minutes when the children were all silent and I was stifling my cackled bemusement.

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