Macrobetix – ”A surrealist take on the interrogation of prime suspect Jack, for the the murder of Max. Jack and the detective attempt to out-smart each other as the detective constantly fails to entrap Jack. A film that on a first watch may seem utterly bizarre, actually delves into themes of love, war, history, Ideology, Sociology and more, all wrapped up with humour and a bizarreness only Lynch could bring to the table.
The interrogation begins.
The Detective ”Jack, you know anything about birds?”
Jack ”Don’t worry I’ve heard the phrase, birds of a feather flock together.”
Jack ”A perceived fundamental, there are of course exceptions.”
The Detective eluding to the fact that ‘criminals’ or ‘activists’ band together and as Jack is associated with Toototabon and the other characters of the murder case, he himself is implicated. But being associated with criminals or perceived activists doesn’t necessarily mean you’re guilty of anything, other than a poor choice of associates. Which is why Jack responds with his objection, stating there are exceptions to every rule. Even being guilty by association. This is also true within romantic relationships, a person could fall in love with someone who is actively engaged in criminal behaviour, but be unaware of it and therefore innocent.
The Detective tells Jack he knows he been associating with ‘birds’. Jack tells him he lived near a ‘farm’, which could be a metaphor for the fact he’s lived in a high crime or politically volatile area, which again doesn’t necessitate guilt. Jack remarks that his pupils aren’t dilated, a sign that he’s telling the truth. The Detective accuses him of avoiding the question.
We find out that Jack is looking to get away, on the run for the murder? or trying to escape the volatile area and people he’s been living around, one of which he’s fallen in love with, Toototabon. Perhaps he’s looking to get away after the breakdown of their relationship.
There’s a segment about hearsay and Jack dismisses it with humour as hearsay has no particular legal sway.
”But the ladies have been talking jack”
”Right, with the Easter bunny I suppose”
the Detective enquires about Jack’s love interest, Toototabon.
The Detective ”Don’t you ever wonder about anything?”
If Jack is innocent other than by association through love, the Detective is asking him if he never wondered what they were up to.
Jack ”The only wonder was in my heart, but you wouldn’t understand that”
showing how Jack had fallen in love with Toototabon, someone completely different to himself, both physically and potentially politically.
The Detective ”There’s an elephant in the room”
The Detective wants Jack to start talking directly about the case, but Jack is on to his entrapment ploys and switches the subject again.
A woman brings two coffees that Jack had ordered, almost as though he knew what was going to happen. Jack knew that the police would want to talk to him because of his attachment to the people in the case. She relays the fact all the trains are delayed due to police activity, as there’s a murderer on the loose. For an entire trains services to be halted suggests that the murder victim was a significant figure, possibly political as is further suggested by the Detective’s next line of inquiry.
The Detective “Are you now, or have you ever been, a card-carrying member of the Communist Party?“
The film seems to be set within the 1940’s and 1950’s during a period called the Second Red Scare (which also relates to Jack’s later reference to a red rabbit), being a Communist card carrier during this era in America meant you were seen as a threat to national security. Adding to the idea that Max is a significant figure.
Jack tells a story about how his farther fitted pipes for the Dewitt family, a key family in the american revolution that has strong ties to the Republican party, which directly appose the ideology of Communism. Attempting to show the Detective his ideology and family history that goes against the narrative the Detective is trying to build about him. Which is why Jack states his allegiance to America and how he’d lay his life down for those values.
The Detective ”you ever rode the rodeo?”
Probably meaning has he seen action, as in fought in a war.
Jack ”I’m a plastic bag specialist”
Probably meaning he’s a ‘civvy’ or civilian and hasn’t served in the military.
The Detective ”you ever do farm work?”
The farm reference could be in reference to the fact Jack lives around a volatile area either criminally or politically and whether he’s ever engaged in any of those activities the area or ‘farm’ is known for.
Jack’s place was burned, possibly because of its potential connection to either crime or communism?
The Detective ”They found feathers”
Direct evidence linking Jack to the crime? Or that Toototabon (a chicken) is implicated in the murder?
Jack ”bullshit”
The Detective ”are you calling me a liar?”
the Detective is potentially bluffing to entrap jack, saying he has evidence.
The Detective ”I know why the chicken crossed the road”
Meaning he knows why Jack did it? Or why Toototabon did?
The Detective ”be a man jack and tell me about her”
Jack ”Go climb a tree”
The Detective tells Jack (a monkey) to be a man, Jack tells the Detective (a man) to be like a monkey. A brilliant bit of toing & froing between the characters, showing their attempts to try and outwit each other as the Detective tries to entrap Jack.
The mention of Bristol USA and Jack’s furious response. In the 1940’s & 1950’s WWII led to overcrowding, labour shortages and infrastructure strain among other negative effects in the area, possibly leading to Jack’s supposed ideology or political ties? Maybe ‘his place’ that was burned down was a factory?
The Detective then uses guilt on jack.
The Detective ”she cried all night long, right or wrong, she loved you”.
Jack ”your brewing a poisonous batch”
meaning the Detective’s story he’s creating is corrupted or skewed.
Jack ”This is bigger than both of us”
Which is telling us that the murder was part of a larger, possibly political narrative. Jack admits he saw Toototabon that night from the window, when she leaned out to watch Max get a cab.
The Detective ”that’s when you shot him”
They have Sally as a possible witness,
Jack ”Whose going to believe an orangutan?”
Possibly a discredited character? Jack calls out the Detective’s bluff and how it wont stand up in court.
The Detective ”I don’t bluff”
Jack ”yeah and you don’t smoke”
As The Detective is smoking. showing Jack sees The Detective’s potential bluffs, as if they weren’t he’d already be in handcuffs.
The Detective ”It takes 2 to tango”
Showing The Detective thinks Jack’s bluffing and lying too.
Jack ”oh so now were dancing”
Jack’s comedic response to the fallacy of The Detective’s bluffing.
Jack says they need to interview Shelby Tidsworth a janitor, who was having an affair with Sally the possible witness.
Jack ”and he had his eye on Toototabon”
Jack then goes on to say that he doesn’t own a gun, but only a knife he used once to slice a gator a general criminal, a mugger? of a rabbit friend of his. Before that incident he’d only seen a red rabbit in a dream, which in dreams can be representative of an unseen threat of control. Again marking the political connections and the assassination of Max, the larger political story that’s ”bigger than both of them”.
Jack implicates the janitor, saying he could have shot Max.
The Detective ”lets go back to the beginning”
Jack ”life in those times was hard enough to crack a coconut”
Reflecting the times spoken of in Bristol both during and post WWII. leading to an uprising of a political movement that led to the assignation of Max? Jack recalls the hardships he faced in his relationship with his first wife, who was killed.
Jack ”the freedom I felt was extraordinary”
A little like what the assassination of Max could represent for people of a particular ideology i.e ‘communism’? Jack goes on to tell of his love and relationship with Toototabon.
Jack ”she really was my first love”
Jack ”like a banana, sweet with a golden hue”
She was a chicken, someone different, not dominant like his previous wife, or someone with a different political ideology. Jack still longs for her. The Detective asks what happened between them.
Jack ”I dunno, its all like a crazy nightmare to me now”
Jack says if you were in a relationship with her and you felt her touch there’s nothing like it in this world.
Jack ”she was the love of my life, i’m not shitting you”
Jack then breaks into a song about his love.
Possibly showing Jack was only guilty of one thing and that was falling in love.
Jack then sees his love Toototabon and chases after her where he’s arrested for the murder of Max.
A fabulously surreal and comedic journey from David Lynch. And worth 20 Minutes of anyone’s time.”
Macrobetix Scene & Screen Film Club 