In his 1995 essay,
"David Lynch Keeps His Head," writer David Foster Wallace
suggest a possible academic definition of what it means for something to
be "Lynchian." It "refers to a particular kind of irony
where the very macabre and the very mundane combine in such a way as to
reveal the former’s perpetual containment within the latter."
Wallace also says that
the definition is problematic, noting it’s a term best defined by
example – you know it when you see it. He uses two serial killers to
further illuminate: "Ted Bundy wasn’t particularly Lynchian, but
good old Jeffrey Dahmer, with his victim’s various anatomies neatly
separated and stored in his fridge alongside his chocolate milk … was
thoroughgoingly Lynchian."
In
Dahmer, writer/director David Jacobson delves into these Lynchian
undercurrents widely reported in the early 1990s media blitz, but
untangles them, opting for a more psychological study. A potentially
grisly serial killer slasher-bio is much more an examination of Dahmer’s
troubled mind than his refrigerator.
The opening scene
effectively sets the mood. We see the steel machinery of the Milwaukee
chocolate factory where Dahmer (relative unknown Jeremy Renner in a
superb performance) worked – pistons fire, chocolate oozes out of
pipes and the finished products are encased in foil wrappings. The
coldly efficient process serves as a metaphor for Dahmer’s detachment
to all things human.
Dahmer works in his
all-white uniform and hair net, looking like Malcolm McDowell’s Alex
from A Clockwork Orange. It’s surprising that Jeffrey does not
unleash a Droog-y dialect while giving a quick orientation to a new
hire. Perhaps this is what a Kubrick version of Willy Wonka and the
Chocolate Factory would look like.
Moments later, we see
Dahmer on lunch break, sitting alone except for two, upright chocolate
Santas. These inanimate, confectionary companions set up his
predilection for drugged, zombified victims (also confirmed by his heist
of a mannequin from a local mall, which, sans head, scares his
grandmother during a routine house cleaning).
The film’s narrative reveals two versions of Dahmer, both featuring
great cinematography by Chris Manley. The younger Dahmer is portrayed in
static, wide shots, with a slightly-grainy film stock tinted in blue.
This represents the early stages of Dahmer’s homicidal descent, a time
when he was much more meticulous in covering his tracks (sure, he may
have a head in a wooden box in his closet, but he was sure to wrap it in
plastic).
Renner manages to portray
a human side to Dahmer in these scenes, and also shows how quickly he
can snap. He hangs out with a local high-schooler, their pot-fueled
hysterics causing milk to spurt from Dahmer’s nose. Moments later (in
one of the film’s more disturbing scenes), he’s sawing off an arm
and caressing the bloody appendage as if it were a wounded pet.
The scenes featuring the
older Dahmer are often bathed in blood-red lighting and saturated
colors; the camera is active with more close-ups. At this point, Dahmer
has lost control and his bedroom has essentially become a morgue.
The dramatic center of
the film is an extended seduction scene between Dahmer and Rodney (Artel
Kayaru, in an excellent debut performance), a potential victim he picks
up while buying a knife at a local shop.
Rodney, wire-thin and
motor-mouthed, is obviously unaware of who he is dealing with and
regales Dahmer with stories and idle chatter as if he were any other
friend. David Jacobson makes great use tension-filled atmospherics in
these scenes and throughout the film. Since the viewer knows the general
backstory, scenes that are ultimately benign are charged with the threat
of violence.
Ultimately, Dahmer
does not offer any big revelations. It does depict how Dahmer’s
profound loneliness – including a strained relationship with his
father, Lionel, nicely underplayed by vet Bruce Davison – found an
outlet in such profound mayhem.
The film got a very
limited theatrical release ("Two for Dahmer" not
exactly likely to be a popular phrase at suburban multiplexes), but made
a quick jump to video/DVD. Well-made with impressive acting, it’s an
interesting look into the mind of one of America’s most notorious
psychos.
