It Took David Lynch 15 Years and 1 Movie to Get Roger Ebert to ‘Forgive’ Him

David Lynch’s sudden passing shook the whole world, prompting many fans to take it to social media, paying tribute to the late maestro. Lynch’s cinematic legacy counts 10 feature films and 4 TV projects, with most of them eventually becoming a cult classic adored by many, but not everyone.

Though the late director gathered lots of accolades from movie critics for his work in the industry, Roger Ebert was one of the few who wasn’t that much impressed — in particular by one of Lynch’s best movies ever.

Fans Loved Lynch’s Blue Velvet, but Ebert Couldn’t Help Hating It

A 1986 neo-noir mystery thriller starring Kyle MacLachlan and Isabella Rossellini garnered the overall acclaim, but received a shocking review from Ebert who gave the movie one star out of four.

The critic’s perception of what the true cinema should be like definitely didn’t align with Lynch’s artistic and quite experimental vision — only years later Ebert made it up to the director by granting him his forgiveness for the alleged failure with Blue Velvet.

Mulholland Drive Finally Melted Ebert’s Heart

It took 15 years for the director to finally make a film that would please the harsh critic — Mulholland Drive was released back in 2001, and that time Ebert joined those who couldn’t stop admiring Lynch’s new work.

The critic even praised the film publicly, stating in his personal blog that “David Lynch has been working toward Mulholland Drive all of his career, and now that he’s arrived there I forgive him Wild at Heart and even Lost Highway. At last his experiment doesn’t shatter the test tubes. The movie is a surrealist dreamscape in the form of a Hollywood film noir, and the less sense it makes, the more we can’t stop watching it.”

Source: Roger Ebert